{"id":62880,"date":"2025-11-25T12:59:18","date_gmt":"2025-11-25T17:59:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/?p=62880"},"modified":"2025-11-25T12:59:19","modified_gmt":"2025-11-25T17:59:19","slug":"pep-band","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/pep-band\/","title":{"rendered":"With Spirit (and Sousaphones!), the Pep Band Powers Big Red Fandom"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The student-run group energizes players, taunts the opposition, and catalyzes supporters at home and on the road<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Joe Wilensky<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If Cornell\u2019s Lynah Faithful<\/a> embodies the soul of the gleefully obsessive fan base of Big Red Hockey, then the Pep Band is its beating heart. And while the often-raucous, red-and-white-stripe-clad group may call Lynah Rink its spiritual home, ice hockey games are hardly their only showcase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Rare and Manuscript Collections<\/figcaption>
On the road at a basketball game against Yale in the \u201990s.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Once a subset of the Big Red Marching Band, the Pep Band<\/a> has been its own organization since 1986.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The group\u2019s spirited tunes can be heard at home or on the road\u2014in rinks, stadiums, and gyms. Its roughly 75 musicians play at basketball, lacrosse, soccer, and sprint football games, as well as at wrestling matches and track and field events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The band plays at basketball, lacrosse, soccer, and sprint football games, as well as at wrestling matches and track and field events.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

And Pep Band members don\u2019t just perform Cornell standards\u2014from the \u201cAlma Mater\u201d to \u201cGive My Regards to Davy\u201d\u2014but execute choreographed moves and lead many of the famed hockey chants<\/a> at Lynah Rink.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They also do more than their fair share of jeering opposing teams\u2014like waving car keys while shouting \u201cWarm up the bus!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Its repertoire runs the gamut: arrangements of Weather Report\u2019s \u201cBirdland,\u201d the Rocky<\/em> theme \u201cGonna Fly Now,\u201d Louis Armstrong\u2019s \u201cBasin Street Blues,\u201d Guns N\u2019 Roses\u2019 \u201cParadise City,\u201d the Who\u2019s \u201cPinball Wizard,\u201d Muse\u2019s \u201cKnights of Cydonia,\u201d and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Big
Big Red Pep Band<\/figcaption>
Adding Big Red spirit to the stadium during the NCAA men’s lacrosse tournament final in 2022 in East Hartford, CT.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing in Pep Band was one of my favorite parts of Cornell,\u201d says Kathryn Abbott Manocchia \u201912, who played baritone horn and served as a conductor for two semesters. \u201cIt gave me a way to hang out with friends, go to lots of popular sporting events, and travel around the country, all while getting to play some really fun songs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Manocchia saw men\u2019s ice hockey win the 2010 ECAC Championship in Albany, NY, and conducted at the NCAA basketball tournament in Jacksonville, FL, as part of the team\u2019s 2010 Sweet 16 run<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Pep
Big Red Pep Band<\/figcaption>
Cheering on the Big Red in Lynah in 2023.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cI loved being a vital part of the atmosphere, and it was really special how much we could pump up our teams,\u201d she recalls. \u201cBeing a conductor was particularly fun, because you could directly affect the mood with an aptly timed cheer, or by choosing their favorite songs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I loved being a vital part of the atmosphere, and it was really special how much we could pump up our teams.<\/p>\nKathryn Abbott Manocchia \u201912<\/strong><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

While the vast majority of Pep Band members are also in the Marching Band, there are some differences between the groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tommy McFarland \u201926, the Pep Band\u2019s current manager, notes that the Marching Band may concentrate a bit more on performance, while the Pep Band may be more invested in the games and their outcomes\u2014knowing many of the players and cheering wildly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Turn Up the Volume: The ‘Hey!’ Song, ‘Davy’ & More<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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