2003-2004
Conductor: Charlie Scaringello
Managers: Yuri Koester, Ben Strauss
Freakout opponent: Clarkson (Won 4-2, scoring 3 goals in the third period to come back from behind)
Gift: Felt Pennant
Road Trips
January 10, 2004: Men's Hockey @ Union
Men's hockey day trip to Union (Won 3-1).
February 13-14, 2004: Men's Hockey @ Harvard & Brown
Overnight to Harvard (Won 3-2) and Brown (Won 4-0). While killing the day in Boston, several members of the band attended the women's hockey team's game against UMass-Boston (Lost 1-3). Much fun was had laughing at their mascot, a phallic light blue lighthouse (the UMass-Boston Beacon). At the Brown game later that evening there were a few disagreements between some members of the band and Charlie. After one final argument (about whether or not the band should try to show up Brown's Band by playing the song that they had just played) Charlie headed home mid-game, leaving the band conductorless. Tim Vanderpoel filled in for the remainder of the game. Following the trip Charlie resigned as conductor, but wasn't replaced since elections were only a month off anyway.
February 28, 2004: Men's Hockey @ Yale
One night stand to Yale (Won 6-0). After arriving at Yale's rink the band walked en masse to Naples Pizza for dinner, a pizzeria a few blocks away. Afterward, the band broke into several small groups to explore the "wonderland" that is New Haven. As the band was congregating back at the bus, several members spotted a turkey roaming around the nearby parking lot and a chase ensued. Vickie filled in as conductor for the trip.
March 12-14, 2004: Men's Hockey @ Dartmouth (ECAC Quarterfinals)
Overnight to Dartmouth (Lost in three games, 3-2, 0-6, and 0-1). This trip coincided with the second weekend of Spring Break, with members of the band returning to Troy early to get on a bus for Hanover, NH. After winning the first game of the series, morale was high amongst the members of the band as they returned to their hotel in nearby White River Junction, VT. On Saturday, some members of the band elected to stay at the hotel while others chose to go explore all that the town of West Lebanon, NH had to offer. After a few hours of wandering around strip malls and eating at fast food restaurants, the members who had gone to West Lebanon returned to the hotel to kill some time before going to the second game. The team's performance in the second game wasn't nearly as inspiring, and the band returned to their hotel disappointed and knowing that they had to spend another day in the vicinity of Hanover. After checking out of the hotel on Sunday, the band returned to West Lebanon to eat and then headed up to Hanover. Since it was still only mid-afternoon, the band elected to kill time by sitting on the bus and watching movies as there was nothing else to do in town. After a few hours of this, some members of the band decided to get out and stretch their legs by exploring Hanover. Highlights of this excursion were Bickford eating two pints of Ben & Jerry's ice cream in 27 minutes and Mike Joseph eating a chocolate dipped banana (there is NOTHING to do in Hanover during the day). Once it finally came time for the game the band went into Thompson Arena, only to be disappointed by the team's 1-0 loss. This made the trip back to Troy a very long one (made even longer by the bad weather which detoured the band down to Springfield, MA to cut west on I-90).
Regular Season
Football
- 11-2 (3-1 UCAA)
- Second place in the UCAA.
- Transit Trophy Game vs. WPI: Won 34-26.
- Dutchman's Shoes Trophy Game vs. Union: Won 33-7.
- Senior Night vs. Hobart: Lost 25-43.
Men's Hockey
- 22-15-2 (13-8-1 ECAC Division 1)
- Tied for fourth place in ECAC Division 1 with 27 points.
- Black Friday vs. Vermont: Won 7-1.
- Pep Band Alumni Night vs. Dartmouth: Tied 1-1 (OT).
- Freakout vs. Clarkson: Won 4-2.
- Senior Night vs. Colgate: Lost 2-3.
Playoffs
Football
- NCAA Tournament
- Round 1 @ Curry: Won 34-20.
- Despite RPI being the lower seed, the game was played on '86 Field because Curry's field wasn't suitable for an NCAA game. Also, the game was RPI's first ever NCAA win.
- Round 2 @ Springfield: Won 40-34.
- The game was the Saturday after Thanksgiving, so the band didn't go.
- Regional final vs. Ithaca: Won 21-16.
- The Blizzard Bowl. The band was reduced to drums and vocal cheers due to the blizzard conditions in which the game was played. From loading party on it was snowing heavily, so much so that everyone was wondering if the Union Van could even make the short trip up Sage Ave. Everyone warmed up before the game on the JEC walkway (as much as they could), and when Charlie started The Star Spangled Banner only half of the band came in initially - reeds were frozen and brass instruments weren't speaking. After this Charlie made the decision to put all instruments except for drums away, as it would have been useless to keep them out. Over a foot of snow fell between the start and end of the game, with visibility getting so bad that you couldn't even see '86 Field from the JEC walkway. During those white-outs some band members went inside the JEC where someone had WRPI on the radio, and even the announcers couldn't tell what was happening in the game. Although the conditions were terrible, the atmosphere was still appropriately raucous for a playoff matchup. It was so cold that some members of the band had to stay inside for large parts of the game because they were in the early stages of hypothermia. Prior to the game and during halftime the grounds crew had to bring out a "field zamboni" to clear snow from the yardage markers on the field. This was also the only football game RPI has played in the month of December.
- National semifinal @ St. John's (MN): Lost 10-38.
- The game was played in Minnesota during finals week, so the band didn't go.
- Round 1 @ Curry: Won 34-20.
Men's Hockey
- ECAC Tournament
Other
- Finally got a new supply of rugby shirts at the beginning of the school year (only two years and one court battle later than anticipated).
- Played at the American Heart Walk on September 20.
- Played at the Run to Remember on September 27.
- Played at a cross country meet hosted by the RPI Cross Country teams in Saratoga Springs on November 8.
- Played at an RPI basketball doubleheader (a women's game followed by a men's game) on January 17. This was in exchange for having received free hot chocolate at one of the cold football games while the basketball teams were working concessions.
- Played at Accepted Students Day on April 3.
- Played at the CROP Walk on May 2.