The most unpredictable Lehigh-Lafayette rivalry week tradition is Eco-Flame. The Marching 97, Lehigh’s student marching band, enters classrooms on the Thursday before the game and briefly interrupts classes to play spirit tunes.
These surprise appearances trace back to the 1970s when economics professor Rich Aaronson invited the Marching 97 to play in his ECO 001 class. In the weeks before spirit week, students can fill out a form to request the band come to their classroom.
Marco Clark '25, the band’s current manager, said the tradition is a way to get people excited for the game and is something band members look forward to all semester.
“We get to go around into all the different classrooms and sort of break in and play the school fight songs for the classes, to help foster greater spirit for the school,” Clark said. “It's a long day, but it's a really fun event.”
The band selects classes to Eco-Flame, usually selecting larger classrooms to involve more people. The drum major plans out the day’s route, at locations across campus throughout the day.
They chose from a rotation of four songs, but every performance ends with Lehigh’s fight song.
Clark said the tradition caught his interest when he toured during high school and is a tradition that can’t be found at other schools.
“It's a really unique thing that we don't see anywhere else but here,” he said.
The Marching 97 will perform a pre-game and halftime show at the Lehigh-Lafayette game along with pep songs and cheers throughout the game in the student section.