DAC Pack Traditions to Learn as Basketball Season Starts

The DAC Pack travels to the CAA tournament annually. Photo courtesy of Zoë Simmons. 

Need a dose of school spirit? Want to know the best ways to heckle another team, or what colors you should paint your face for Homecoming? Drexel University’s DAC Pack has you covered on traditions and more — just in time for basketball season.

The DAC Pack, named for the University’s Daskalakis Athletic Center, is arguably the authority on Drexel Athletics traditions; it’s the student group that leads the DAC in school spirit during basketball games and brings good vibes to other sporting events, too. It was first known as the DU Basketball Club and has grown from 15 students to more than 40 at games, according to Drexel Athletics. They sit in the south bleachers, wear the same T-shirts and try to make life fun for Dragons and difficult for the opposing team.

“We try to bring school spirit back,” current President Zoë Simmons, sport business ’25, said. “You never know where you're going to meet your next friend and taking that little leap of faith is a good thing for people, and basketball is a good place to do that.”

Simmons got involved in the DAC Pack during her second year, back when the DAC still had limited capacity due to the pandemic. She’s met many of her best friends there and encourages other students to stop by for a game, just to try to build community. Vice President Paulie Loscalzo, sport business ’26, said everyone is welcome in the DAC Pack — and if you show up, you just might get a free T-shirt, which they hand out “like candy,” he said. There’s no formal process to join and you don’t have to register anywhere or pay fees, but you can find them on DragonLink or Instagram and keep up with events that way.

“We always say everyone’s already in the DAC Pack, they just don’t know it yet,” Loscalzo said. “If you’re there to have a good time and yell and cheer, congrats, you’re in the DAC Pack.”

Last year, the women’s basketball team won the 2024 CAA tournament and booked their ticket to the first round of the NCAA’s March Madness, so follow along to see if they can recapture the magic this year. Their season kicks off on Nov. 7 at the DAC, and there will be a ring ceremony.

The men’s team already started their season on Nov. 4, but you have another chance to see them at the DAC on Nov. 9 against Colgate University. Both teams will play in the Big 5 (a tournament that pits six Philadelphia-area colleges against each other, culminating in a daylong tournament at the Wells Fargo Center in December) this year, so tune in for some intercity basketball bragging rights.

Happy basketball-ing, Dragons.

Bluau brings a tropical feel to Philly in January. Photo courtesy of Zoë Simmons. 

Traditions:

Bluau/Homecoming

If you haven’t been to Bluau or Homecoming as a Dragon yet, put it on your calendar. In January, Drexel’s Homecoming tradition kicks off with the Bluau game and ends with a final bash as the men’s team plays rival CAA team Delaware University. There are other fun, school-spirited events going on during the week, like a bonfire and scavenger hunt, but for the DAC Pack, the highlights are the games.

For Bluau, students dress up in their most luau-themed tropical gear in the dead of January to cheer on the team. Pull out your loudest Hawaiian shirt or Drexel gear (or both) and make the DAC a tropical paradise. It’s a warm kickoff to the start of Homecoming festivities before the big game against rival University of Delaware later in the week.

Simmons remembers two years ago during the Homecoming game when the two teams played a close game that went to overtime. The DAC was packed with other athletes, students and alumni, and the energy was off the charts.

“Everybody had stayed until the end and when it went to overtime, nobody left, and then we won and it was so good,” Simmons said. “Having that kind of experience where you don’t know what’s going to happen beyond the regular game time was so exciting, and other students really liked it, too.”

Chants

When everyone starts chanting, here’s what you can do. When it comes to chants, Drexel has some of the classics, like wiggling your fingers when a Dragon is gearing up for a free throw (to give them a magic boost) or calling “Air-ball, air-ball" when an opposing player heaves up, well, an air-ball. The DAC Pack, along with the dance and cheer teams, also stomps, claps and yells “DU!” when a Dragon makes a free throw. And of course, don’t forget to learn Drexel’s Fight Song.

Sometimes, especially with rival teams in Drexel’s conference, the chanting gets a little more pointed. Simmons remembers a player from an opposing team who was tall — even for a basketball player — and shot the basketball like he was heaving a boulder.

“We started heckling him, saying, ‘Hey Beanstalk, where’s Jack?’ and that kind of thing,” Simmons said. “Then when they played Drexel again, he was like, ‘I’m going to show you guys,’ and he went three for 16. We really got in his head. Stuff like that is such a fun memory.”

There are inflatable dragon costumes that come out for some games. Mario, is that you? Photo courtesy of Zoë Simmons. 

Props and costumes

Get your blue and gold face paint (everyone has that, right?) ready for the season. Loscalzo said there aren’t painted faces at every single game, but it’s a fun tradition that comes out more at the first home game of the year, Homecoming, Bluau and the Big 5 games. Speaking of Homecoming: Because it’s played against Delaware, there’s a chicken suit that comes out to get a rise out of the Blue Chickens... er, Blue Hens.

The DAC Pack breaks out the classics, like cardboard cutouts of the coaches and players, that students hold in the bleachers, plus referee jerseys and wigs, of course. And what would a big game at Drexel be without inflatable dragon costumes, naturally?

Big 5

It might be a newer tradition, because Drexel only joined the Big 5 tournament on the men’s side last year (this will be the first year the women’s team will play in the Big 5), but it’s already off to a good start. Last year, no one expected the men’s team to beat Villanova University in the fifth-place game of the inaugural Big 5 Classic.

“Last year, it almost took us by surprise,” Loscalzo said. “Usually the DAC Pack are the first ones there and we get things set up, but last year, everyone was there so early. It was beyond packed and the energy was crazy.”

This year, they’re planning to be more prepared, coordinating transportation to the game at Temple University (on Nov. 12) and other Big 5 games, as well as the final jam-packed tournament at the Wells Fargo Center.

“We’ll be giving stuff away, we will have a tailgate,” Loscalzo said. “It’s going to be awesome.”

Traveling for the CAA

The DAC Pack makes an annual trip down to Washington, D.C. for the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) tournament in March, piling onto buses to make the journey. In the past, only the men’s tournament has been held in D.C., but now the women’s tournament is held there, too.

Usually it’s a day trip, but there’s plenty of time to bond on a bus and get hype to roar for the Dragons.

“It brings people together, because you’re hanging out on a bus all day and talking to people,” Simmons said. “We get to the game too early sometimes, before we’re allowed in, so we have to hang out with each other. It makes people want to be part of more things in the DAC Pack.”