FORT LAUDERDALE | As the Fighting Irish football players prepared for their championship game, members of the University of Notre Dame�s marching band also prepared for their �big show� at halftime. And they did so, at least on Saturday, on the grounds of Cardinal Gibbons High School in Fort Lauderdale.

The archdiocesan high school was one of three locations where the university�s band prepared for their performance at the BCS national championship game, which pits undefeated Notre Dame against the University of Alabama�s Crimson Tide. Kickoff is at 8:30 p.m. tonight at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens.

"I'm incredibly proud to have them here. I have tried to instill many of the values that I learned at Notre Dame, particularly the importance of family, into what we do here at Cardinal Gibbons,� said Paul D. Ott, Cardinal Gibbons� principal and a Notre Dame alumnus. �We are just thrilled to be their host today."

The other two sites where the band practiced were another archdiocesan high school, St. Thomas Aquinas in Fort Lauderdale, and Nova Southeastern University. Alabama�s football team, meanwhile, practiced on the grounds of Barry University in Miami Shores.

Gibbons was chosen not only because of its proximity to where the Notre Dame band was staying but its history of sending students to South Bend, Ind.

"We have a number of Cardinal Gibbons alumni that have not only gone through the band program but have gone on to the priesthood and the faculty and staff at Notre Dame," said Ken Dye, Notre Dame�s band director.

Alex Romeu is one of those students, a Gibbons alumnus who is currently a junior at Notre Dame and plays the cymbals in the marching band.

"I was hoping when I heard that we were coming to the championship that we would come practice at Gibbons,� said Romeu. �Then when I saw the sheet that said we would practice at Gibbons I was like, �Awesome!� We get to come back to my old high school...It's really good to just come back here. It's a really fun time and I'm really glad to be a part of it."  

Practicing in front of a crowd helps motivate the band members and get them excited for their big performance.

"We also are the musical ambassadors of our school where we are able to entertain people that can't necessarily get close to the football team or even get to the game,� said Dye. �We are able to share our music of Notre Dame with all the people and the fans that came over here."

According to the band�s website, �the University of Notre Dame Band is the oldest college band (in continuous existence) in the United States and was honored as such by being declared a �Landmark of American Music� by the National Music Council, the Indiana Music Educators Association and Exxon Corporation during the 1976 U.S. Bicentennial.�