The drumline’s cadence rattles the bleachers as trumpets blare Fordham University’s fight song. The students chant in unison, a sea of school colors pulsing to the beat. On the court, the basketball team huddles. They draw their energy from the music. But behind every roaring saxophone is a quieter battle.
At Fordham, keeping the Pep Band alive isn’t just about music; it’s about money and adequate faculty representation. Every note played is the result of a behind-the-scenes hustle.
Associate Professor of Music at Fordham, Nathan Lincoln-DeCusatis, did not have to volunteer to advise the Fordham Pep Band, among his other responsibilities, but he chose to. The Pep Band’s “unsung hero” according to members of the band itself, witnessed the difficulties the Pep Band faced and stepped up to enact change.
“The music faculty heavily supports all of our many musical ensembles, but it has been challenging to give them the level of financial support they require,” he said.
Lincoln-DeCusatis shed light on these challenges a couple of years ago. According to the professor, the Pep Band lacked consistent faculty support, leading to logistical issues such as getting adequate storage, uniforms and instrument repairs.
He also explained how the Pep Band is currently funded by a mix of the Office for Student Involvement (OSI) and the Athletics Department, among other things, causing student-run budgeting to be a complicated endeavor. Lincoln-DeCusatis stated that it was easy for some of Pep Band’s needs to go unnoticed, including music photo copying, proper rehearsal space and equipment management.
When music faculty noticed these issues, they gave it their all to remedy them.
“We have what I call public school teacher energy,” Lincoln-DeCusatis said. “We don’t mind getting our hands dirty, moving instruments, showing up for extra events or cleaning the roach slime out of the back closet in the heat.”
Lincoln-DeCusatis was the one who made sure the student musicians had meal vouchers during commencement week. He advocates for the Pep Band in athletics and works with the president of the Pep Band to ask the smaller logistical questions.
“Something as complicated and public-facing as Pep Band needs some extra attention,” said Lincoln-DeCusatis.
Sam Daniels, FCRH ’26, president of Pep Band, spoke about the help from the Fordham art history and music department.
“Yes, I feel absolutely supported by them,” Daniels said.
Still, while Fordham’s interest and investment in music has been increasing, students and faculty believe that there is still much to improve.
“We need more media coverage,” said Daniels. “I remember going on a tour of the Rose Hill campus the summer before my freshman year. I asked the guide if there was a band. They didn’t know. Still, nobody knows.”
He went on to explain that because of the lack of coverage, there is a severe lack of musicians in each band.
Daniels hopes that information on the various music opportunities around Fordham will spread. He wants students to know that Fordham also has Fordham Lincoln Center’s Jazz Ensemble, Lincoln Center’s Jazz Orchestra, Rose Hill’s Chamber Jazz Ensemble, Lincoln Center’s Chamber Orchestra, the Afro-Latin Music Ensemble, Fordham University’s Symphony Orchestra at Rose Hill, multiple choirs and a cappella groups between the campuses and plenty of private lessons.
Aside from student-run clubs, Fordham has a music department that hosts many academic classes. The music department funds instruments, sheet music, private lessons and much more.
“We need a centralized music operating budget,” said Lincoln-DeCusatis. He said that funding gets too messy when students and faculty are scrambling to pull together funds from multiple places without a centralized pot. However, he suggests that recent partnerships with OSI, student affairs and athletics have been greatly beneficial because they all have a strong shared interest in improving the student experience in all on-campus musical activities. He hopes a similar collaboration can one day integrate the choral ensembles into the music department as well, since they are currently considered a completely separate entity.
New Athletics Director Charles Guthrie is interested in making the Pep Band look and sound great, according to Lincoln-DeCusatis.
“We are partnering with Athletics to improve the Pep Band experience,” he said “This is an example of how great things can happen for our students when faculty and non-academic parts of the university work together … They are currently brainstorming better ways to support the Pep Band at Athletic events.”
Thanks to various fundraising efforts by Fordham faculty as well as many donors, Fordham was able to open up Father Robert Grimes, S.J. Music Studios at Lincoln Center.
Daniel Ott, chair of the art history and music department, spoke about how such an event will change the trajectory of Fordham Music for the better. “We are getting donors excited about music,” he said. “Our goal is to continue to build on a good foundation we have.”
Due to the excitement of the new studio, Ott believes that Fordham Music is on the rise.
“This is our cornerstone for growth,” Ott said. “It starts here.”
Lincoln-DeCusatis also spoke about a lack of a performing arts infrastructure at Fordham.
“We don’t have a real recital hall or any kind of adequate performing arts venue on campus,” Lincoln-DeCusatis said. “I’ve been working with Dean [Catharine] McGlade on improving Collins. We’ve made some real progress, but there is still a long way to go. My long-term goal is to have a place at Rose Hill that can be a real home base for all of our talented student performers with our practice rooms, rehearsal spaces, concert venue and music classrooms all in one place to serve the entire Fordham community. It’s a very big dream, but I hope to one day see it come true.”