By Caidan Walker Pilarski
Photo by Caidan Walker Pilarski
Alaska and Boston University face-off during the first of a two game series at the Carlson Center, Friday, Oct. 2, 2026.
Besides chasing the aurora, I spent my first weekend this October at the Carlson Center, cheering on our Nanooks. Besides the very first Blue and Gold scrimmage on campus, I had not been to a UAF hockey game before. I have been a huge hockey fan since my freshman year during my undergrad. Over the past several years, I was a member of the pep band at my college. I was in attendance at many of the games, cheering on our team and playing as loudly as possible. It was an amazing time and they were some of my best memories in college. I was very surprised to see, then, that UAF does not have a pep band. Hockey is supposed to be what we are most passionate about, most proud of and we cannot muster up the support for a band?
First of all, a pep band is not just about hockey games. It is another opportunity for students on campus to come together in shared interest and bond over something quite meaningful. As I said, my pep band in college gave me some of my best memories. I would imagine that many of the students have some capacity for musical talent and would like an opportunity to express themselves. As well, it is an opportunity to amplify school spirit. We could have a band playing during freshman move-in or even have pop-up concerts around campus. They could potentially play at volleyball games as well. At my undergrad, we had a concert in the library every year—how crazy is that? There is so much opportunity for wacky goodness and UAF would certainly benefit from it.
Now, let’s address the hockey games. I’m sure everyone loves the strange remixes of songs that have no business being remixed together, but imagine that as our Nanooks came skating onto the ice, our school song, or any other song of our choosing, was being played by students, for students. Speaking of the students, I asked some about what they thought of having a pep band. Caleb Wraith ‘30 said it would “contribute to the atmosphere.”
Aidan Niedbalski ‘30 said, “it would make it more lively,” and, “it would give people who play instruments [the opportunity] to use their skills.” Isabel Orona ‘28 told me they have a lot of musician friends: “they don’t really get to play outside of going to classes…I think they would really enjoy that.” Chad Wilson, a second-year MFA in Creative Writing student, when prompted about a pep band, responded by saying “We don’t have one? Why don’t we have one?” Excellent question! He also emphasized to me that “it wouldn’t simply be about just the music department, it would attract students who do music on their own.”
I also asked Jericho Williams, a professor in the English department who occasionally attends the hockey games, about his thoughts. “I would say potentially yes. I really like the idea for a couple of reasons.” His first reason was that we have “a really vibrant music department, especially at the undergraduate level.” His second reason was that “the Carlson Center is really big. There is an experiential contrast between seeing the team play at the Carlson Center and seeing the Fairbanks Ice Dogs play at the Big Dipper.” He said it would be “adding to the atmosphere,” which I absolutely agree with.
Go big or go home, right? Well, we can’t really go home if we live in Fairbanks because we’re already home—so let’s go big! Williams made one final, incredibly important point: “I see it as a way to bridge athletics and the arts. The division between arts students and athletes…it’s always fun to see them interact with each other…[it is an] interesting way for them to cross paths.”
Although I cannot make a broad claim about students’ opinions on a pep band based on my survey, I can infer that many more students would find it beneficial to have a pep band. It would strengthen the UAF community and I would urge students to reach out to the administration showing interest in creating a dedicated space on campus for strengthening school spirit with music. Let’s come together, Nanooks, and make some noise!