Through the ages with "The Heart of the Bulldog Spirit"

Through the ages with "The Heart of the Bulldog Spirit" A Timeline of the University of Georgia Redcoat Marching Band

Saturdays in Athens can be a blur of red and black as a wave of fans descends on Athens and across campus. The minds and senses of Bulldogs streaming into the stadium are united when the Redcoat Marching Band swarms the field.

After leading fans through the classic G-E-O-R-G-I-A cheer and playing melodies that have floated through the heads of fans since last week, a lone trumpeter takes the southwest corner of the stadium, and thousands proclaim the “two simple words that express the sentiments of the entire Bulldog Nation.”

At the core of many Georgia gameday traditions is the Redcoat Marching Band.

Deemed “the heart of the Bulldog spirit” by former football head coach Vince Dooley, the Redcoats own over a century of traditions that have had a sizable impact on the University of Georgia.

Image: a 1957 drum major

1905: A small machine in red and black

The Georgia Marching Band formed in 1905 with just over 20 military cadets. As a branch of UGA’s military sciences, the band performed at military events. The band made its civilian debut at the 1906 baseball game against Clemson.

Early 1900s: Glory, glory to old Georgia!

Hugh Hodgson, the namesake of UGA’s Hugh Hodgson School of Music, graduated from UGA in 1915.

Appointed as the school’s first music professor in 1928, Hodgson’s legacy extends beyond education: he also created an early arrangement of “Glory,” the rally song that echoes throughout Sanford Stadium when the Bulldogs take the field.

1955: The Dancz era begins

After two quiet decades for the band, Roger Dancz became director of the Georgia Marching Band after playing with the Third Army band at Fort McPherson in Atlanta. Twenty-five band members attended his first rehearsal. When he retired in 1991, the band included over 300 members.

1959: More than just music

Shortly after Roger arrived, Phyllis Dancz, Roger’s wife, became the director of the band’s auxiliary units. Phyllis created a dance line she named the Georgettes to accompany the band during pregame and halftime shows. She later added the Bulldog Banners, now known as the Georgia Flag Line. Phyllis choreographed the band’s shows, and Roger wrote the music.

The Georgettes in 1957 | Roger and Phyllis Dancz at a UGA football game | The Georgettes in 2018

1950s to 1971: The Redcoats were coming

Early in the Dancz era, the Georgia Marching Band informally became the Dixie Redcoat Marching Band, signifying the band’s spirited attire.

In 1971, the band officially became the University of Georgia Redcoat Marching Band, as it is known today. “We have been in the process of changing the name for the past couple of years,” Roger Dancz told The Red & Black at the time. “We’re changing the name so that it more closely associates with the University of Georgia.”

Image: An excerpt from a 1971 issue of The New York Times

1970s: Stealing the show

Images of the Redcoat Band from the 1970s

The 1970s halftime shows included a performance from James Brown, the “Godfather of Soul” raised in Augusta, Georgia. Accompanied by the Redcoats, Brown sang “I Got You (I Feel Good)” while displaying his signature dancing from an on-field stage.

In 1978, the Redcoats did what no band had done before: hosted a wedding ceremony during the halftime show. As the couple recited their vows, the Redcoats played The Wedding March and the Crown Imperial, written for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth.

After the groom kissed the bride, they ascended a larger-than-life replica of a wedding cake, where they waved to fans in Sanford Stadium.

“I think it was probably one of the biggest challenges we’ve had in the band yet,” said band director Gary Teske in an interview with Atlanta news station WAGA. “It’s so difficult because we wanted to make the ceremony interesting visually and musically and at the same time observing rules of etiquette and making it as tasteful as we could.”

1977: The Redcoats take Pennsylvania Avenue

The Redcoats marched in the inaugural parade of Georgia-grown President Jimmy Carter. Also in the parade was a giant peanut, recognizing Carter’s hometown of Plains, Georgia.

Homecoming parade images from 1991 and 2003

1987 to 2000: A tradition of 14 notes

In 1987, Redcoat saxophonist Jeff Simmons arranged the upbeat rally song “Glory” as a slow, dramatic ballad known as “Battle Hymn.” In 2000, the arrangement became part of the pregame show, including a trumpet solo performed from the southwest corner of the stadium.

The performance takes place alongside a video montage of notable UGA football moments, narrated by the “voice of the Bulldogs,” Larry Munson, who broadcasted play-by-play coverage of Georgia football and basketball games from 1966 to 2008. As the video ends and the Redcoats swell to the climax of the song, the pointing fans erupt into a united, "Go Dawgs!"

2000: Part of "the American way"

The Redcoat Band received the Sudler Trophy from the John Phillip Sousa Foundation. The award is given to “identify and recognize collegiate marching bands of particular excellence that have made outstanding contributions to the American way of life.” The Redcoats were the first band of the Southeastern Conference to receive the award.

2015: Lighting up Sanford

Before the football season’s final home game against Georgia Southern, a bright idea from several Redcoats took the Dawg Nation by storm. Redcoat Band members promoted the idea of waving cell phone flashlights during the band’s fourth-quarter performance of “Krypton.”

Now accompanied by Sanford’s red LED lights debuted in 2019, Light Up Sanford has become a gameday tradition.

These images are from the 2019 matchup against the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

2019: Leadership with creative direction

Brett Bawcum, former Redcoat and assistant director, became the Director of Athletic Bands at UGA. Prior to earning this position, Bawcum helped develop the Dawg Walk, designed the “Larry Munson Battle Hymn” with Jeff Simmons’ arrangement of “Glory” and first included a formation of The Arch in a Redcoats show.

“I firmly believe this: For every person who comes to UGA, there is a place on campus where they can fit in meaningfully, which is really important at a very large university. I was really lucky to find mine three weeks before my freshman year. Whether or not I will be able to leave it better than I found it, I have been rewarded for the attempt far more than anyone has a right to expect.” - Brett Bawcum

Today: The heart beats louder than ever

Today, the Redcoat Marching Band includes over 430 members representing over 140 majors at UGA.

The Redcoats perform at all home football games, select road games (including the Georgia-Florida game in Jacksonville, Florida) and bowl and post-season games.

“Tradition is an area where I think the band has been very influential. From the Dawg Walk, through the lone trumpeter, the Chant [the Redcoats’ cheer beginning with, “What’s that coming down the track?”], and now including Light Up Sanford, the band has been part of creating several rituals that set UGA apart from others. As proud as I am of that, absolutely none of it matters unless the rest of the campus is receptive, supportive, and non-territorial about how traditions emerge and develop. This is only fun if we all do it together. We’re really lucky to be at a place where that happens consistently.” - Brett Bawcum

Images courtesy of UGA's Division of Marketing and Communications and UGA Bands.

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