Sierra Schultz is an Idaho Vandal through and through.
But over the weekend, the University of Idaho sophomore, who plays trumpet in the school’s marching band, became a Yale University bulldog — at least for a few hours.
During the Yale men’s basketball team’s first-round NCAA tournament game Friday, Schultz and 28 of her bandmates covered for the Ivy League school, which couldn’t bring a band to play because too many of its students were off campus for spring break. Calling themselves the “Van-Dogs,” a blend of the two schools’ mascots, each Idaho marching band member wore a blue T-shirt with a white “Y” emblazoned across the front as they stood in for Yale through the team’s upset over No. 4 seed Auburn. Idaho’s gesture went viral over the weekend as college basketball fans praised the band’s camaraderie. Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont (D) added his own praise for the Vandals on Thursday, proclaiming it University of Idaho Day in the state where Yale is located, writing in his statement that the band had “made a significant contribution to the atmosphere and energy of the crowd.”
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“You know, bands stick together,” Schultz, 19, said.
On Sunday, the Idaho band showed up again to support No. 13 seed Yale in its second-round matchup. If Yale could secure a Sweet 16 spot, the school’s marching band would be able to accompany the team to its next game as spring break would be over, said Spencer Martin, Idaho’s director of athletic bands.
“We were playing for the Yale band students as much as the team,” Martin said. “They didn’t win, but we tried our best.”
On March 17, less than a week before Yale’s first tournament game, Martin got a call from the University of Idaho’s athletic director, who explained the spring break issue and asked if the Vandal marching band could fill in.
Their equipment was ready.
They had just performed for Idaho’s basketball teams during the Big Sky Conference tournament in Boise and were preparing for an upcoming event for prospective students.
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Though the games were not played in the state, the University of Idaho won a bid to be a host school, lending volunteers and other operational support during the first and second-round games this year. And Yale, Martin said, would cover costs for Idaho to get its band to Spokane, Wash.
“I thought, you know I think we can pull this off,” Martin said.
He quickly sent out a request to his students and by the next morning had heard back from enough to fill 29 spots, the maximum number school bands can bring under NCAA guidelines.
By Wednesday, Martin sent those students a recording of Yale’s fight song so they could familiarize themselves with “Bulldog.” They weren’t able to practice it as a group until Friday morning, about half an hour before they boarded a bus to the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena, Schultz said.
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Though the rehearsal went smoothly, Schultz felt nervous. She’d never expected to perform during March Madness — Idaho’s basketball programs have both appeared in the NCAA tournament only four times each, most recently in 2016 for the women’s team and in 1990 for the men’s team.
During the bus ride to Spokane, Schultz and her bandmates adjusted their typical Vandals chants to cheer on the Bulldogs. After they arrived at the arena, Yale’s cheerleading team also helped them learn team chants as the musicians became a Yale cover band.
They played and sang the fight song. They yelled “Handsome Dan,” the name of Yale’s bulldog, during free throw attempts to distract Auburn players.
Marching bands filling in for other schools isn’t uncommon, especially due to scheduling conflicts, Martin said. But it was Yale’s stunning defeat of the higher-seeded Auburn that made Idaho’s stand-in even more of a spectacle, he said.
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By Sunday, Bulldogs fans who had seen videos on social media of Idaho’s band in Yale T-shirts requested photos with the musicians, Schultz said. Before the second-round game that day, Yale men’s basketball head coach James Jones also thanked the band for filling in, fist-bumping the students, Martin said.
“That was really special for us, that they could feel that we were there and that they were appreciative,” Martin said.
Though Yale lost to San Diego State, 85-57, Schultz said the band kept up the hype “through the whole game.” And while she’s back in Idaho’s gold, silver, black and white band uniform this week, Schultz returned to school Monday still reeling from the “leftover excitement” of playing in March Madness, she said.
The weekend of unexpected travel left her and her bandmates exhausted. Her voice is hoarse from the courtside chants and cheers. But if a call came again, Schultz would answer it.
“Any team, any sport,” she said. “I would go.”
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