Cornell University Big Red Pep Band The Cornell University Big Red Pep Band ( BRPB ) provides musical entertainment for Cornell Big Red hockey games at Lynah Rink . Operations . Commonly in attendance at most home men ' s hockey , basketball , and lacrosse games , the BRPB attends many other Cornell University sporting events , including men ' s " sprint " football , soccer , wrestling , and crew ; women ' s field hockey , soccer , lacrosse , volleyball , and basketball ; and even away men ' s varsity football games that the marching band does not attend . For attending non - hockey events , band members accrue " priority points , " which are used to rationalize distribution of the scarce ( 51 ) supply of free hockey tickets . The band strives to attend as many away hockey games as possible , but financial considerations usually limit road trips during the regular season to Harvard and another travel pairing , for example Clarkson - St . Lawrence . ( From 1993 to 1997 , the band attended at least one away game in each ECAC rink . ) At men ' s hockey games , the band instrumentation includes flutes , clarinets , saxophones , horns , trumpets , trombones , tubas , and percussion . ( THE BRPB eschews electronic amplification . ) The band does not " lead " cheers but instead interacts freely with the Lynah Faithful . Known for clever chants intended to distract opposing goalies , the BRPB has taken on the nickname " Hooligans with Horns , " bestowed by the Burlington Free Press in March of 1996 : Cornell ' s 5 - 4 , first - round loss to Lake Superior on Friday night promptly ended the Big Red ' s tournament and , much to the approval of opposing goaltenders , sent the Big Red Band packing , too . The rowdy group spends more time with taunts than it does with tunes , chastising goalies with an " It ' s all your fault " chant after Cornell goals and dismissing rival institutions as " safety schools . " Last week at the ECAC Championships at Lake Placid , Cornell ' s hooligans with horns teased Vermont with an " Overrated " call - and the Big Red wasn ' t even playing the Catamounts . Tough bunch . - - Burlington Free Press ; March 24th , 1996 History of the Pep Band . Before 1985 , the BRPB was an official subset of the Cornell University Big Red Marching Band ( BRMB ) . Members elected one conductor for a full - year term . Fall season conducting duties were shared between an elected pep band conductor and the drum major of the marching band , and spring season duties were , traditionally , shared between the pep band conductor and the outgoing marching band head manager . Non - marching band members were welcome but not actively recruited . In November 1985 , the BRMB voted to create a separately organized pep band . Bob Pittman , the first head manager of the separate organization , and Scott Pesner , the first treasurer , worked with Georgian Leonard , the marching band ' s athletics liason , to secure funding for the new group . Men ' s hockey , lacrosse , and basketball , which became the triumverate of traditionally attended sports , all did well during that first year , with hockey winning its seventh ECAC championship and lacrosse advancing to the national final . Since those early days , the fortunes of the pep band have followed the fortunes of the teams that it follows . Whether for the ECAC semi - and finals or a mid - season non - conference game , the band travels at the drop of a hat . Since 1985 , the band has followed the Big Red to Boston for the 1986 , 1989 , 1990 , 1991 , and 1992 ECAC tournaments ; to Lake Placid for the 1996 , 1997 , 2000 , 2001 , and 2002 ECAC tournaments ; to Albany for the 1996 NCAA Tournament and the 2003 and 2005 ECAC tournaments ; to Grand Rapids , MI for the 1997 NCAA Tournament ; to Worcester , MA for the 2002 NCAA Tournament ; to Providence for the 2003 NCAA Tournament ; to Buffalo for the 2003 Frozen Four ; and , most recently , to Minneapolis for the 2005 NCAA Tournament . Links . Cornell University Big Red Pep Band ( official site , under revision )