Music thumped from giant speakers as students watched ESPN on a wide-screen television and chatted animatedly about how their basketball team pulled off the biggest upset of the NCAA tournament's first day.

``We're trying to put ourselves on the map nationwide, and we did that last night,'' said Michelle Nance, a 22-year-old senior from Atlanta who wore a sign across her chest reading 58-57 - the score of Hampton's victory over Iowa State on Thursday.

Hampton has never been known as a basketball powerhouse. Until a few years ago, the small, historically black private college didn't even play in Division I.

Now, the Pirates are the talk of the tournament. They are only the fourth No. 15 seed to beat a No. 2, and they did it during the team's first NCAA tournament appearance.

School spokeswoman Yuri Rodgers spent a busy day fielding phone calls and reading e-mails from ecstatic alumni and even from fans in Iowa, who said they were impressed with Hampton's band.

``They think the band won the game. The band got the whole crowd cheering for Hampton,'' Rodgers said.

Some students and faculty members were miffed that ``Today'' show anchors did not seem to know where Hampton was when they talked about the game on Friday's program.

``We're going to send Katie Couric some Hampton paraphernalia and T-shirts so she'll always know where Hampton is,'' Rodgers said.

For the record, Hampton is a picturesque, 200-acre campus on the banks of the Hampton River in southeastern Virginia. It has about 5,700 students and a hint of basketball pedigree: former NBA player Rick Mahorn played there.

Still, the school didn't play in Division I until 1995. This year, Hampton was the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champion.

Sophomore Steve Beale, 21, of Silver Spring, Md., watched Thursday's game in his dorm room, then watched the campus explode with joy.

``If you stood in the hall, you could feel the whole building shaking,'' Beale said. ``People went crazy. People were running around the parking lot. The whole campus turned into a party.''

The school quickly planned a pep rally for Friday night and students were invited to gather at the gym Saturday to watch on TV as the Pirates play their Georgetown.

The win wasn't just about basketball but about school pride, said Brandon Jones, 20, a junior from Wilmington, Del.

``Even if they get blown out in their next game, they still will come home champions,'' Jones said. Then he added: ``They WILL beat Georgetown.''

On the Net:

http://www.hamptonu.edu