The World’s Greatest Pep Band Turns up the Volume for March Madness
Saint Louis University’s Billiken Pep Band hits a winning note.
More than the satisfying thump of a basketball or the squeak of sneakers across the court… Better than the buzzer at halftime… Maybe even superior to the swish of a perfect three-pointer…
The Billiken Pep Band is the soundtrack of Saint Louis University basketball.
And this season — as the men’s team nets the Atlantic 10’s No. 1 spot and goes undefeated at home — the pep band has been striking exactly the right note.
“Here’s one stat you’re not going to hear on ESPN: This men's basketball team is undefeated when the pep band is present,” Grant Unnerstall, Ph.D., director of the Billiken Pep Band, said. “We are going to do everything we can to hold on to that statistic.”
As The World’s Greatest Pep Band (as they call themselves) prepares to support the Billikens during postseason play, read more about the group behind the music.
Home Court Advantage
The Billiken Pep Band plays during all men’s and women’s basketball home games at Chaifetz Arena on the Saint Louis University campus. They also participate in special events — including the inauguration of SLU’s new president, Edward Feser, Ph.D., last November. If the SLU community is looking for an extra dose of spirit, the pep band certainly can bring it.
“I put my whole body into playing,” drummer Thomas DiGioacchino said. “I like to put on a show and bring the excitement.”
DiGioacchino is a senior finance major in his second season with the Billiken Pep Band, which he said has helped define his SLU experience.
“It’s so rewarding. I play for the band, for the team, for cheer and dance. I’m there to serve the community,” he said.
On game days, the pep band pumps up the players and entertains fans with high-energy renditions of the band’s greatest hits, including Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode,” Chicago’s “25 or 6 to 4” and “You’ve Said It All” (also known as “When You Say Bud” or the Budweiser song). Of course, the band pulls out the stops for the unofficial Billiken rally song, “When the Saints Go Marching In.”
Chanting is mandatory: S – A – I – N – T ! L – O – U – I – S !
The band switches out a few songs each season, learning new pieces or bringing back old favorites. Recently, they added a mashup of Nelly’s “Country Grammar/Hot in Herre” — an arrangement exclusive to the Billiken Pep Band — and got to perform it for Nelly himself during the men’s game versus Duquesne in February.
“I heard he loved it and was singing along the whole time,” Unnerstall said.
Drumming up Support
The Billiken Pep Band started in the late 1980s with 30 musicians. Today, the band has close to 100 members, including students from across the University. Thirty of them get the opportunity to travel to support Billiken basketball in postseason play.
The band provides uniform hockey jerseys, music and some instruments to members at no cost. Student musicians can also receive a stipend for performing in the pep band if they attend the required number of games each season.
The pep band rehearses once a week in Chaifetz Arena during the first couple of months of the fall semester, up until basketball season starts.
Alumni members join in during the regular season, especially during winter break when many students aren’t on campus.
“Having students in their late teens and early 20s interacting with folks who have been in this band for so long — it’s a real blessing,” Unnerstall said. “It provides a level of continuity and a maturity of sound that other groups just don’t get.”
Perry Anselman (A&S ’83) has played trumpet in the Billiken Pep Band since its inception. His children used to sit behind him when he played at Billiken games; now he takes his grandchildren.
An assistant principal at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School, Anselman has spent his entire career in public education.
“As an educator, I try to serve as a role model for the student-musicians in the band,” he said.
“My SLU undergrad had a huge impact on me. It steered me in the right direction and made me see the value of being socially responsible and giving back,” he said. “That’s how I see my time in the pep band — giving back.”
He said his favorite piece to play at Billiken games is “Vehicle,” a 1970 song known for its dynamic horn section. That might be one his fans enjoy, too.
“I get recognized,” he said. “‘Hey, you’re that screaming trumpet guy!’”
DiGioacchino said he’s “humbled” by the recognition he gets from his fellow students as well as “people at the top.”
“Coach Schertz acknowledges the pep band. He seems so thankful for what we do for the environment in Chaifetz Arena. Coach Tillet, too. She always takes time to thank us,” he said.
Unnerstall echoed those sentiments.
“Coach Schertz is a culture-builder,” Unnerstall said. “He knows what he’s doing, inside and out, not just basketball but everything that surrounds it.”
That definitely goes for the surrounding sound.
About Saint Louis University
Founded in 1818, Saint Louis University is one of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious Catholic research institutions. Rooted in Jesuit values and its pioneering history as the first university west of the Mississippi River, SLU offers more than 13,300 students a rigorous, transformative education that challenges and prepares them to make the world a better place. As a nationally recognized leader in research and innovation, SLU is an R1 research university, advancing groundbreaking, life-changing discoveries that promote the greater good.