The NCAA tournament is about basketball but also so much more: the fans, bands, cheerleaders, etc. The East Regional is coming to Washington, DC this weekend and we could not be more excited to be there in person! HoopsHD is all over it and covering all of the angles so you can look forward to a cascade of coverage in the days ahead. Jon Teitel keeps it going by chatting with Director of athletic bands at Duke Jeff Au about the Duke-UNC rivalry and his prediction for tonight.
What is the atmosphere like at Duke during the NCAA tourney? I do not know because I have never been on campus during that time but I am sure they are excited.
What made you choose Duke for college? I actually went to Ohio/Notre Dame and then came here for the job. It is a very unique program full of people who want to be in the band for the joy of doing it: they are not just a bunch of music majors. It is all about being part of a group and entertaining athletic crowds.
What instrument do you play, and how did you 1st get into playing it? I play trumpet. My mom/brother play trumpet as well so I just wanted to be like them.
What kind of music does the band play at Duke home games, and will we see your group do anything extra-special for the Elite 8 tonight? We play all current music, not any Broadway shows/classic rock. The big song that gets the crowd going is “Everytime We Touch” by Cascada. It was immediately loved by the Cameron Crazies: you never know what song will catch on but that 1 did.
What do you think the role of a college band is today, and how much time/energy is involved? The role is to get the crowd engaged/excited for the game. We do not practice as much as most bands due to our academic requirements but we practice 4 hours/week in the fall (plus football Saturdays). Every band member has to play for ½ of the men’s and ½ of the women’s basketball games, which keeps us in practice.
How does the band decide who gets to go to DC, and what does it mean to you to see your group doing their thing in front of a national TV audience? We have a very elaborate point system based on attendance/seniority. There is also an ability test to see how well everyone plays and then we just go down the list of choices for different weekends during the tourney: it is a fair and equitable system. It is fun to see screenshots of the band: they enjoy having their friends get to see them on TV.
What has been your favorite moment so far this season: beating North Carolina, winning the ACC tourney, Senior Night, other? Beating North Carolina in the ACC tourney was pretty big because we lost to them twice during the regular season.
How do you describe the Duke-UNC rivalry to someone who has never seen it in person? I have been here 14 years and it is actually more intense than I expected…and probably more intense then it should be. It is pretty special to be a part of it: some people at Duke live and die by the rivalry so it is fun for the band just to be in the middle of it all during football/basketball games and see how much people are invested in it.
How is your blood pressure doing after back-to-back last-second wins over UCF/Virginia Tech? It has been really stressful the past couple of weeks but I am glad that things turned out our way. It has been fun/scary/exciting.
Any predictions for tonight? I think that we will be okay given our record against Michigan State in the tourney…but what I think has no bearing on what will happen.