Hoops Band joins Illini basketball team in Boston

Jared Thomas
·2 min read

SAVOY, Ill. (WCIA) — The Fighting Illini men’s basketball team isn’t the only group representing the orange and blue in Boston this week. The Hoops Band will be right alongside them.

It’s a first-of-its-kind trip to this part of the east coast for band director Barry Houser and some of his students.

“We can take 29 band members. We can take one director, we can take 12 cheer, and then we can take one cheer coach,” he said.

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Those are NCAA regulations. Usually, 160 members make up the Hoops Band during the regular basketball season. For these special trips, students are picked based on seniority, attendance, and what instrument they play.

“It’s just a really big deal to be able to represent this university and just be able to go there and be at the games,” senior Andrew Koster said.

Koster was one of the lucky ones selected. He and his trombone are ready to cheer on the orange and blue somewhere new.

“Typically you’re just dealing with, like, you’ve got your home crowd, you’ve got everybody there — but you’re on the road. You don’t have that home experience like you normally do,” Koster said.

He has been in the band since his freshman year, and is ready to play some favorite tunes like “Oskee Wow-Wow” in a new stadium.

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“I’ve never been to Boston before, so it’s just gonna be a great experience to explore that city.”

The band also plans to do some sight-seeing. But ultimately, they have one goal.

“With a win, we’ll stay and we’ll play again on Saturday, and come back on Sunday. So that’s what we’re all hoping for,” Houser said.

It’s not always easy to balance traveling, learning new music, and class work at the same time. In a recent trip to Omaha, Neb., the students joined classes online and got homework done in the hotel lobby, right in the middle of it all.

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