Between the players, the screaming fans and the sea of blue and gold, there is little more iconic to Marquette University than basketball. School spirit swells throughout Fiserv Forum and the Al McGuire Center as the university’s pep band plays the fight song, “Hail Alma Mater.”
Even when the team on the court leaves fans wanting more, or when the student section isn’t as full as normal, the Marquette pep bands always bring the energy.
“Sometimes when the team is getting really hot, you can hear the band playing with some more energy,” Charlie Chouinard, a senior in the College of Health Sciences and trumpet player, said. “And then sometimes, when the team is in a slump, we keep putting out energy and hopefully that’ll get something to the team.”
Chouinard attributes the atmosphere’s energy to the magic and passion of live music.
Marquette’s pep bands are led by Music Directors Erik Janners and Joel Flunker and are made up of players from the symphonic band and wind ensemble. Both groups rehearse three times a week, have various concerts throughout the year and require an audition for placement.
The pep bands play at both the men’s and women’s basketball games, as well as the women’s volleyball matches.
Marquette has two pep bands, “blue” and “gold.” Men’s and women’s home games are divided between the two. Despite only needing to attend about half of the nearly 50 games in a season, band players show up to nearly every game.
Band members, standing between the fans and the players on the court, help round out Marquette’s student spirit.
“The pep band really is an extension of the student section,” Chouinard said. “We get pretty into it; it’s a good time.”
Alyssa Maves, a junior in the College of Arts & Sciences and clarinet player, credits her time in the pep band for growing her love of sports, particularly basketball.
“Before my time in the pep band, I never truly understood the excitement that can come from cheering for your favorite sports team with a community around you that is as equally passionate as you are,” Maves said.
Preparation for a game starts long before tipoff, with the pep band arriving an hour before the game starts. As the pep band settles into their seats next to the student section, each musician gets their playlists organized. The team has a folder of over 100 tunes, divided between four playlists.
Even though the band’s homes are the Al McGuire Center and Fiserv Forum, the groups travel to some of college basketball’s biggest stages — the Big East and NCAA tournaments.
As a member of the blue band, Maves will be traveling to the Women’s Big East Basketball Tournament in Connecticut this year. The gold band will be going to New York City with the men’s basketball team.
These trips often make it to the top of band members’ list of favorite moments, whether it be sitting front row at March Madness or being in person to witness sold out, widely televised games.
Chouinard can still imagine the moment the team won the Big East Tournament in 2023.
“That was cool, seeing [Tyler] Kolek and all those guys cut down the net,” he said.
Maves fondly recalls traveling to the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden in March 2024 — her first year of college — and watching a Marquette-Villanova matchup go into overtime. Sneakers squeaked as the clock ticked down to Marquette’s eventual victory.
“The game was super intense, and I remember locking arms with the other band members near me in support for the team as the clock was running out,” she said. “We ended up winning the game and even went to the Big East [Tournament] finals that year.”
The majority of students are unable to travel during the school year to see the basketball teams play in away games, but members of the Marquette pep bands are always there to cheer their Golden Eagles on — even at home, in front of a TV.
“We bring the same energy and excitement with us, just to a different place,” Maddie Meyer, a sophomore in the College of Communication and trombone player, said.
This story was written by Mina Marsolek-Bonnet. She can be reached at [email protected].
