The 16-seed Fairleigh Dickenson Knights overcame all odds in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to defeat 1-seed Purdue. However, it seems that they have overcome even more outside factors that some may not even realize.
Most teams in the NCAA Tournament have a marching band that travels with them and plays the school’s fight song during timeouts and other intermissions.
This was not a luxury that Fairleigh Dickenson had, as they do not have a school band. However, they were in luck when the Dayton Flyers school band decided to help out FDU since the first two rounds of the tournament took place in Columbus, Ohio.
CBS Sports sideline reporter Jaime Erdahl discussed the situation during Sunday’s game between FDU and Florida Atlantic. She detailed that the Dayton band actually took time out of their spring break in order to help out FDU.
FDU doesn't have a band, so the University of Dayton's band stepped up to help cheer on the Knights ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/k4vupCpwYo
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 20, 2023
ESPN’s Jake Trotter detailed that the band miraculously learned FDU’s fight song just minutes before tipoff of their first game on Friday.
Cool tidbit from the Columbus regional: Since Fairleigh Dickinson doesn't have a band, Dayton's band has stepped up. The UD band learned FDU's fight song minutes before tip Fri. Today, they're waving around plastic swords they got from Party City as they root for the Knights
— Jake Trotter (@Jake_Trotter) March 20, 2023
It’s absolutely awesome that the Dayton Band came to help out the Cinderella of the NCAA Tournament. Many noticed this unbelievable story and gave them a ton of credit for just how quickly they were able to adjust to performing a different school’s fight song.
This is amazing. https://t.co/IaEG3WnySg
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) March 20, 2023
I cannot get enough of these stories. The love rallying around FDU is something else… https://t.co/9gHo9g6TtV
— Stephania Bell (@Stephania_ESPN) March 20, 2023
Love this https://t.co/uQWmsGJBLR
— Sarah Spain (@SarahSpain) March 20, 2023
Look, I’m not in a great mood right now, but man… this made me smile #marchmaddness https://t.co/moBbZu62Hi
— Tess Quinlan (@TessQuinlan) March 20, 2023
This is awesome, and it speaks well of Dayton and its students. https://t.co/safkOONjDF
— Judge Stephen Dillard (@JudgeDillard) March 20, 2023
It must have been an awesome experience for the member of the band to see FDU’s historic upset over Purdue in person. Unfortunately for them, that was where the magic ran out for the Knights.
They lost their Round of 32 matchup on Sunday night to Florida Atlantic. Regardless, this awesome story shows just how much support Farleigh Dickenson received in their historic run.
[CBS Sports on Twitter] [Photo Credit: truTV]
