Complex sentence: By an odd coincidence, the music director, Phil Hewett, happened to have the "Wabash Cannonball" in his briefcase the night of the fire and was the only music available for the band to play in a game against Syracuse a few nights later.
Split into simpler sentences: By an odd coincidence, the music director, Phil Hewett, happened to have the "Wabash Cannonball" in his briefcase the night of the fire. This was the only music available for the band to play in a game against Syracuse a few nights later.