When thinking about UMBC's athletic program, most students only think of the sports teams and some may even note that we recently added a cheerleading squad. But, not many realize that the RAC is home to a much-less-publicized America East star: the Down and Dirty Dawg Pep Band.

The Down and Dirty Dog Band is the official pep band of UMBC. Started in 1999 by Director of Bands Jari Villanueva, the mission of the band is to support the activities of the Athletic Department and student athletes of UMBC.

The band is comprised of standard band instrumentation, including woodwinds, brass and percussion (field drums and drum set), plus electric bass and guitar. Membership is by audition, and participation is open to all UMBC students. A stipend is also offered for those playing at home games.

The band is a very good musical ensemble, not only playing at an excellent level but bringing great enthusiasm to the music performed. Other band directors are impressed by the band playing and our high level of energy courtside. I am very pleased with the young men and women of the band. They show not only a high interest in the game but also a lot of responsibility, stated Villanueva.

The Dirty Dawg Band is a great band. I doubt there is a better band player for player in America East. Great members, great attitudes and great players. We had a couple of their members play with the BU Band for our game in the MBB tournament and then a few of our members played with the UMBC band the following day. All involved had a blast. A band's success is directly related to its leadership and UMBC has a great leader with Jari Villanueva! said Chris Parks, director of Boston University's pep band.

Provost Arthur Johnson is a big supporter of the group and believes that the pep band is really terrific and brings a lot of life to the arena.

Home-team fans as well as those of rival schools enjoy the band's great energy and talent. The Dirty Dawgs were mentioned in a recent sports article from courant.com, which is rare for a pep band: Maryland-Baltimore County, the surprise winner of the America East tournament over regular season champion Hartford, makes its first NCAA appearance. Its reward: the Retrievers face UConn in the first round at the Civic Center. Bonus for the UConn fans: UMBC's pep band rocks and played to a sparse crowd of 827 at the America East final at Binghamton's Events Center Sunday. There will be more fans to appreciate them this weekend (favorite selection: "Ease on Down the Road" from "The Wiz," where band members dress up like characters from "The Wizard of Oz").

We're the best in the America East. We always get standing ovations, according to Paul Wetzstein, a trombone player in the pep band. I enjoy playing [in the band], Being in the band, it's hard not to make friends. It's all about having fun. To a certain point there is seriousness, but we try to keep it light and fun, added Wetzstein.

Aside from being successful entertainers, the band has also been a good school ambassador. A couple of seasons ago, while waiting through an Albany-Binghamton men's basketball game, which directly preceded a UMBC one, the band noticed the small size of the Albany pep band and decided to help them out by playing with them.

This act did not go unnoticed by others. A die-hard Albany fan witnessed the incident up-close and felt compelled to send an e-mail to President Hrabowski: UAlbany had a very small band presence at the tournament. To my surprise, your band merged with ours, went over our band's arrangements, and played in support of UAlbany throughout our game. I don't have to tell you that you have an outstanding band, and they made our kids sound terrific. We lost the game, but the effort and support your students showed our students and fans was spectacular. I want you to know how much we all appreciated it.

The Albany pep band continues to show their gratitude to the Dirty Dawgs, sometimes even playfully bowing down to them from across the gymnasium when their schools meet in competition.