Flyer Pep Band plays for Fairleigh Dickinson in historic upset of Purdue

Six days later, the band witnessed history on a bigger scale — arguably the biggest upset in NCAA tournament history.

The Flyer Pep Band played for No. 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson, which doesn’t have its own band, in a 63-58 victory against No. 1 seed Purdue at Nationwide Arena. It’s the second victory by a No. 16 seed in tournament history and the first since 2018 when Virginia lost to Maryland-Baltimore County.

Dr. Willie Morris, who has led the Flyer Pep Band since arriving at the University of Dayton in 1993, saw an upset brewing early.

“I told (the band members), ‘These guys are like fire ants. They’re all over the court. They’re fast and quick,’” Morris said Friday night after boarding the team bus for the trip back to Dayton. “I just figured Purdue would be able to handle that.”

Instead, FDU built a 32-31 halftime lead and won the game in part because of a 3-pointer by Columbus native Sean Moore with 1:06 to play. The Knights took a 61-56 lead at that point.

Throughout the game, Morris said the band members were awed by the experience. They wore the same UD hats they would wear at UD Arena but held up plastic swords at times because they were playing for the Knights.

“They never stopped cheering for Fairleigh Dickinson,” he said. “They cheered for them just like they cheer for the Flyers. As the clock started ticking down, they got louder, and really got the crowd into it. The crowd loved the band.”

Fairleigh Dickinson is located in Hackensack, N.J. The school once had a pep band but hasn’t for years. In 2019, the Flyer Pep Band played for FDU as well at the First Four, and the Knights beat Prairie View A&M 82-76 to advance to a game in Salt Lake City, Utah, where the University of Utah band played for FDU during a loss to Gonzaga.

This time, the Carlisle High School band, led by UD grad John Oliver, played for FDU at the First Four on Wednesday. The Knights beat No. 16 seed Texas Southern 84-61 to advance. Morris didn’t volunteer his own band for that gig because he thought it might be playing in the NCAA tournament or NIT for the Flyers.

Morris said the band has played at the First Four for other teams 11 times over the years and even was hired by the Merrimack College hockey team to play at games in 2011. In that instance, Merrimack paid to fly the Dayton band to the games. Ironically, FDU was only in the NCAA tournament this season because the Merrimack basketball team, which won the Northeast Conference tournament by beating FDU, was making the transition to Division I and was ineligible for the NCAA tournament.

When FDU won its first game at UD Arena, Morris asked his band members to travel to Columbus on Friday. They rehearsed earlier in the day. He said Jason Young, a senior associate athletic director at FDU, sent the score of the fight song so the UD band could learn it. Morris said none of the FDU players had heard the song.

“I had to tell them, ‘Hey guys, this is your fight song,’” Morris said. “You might want to clap to it.’ We played it for them so much tonight, I think they’ve got it now.”

The Dayton band mostly played the songs it knows by heart.

“We kind of changed the words to to the ‘Go Dayton Flyers’ cheer to their school,” Morris said.

Morris received a text message 30 minutes after the game Friday asking if the band could return Sunday. FDU will play No. 9 seed Florida Atlantic, which beat No. 8 Memphis 66-65, for a spot in the Sweet 16 at 7:45 p.m.

“We’ve just got to get a bus and figure it out,” Morris said. “They said we’re they’re lucky charm and we have to come back.”