Jay Wright says Villanova’s crying piccolo girl inspired their national title run in 2016

CBS Sports caught up with Roxanne Chalifoux 10 years after going viral during Villanova’s 2015 loss to NC State in the Round of 32.

Villanova won the 2016 National Championship at NRG Stadium in Houston, TX. Jay Wright credited Roxanne Chalifoux, otherwise known as the crying piccolo girl, for their title run.Read more

by Ariel Simpson

Published March 21, 2025, 6:51 p.m. ET

It’s been 10 years since Roxanne Chalifoux — also known as the Villanova crying piccolo girl — went viral after the top-seeded Villanova Wildcats were upset by North Carolina State, missing out on the Sweet 16 in the 2015 NCAA tournament. Chalifoux represented every Villanova fan watching the game as she continued to play her piccolo through her tears.

The moment became such an iconic meme that Chalifoux ended up playing alongside The Roots on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. Fast-forward to 10 years later and the Villanova crying piccolo girl is still a topic of discussion.

In a recent video where CBS Sports caught up with Chalifoux, legendary Villanova coach Jay Wright credits that moment for sparking the team’s 2016 national championship run.

“Hey Roxanne, Jay Wright here,” Wright said. “Not many people know this but I credit you exclusively for us winning the 2016 national championship. When I saw you crying but still playing your piccolo, I knew we couldn’t let that happen again. The ‘Nova nation loves you. Go’ ‘Cats.”

The season after Chalifoux’s face became immortalized on a national level, Villanova put on a spectacular run — winning the Big East regular season title, and earning a bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 2 seed. They beat No. 1 seed North Carolina for the school’s second national title on Kris Jenkins’ buzzer beating three.

“I can’t believe it’s been 10 years since that day happened,” Chalifoux said. “But it has certainly been a day that has followed me from everyday forward. I cannot say it was ever my intention to become a famous piccolo player in any regard. But I’ll take it.”

Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith reacted to the video after it aired.

“There’s so many people that — they don’t know that they motivate you,” Smith said. “I know that he was exaggerating to a point about the reason they won the national championship. However, there are people that come to games — or that do things at games — that the team in the locker room talk about. That no one else would even know. So, I know they talked about the piccolo girl and I know that was part of it.

“There’s always someone in the stands that we point out and we talk about and she’s probably one of them.”