Philly Lights Up in Blue and Gold for Drexel’s March Madness Runs

On the dark and drizzly night before Drexel University’s first 2021 March Madness appearance, prominent buildings and historic landmarks throughout Philadelphia could be clearly seen — as they were lit up in the University’s colors of blue and gold.

The lights on March 18, before the men’s basketball team’s game against Illinois, were part of a shining tribute to the momentous achievements of Drexel’s men’s and women’s basketball teams. Both teams had won the CAA Championships (the first time a university had claimed both titles since Old Dominion University in 2005). Both teams were preparing for their own NCAA Tournament runs (the first since 1996 for the men’s team and since 2009 for the women’s). And both teams had done so against tremendous odds and hardships, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As a way of showing support to its student-athletes, Drexel’s University City Campus highlighted the famous Mario the Magnificent dragon statue on 33^rd and Market streets and the Main Building on 31^st and Chestnut streets in blue and gold lights. Videos of the teams were projected on the side of Nesbitt Hall, across from both the Mario statue and the Daskalakis Athletic Center the teams call home.

The FMC Tower and Cira Centre just off campus and the CHOP Roberts Center for Pediatric Research across the Schuylkill River glittered in Drexel’s colors. In Center City, so did the BNY Mellon Center and Centre Square; the Franklin Institute also unfurled a giant banner with the Drexel Dragon logo. And in South Philadelphia, the Wells Fargo Center was also bright with blue and gold.

Here’s a compilation of all the best photos and a video of Philadelphia wearing blue and gold from that night: