HAMILTON, NY - Not the Colgate University Pep Band, but an incredible simulation.

When the Colgate University’men’s basketball team played at the NCAA March Madness Tournament in Columbus, OH last Friday, their pep band wasn’t invited.

Instead, another student band played in their place, wearing Colgate shirts and playing the university’s fight song and alma mater.

How did Colgate pep band members find out? They were watching the game, cheering on their team, when they suddenly saw the “ringer” band playing on national television.

"It’s insulting,'' said Pep band member Kyle Rhodehouse, "and it’s embarrassing. There’s a big difference between not wanting a band there at the tournament - and not wanting Colgate’s band there. We got slapped in the face.”

Rhodehouse, who plays trumpet and was a past band conductor, said the members were hurt and upset when the school replaced them at the NCAA tournament without their knowledge and never even inviting them.

Pep band members said they would have loved the chance to play at the tournament, where Colgate played Tennessee in Columbus, Ohio. And it was historic: It was Colgate’s first appearance in the tournament since 1996.

"It was disappointing,'' said Ryan Rios, Pep band member.

Ohio State University band members “filled in” for Colgate students, according to tweets by the Ohio State students.

The 29 OSU band members were given “Go Gate” t-shirts and sheet music for Colgate’s fight song and alma mater, students said. OSU band members were told Colgate didn’t have a band, Rhodehouse said.

Juliana Smith, senior associate athletics director and chief of staff for Colgate athletics, said in a statment hat “renting bands is not an uncommon practice for schools of our size, and we did so last year when the women’s hockey team traveled to the national championship.”

An NCAA spokesman confirmed colleges have rented bands in the past, but he couldn’t say how often that happens.

Smith said the Colgate pep band was too small for a nationally televised event.

’“We are eager to work toward having a Colgate pep band that is large, ever-present, enthusiastic, and a weekly proud force that helps us create an incredible game day atmosphere throughout the year at Colgate,” she said in a statement.

“While we have very much appreciated the pep band’s presence at various events this year, unlike many of the larger schools at the tournament, our group is currently too small to support a performance on a scale that is required for a nationally televised event.”

A screenshot from the Colgate Maroon-News showing Ohio State University band members dressed in Colgate shirts as they performed at the NCAA tournament in Ohio, where Colgate played Tennessee.

Smith said the cheer squad was invited to the tournament in recognition "of their commitment to the Raider teams, demonstrated through their participation in every home game this year besides university breaks, and for work they have undertaken this year to strengthen their routines.

"We would love to get to the place with Colgate’s pep band where we can count on traveling our own band in the future. " she said. "It will take some hard work on both our parts, but we can get there if we all commit to it. "

Smith said the decision to hire a band wasn’t clearly communicated to the pep band.

Rhodehouse said Colgate’s band has 20 members, and the maximum a band can have at NCAA is 29. Colgate could have invited the university’s actual band and then hired nine more players if they needed a larger presence.

Smith, contacted by phone, declined further comment. She would not say how much the OSU band was paid.

Once the Colgate band members realized what had happened, social media exploded.

I got some good air time today on CBS, playing for the Colgate vs Tennessee March Madness game! Colgate doesn't have a basketball band to send on tournament trips, so they asked the Ohio State band to help out and cheer on their team for them! It was a great game! #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/j6ZZKBjGEB — Wesley Roberts (@wesleyjroberts) March 22, 2019

Students who criticized Colgate’s decision on an Instagram account saw the initial post and their comments deleted, Rhodehouse said.

Smith said she’s aware of that, and said action is being taken to "bolster our communication with the band, and to remind staff of our commitment to open dialogue on our social media channels.

Rhodehouse and other band members said they aren’t upset at Ohio State’s band - they did what they were asked to do and performed very well. But they said they would have liked the chance to represent their own school instead.

"I’m just shocked that such an elite institution that prides itself on having such quality students would turn their back this way on their students,'' Rhodehouse said. "Yes, we are a small student-run group, but Colgate is a small school.

"We find the reaction across campus is that people are disgusted this happened,'' he said.

Pep band member Ryan Rios said he was watching the game on TV and noticed another band wearing Colgate T-shirts.

"We were upset,'' he said. “We didn’t know anything about it.”