During Syracuse University basketball season, players aren’t the only ones looking to score points.

On the sidelines amid the fans at the men’s and women’s basketball games, members of the pep band, also known as the Sour Sitrus Society, work to earn points on their reputation by attending games throughout the season. Their prize is the prestige of attending the NCAA Tournament – the biggest event in college basketball – if and when the team qualifies.

Greg Szklany, chairman of the Sour Sitrus Society and a senior sport management major, is preparing to leave for Memphis, Tenn., on Friday morning for SU’s Sweet 16 game against Oklahoma. Szklany and company will be sharing an airplane with the men’s basketball team.

Szklany has traveled to the Big East tournament three times before, but said that this might be the most exciting season yet. Syracuse has not been to the NCAA Tournament since 2006.

‘My best moment with Sitrus had to be the six-overtime game with UConn,’ Szklany said. ‘It was one of the most amazing games of my life.’

The Sour Sitrus Society is a student-run group comprised of approximately 160 students who play at the basketball games and other non-sports events. Szklany said the events range from Make-a-Wish foundation luncheons to gigs for McLane Trucking Company.

Students are chosen to play at certain games through a point system, which is organized by Sitrus secretary and junior marketing and public relations major Kevin Leonardi. Points are handed out to musicians who play at the women’s basketball games, go to rehearsals and participate in extracurricular events.

These points also decide who gets to travel with the men’s basketball team and the Spirit Squad (comprised of the cheerleaders, the dance team and Otto the Orange) to the Big East and NCAA tournaments.

‘Basically, the more stuff you go to and the stuff you do with Sitrus adds to the amount of points that you have,’ said Leonardi. He also said that picking students to play at the men’s games is ‘based on a combination of points, seniority and a rotation system of people who haven’t gone through.’

Sitrus members start off with a specific amount of points based on the amount of years they have been in the pep band.

‘Seniority plays into Sitrus a lot,’ Szklany said. ‘The fourth-year players start off with nine points, third-years with six, second-years with three and first-years start with zero. We won’t give out 9 points to a senior who is just starting the band.’

This selection starts with an audition process where candidates play the school fight song for a panel of judges, made up of Sitrus officers. This includes the chairman, the secretary, the treasurer and the two directors who conduct the band at games. After the first song, players are asked to perform several other selections to test their stamina and musical prowess.

Szklany said that officers are looking for the student’s ‘strength of playing’ as well as the amount of points accumulated over the year and the candidate’s availability. In the course of a day, the panel picks 30 students to travel to the Big East. If the basketball team gets into the NCAA Tournament, the travel band is lowered to 25 musicians.

Being a part of the pep band is not only playing, but also showing school spirit, Leonardi explained.

‘We’re here because we’re fans. Granted, we’re here to play, but we’re there as fans too,’ Szklany said. ‘We’re part of (the audience) and we’re just adding to that atmosphere. We’re just putting Syracuse out there as a great team.’

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Published on March 25, 2009 at 12:00 pm