The Villanova Band travels every year for playoff basketball games, and takes a week long trip every fall semester known as Fall Tour. On Fall Tour the band travels to some destination, domestic or international, and performs at various venues in the area. These are some of the trips the band has taken over the years:
2012-2013
This year’s Fall Tour took the band to sunny Texas! We had the pleasure of performing for various organizations in the Houston, San Antonio, and Galveston areas, including at the Air Force Village in San Antonio, TX, among other places. We also had the opportunity to visit the Alamo and the Johnson Space Center during our stay in the heart of Houston.
The band also attended the Big East Tournament in Manhattan and the NCAA Tournament in Kansas City, MO to support the Villanova Men’s Basketball team. We also came out in support of the Women’s Basketball team by cheering for them in the Women’s NCAA Tournament in Stanford, CA.
2011-2012
In 2011, Fall Tour featured us traveling to the Windy City of Chicago! This trip featured a number of performances including elementary and middle schools around Chicago and Michigan City, Indiana. In addition, we performed at two Villlanova Alumni associated schools: a private boarding school where a Villanova alumni is headmaster and St. Rita’s High school, where a Villanova and Band Alumni is the Superintendent! We also performed for the housing community we were staying at. While there we took a dip in Lake Michigan, and traveled around Chicago seeing Wrigley Field, the Willis Tower and more!
2010-2011
This Fall Tour, the Band went international! We traveled way up north to spend a week in Montreal, Canada. Staying in a hotel in the heart of Montreal, we traveled around the city to bring the Villanova Spirit to elementary and Middle School children at various Catholic Schools in the city. During our stay, we took a bus tour of the city, sampled the local cuisine, spent the day at Six Flags La Ronde and traversed the local parks to get a birds eye view of the city. It was great to see and spend time with our neighbors in the north and to play for everyone!
2009-2010
For the Fall of 2009, the Band traveled to the bustling city of Charleston, South Carolina! After a long bus ride down, we stayed the week in houses along the beautiful beaches of South Carolina. During the week, we did five shows including elementary schools, middle schools and nursing homes. We saw the wonderful city of Charleston and spent lots of time on the beach, walking the in the city and performing! We also stopped by Fort Sumter and performed on the USS Yorktown for the morning visitors. Returning home we stopped at a Civil War Museum to get ready for our next Tour.
2008-2009
In the fall of 2008, the band travelled to the sunny state of Florida. The band took up residence in a town right outside of Orlando, where they remained for the entire week. During their stay, the band spent three days in Universal Studios theme parks, splitting the time between Islands of Adventure, Wet n’ Wild, and Universal Studios. As is tradition the band played various gigs, including trips to a nursing home, two schools, and at City Walk in Universal itself! The band was also able to spend a day at Coco Beach where they swam, soaked in the sun, and some even surfed (or tried, anyway). The week wrapped up with the band dinner, held at WonderWorks, a quirky museum, and the band headed back to Philadelphia excited for next year’s fall tour.
2007-2008
In October of 2007, ninety members of the Villanova University band invaded the beautiful territory of Puerto Rico! Our first stop was Ponce, a small town on the southern coast of the island. Besides making friends with the locals, sampling Spanish tapas, and sunbathing on the sandy beaches, the band performed with the Ponce Community Band in front of an eager audience of locals in the town square. The band also made an appearance at a Ponce Catholic high school where we pumped up the crowd of teens with our popular pep tunes.
The band then moved to the north of the island to the capital city of San Juan. There we enjoyed San Juan’s many beautiful buildings, old forts, and other historical treasures as well as barbeques on the beach. We hiked through North America’s only rain forest, El Yunque, and swam in its refreshing tropical waterfalls. The band also toured the famous Bicardi rum factory and explored the massive underground caves of Rio Camuy. In San Juan, the band teamed up with Villanova admission counselors and provided entertainment at a local high school for a VU admissions presentation. At the end of the week the VU Band returned home with tons of stories and memories of yet another fantastic Fall Tour.
2006-2007
In 2006, the Villanova Band visited Montreal and Quebec City for our annual fall tour. In Montreal, we performed for two elementary schools in some of the poorer areas of the city. We toured to old city of Montreal, the worlds fair grounds, and the St. Peters Oratory on Mont Royal. We stayed in Quebec city for one night, staying in the famous Chateau Frontenac. We visited the old fort, and the old section Quebec City. On the return leg of our trip we stopped in Troy, New York and performed for two Augustinian elementary schools.
2005-2006
The band took a bus trip down to Charleston, South Carolina during Fall Break 2005. We were able to stay in houses within blocks of the beach and had a great time. Stops included sightseeing downtown Charleston and touring the U.S.S. Yorkstown. The band, as usual, performed for serveral schools and nursing homes in the area.
The band supported the men’s basketball team at Madison Square Garden in March for the Big East Championship.
Some members of the band were also lucky enough to be able to follow the men’s basketball team to Minneapolis, MN for the second round of the NCAA tournament. They supported the team in an exciting win against Boston College and a disappointing lost to Florida.
2004-2005
The band went to the Pacific Northwest during Fall Break 2004. The trip included stops in Seattle, Mount St. Helens, and Vancouver, Canada. We were able to do some great sightseeing and perform several concerts for schools in the area.
The band joined the men’s basketball team at Madison Square Garden in New York March 9-12 for the Big East Championship. We were able to see the city during the day and perform at the games at night.
We were also able to support the team in the Men’s NCAA Tournament. We toured Nashville, TN for the first two rounds of the tournament against New Mexico and Florida. We then got to travel to Syracuse, NY for the very close game and unfortunate loss in the Sweet 16 to North Carolina. Congratulations to the men’s team for the outstanding season.
2003-2004
The band traveled to San Juan, Puerto Rico during Fall Break 2003. We were able to sightsee San Juan and Old San Juan, and tour many buildings and attractions. We performed concerts for elementary and high schools of the area.
The Men’s Big East Championship took place, as usual, at Madison Square Garden in New York. The band stayed in New York from March 10-12, 2004 to see the city and perform at the games.
The band spent March 20-23, 2004 in Ames, Iowa for the first and second rounds of the Women’s NCAA tournament. Congratulations to the team for their great season.
The band also travelled to Piscataway, NJ for the men’s NIT game against Rutgers.
2002-2003
The band went to Ireland during Fall Break 2002. The trip included stops in Galway, Dublin, and Waterford. As with all our Fall Tours, we performed several concerts during the trip for school and communities.
The band spent the week of March 9-14, 2003 at Rutgers and Madison Square Garden for the Men’s and Women’s Big East Tournament. Congratulations to the Women’s team on their Big East Championship and breaking the 70-game winning streak of the No.1 UConn Huskies.
The band was in Norman, Oklahoma March 20-26, 2003 for the Women’s NCAA Tournament. While we were there, we toured Oklahoma City which included a stop at the Federal Building Memorial. From March 28-30, 2003, the band continued to follow the team to Knoxville, TN. Congratulations to Villanova’s Women’s Basketball Team for making it to The NCAA Tournament for their 3rd consecutive year, receiving a #2 seed from the selection committee, and making it to the Elite 8.