It’s a crisp autumn day in Sanford Stadium. The Bulldogs are running off the field to the cheers of over 92,000 fans. There’s a hint of electricity in the air as a massive sea of red and black makes their way to the edge of the sideline. Then, out of nowhere, comes the introduction that many Bulldog faithful come to expect every Saturday in Athens….

“Keep your seats, everyone…the REDCOATS are coming!

”Originally started in 1905 as a section of the UGA Military Department, the University of Georgia Redcoat Band has grown in the last 100 years from 20 military cadets to over 350 men and women covering almost every major at the University. The band’s first non-military performance was not at a football game, as many would think, but the 1906 Georgia-Clemson baseball game! For the first twenty five years of its existence, the band members split their time (albeit not evenly) between their studies, their military drill, the band, and the athletic events they were required to play at (including baseball games, which eventually released the band from their duties). It was also during this time that the fight song “Glory Glory to Old Georgia,” composed by former bandsman and future head of the Music Department Hugh Hodgson, made it debut. At a Georgia Tech game in the late 1900s, a reporter for the Atlanta Journal, not knowing the new Georgia fight song, kept constantly complaining about “the incessant playing of ‘John Brown’s Body.’” (While it is interesting to note that the main Georgia fight song is model after “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” that song was actually based on the 1859 song about the abolitionist known for taking over the US arsenal at Harper’s Ferry, Virginia (now West Virginia).

During this time, the band was also a mainstay at the many parades held in the city of Athens, among them the 1915 Woodmen of the World Convention parade held in Athens, and a parade signaling America’s entry into World War I. Throughout the 1920s and 30s, the band, still under the Military Department, expanded modestly in size by allowing non-military musicians to join their ranks, spurred on by the eventual introduction of band scholarships. During this time, the band began to make short trips with the football team if the funds were there. In preparing for a major match-up with Auburn in Columbus, Georgia, the band needed $700 to make the train trip. They raised the funds by instituting a “tag sale” among the students at the school, which was made more successful by the fact that the female students (which only recently arrived at UGA), were able raise the most money. Not only did they make the money needed to go to Columbus, they had money left over for needed repairs.

Then, during the 1935 football season, an event took place that brought the need for a larger, more “appropriate” marching band. In November of that year, Georgia was scheduled to play Louisiana State. The governor of Louisiana made special plans to take the “Golden Band from Tigerland,” by then one of the largest marching bands in the nation. Upon seeing the small Georgia band against the massive LSU band, movements among the alumni and athletic association began to fund and equip the band with more instruments and members. While the number dwindled during World War II (as was the case with most colleges and universities at the time), the band was able to grow back to a modest size before 1955.

In 1955, the Redcoat Band as we know today was formed by the arrival of Roger Dancz and his wife Phyllis, who was to become the Director of the Auxiliaries. Before Roger’s arrival, the band was known simply as the Georgia Marching Band. There are several stories as to how the Redcoats got their name (other than their uniforms, of course). One version has an Atlanta reporter writing about a joint concert among the bands of Georgia and Georgia Tech. While the Tech band was known as the “yellow-jacketed band,” the reporter found it necessary to dub UGA’s band as “the red-coated band.” The name stuck and by the time Roger and Phyllis arrived, the University of Georgia Dixie Redcoat Band was formed.

With the arrival of the Danczes, the band began to grow in size and perform more elaborate halftime shows during the 1960s and 70s. In 1959, Phyllis Dancz formed the “Georgettes,” a dance line that performs alongside the band during the pre-game and halftime shows. Later on, the Bulldog Banners, later to be called the Georgia Flag Line, was formed to add color and motion to the halftime show.

Perhaps the most prolific time of the Redcoats in terms of the halftime shows was during the 1970s. Some of the most memorable shows performed by the Redcoats were the “Six Flags” show, complete with bicycles, clowns and balloons and the “Halloween Show,” in which band members dressed in Halloween costumes and performed music from horror films. However, of all the halftime shows the Redcoats have performed, perhaps none have received more comments than the “Wedding Show” held during the 1978 Georgia-Vanderbilt game, in which a couple actually got married in a three minute ceremony during halftime. Every aspect of the ceremony, from the flowers to the dress to the honeymoon at Lake Lanier was donated by Athens area businesses. It was originally supposed to be a publicity opportunity for the movie “The Wedding” starring Desi Arnaz Jr., but those plans fell through.

In the 1980, the Redcoats began a new decade in a very enviable spot: as the marching band of the national champions of football. From 1980 to 1983, the Redcoats would make three straight trips to New Orleans for the Sugar Bowl. Also during this, the band would begin to overhaul its look by purchasing several new “silver” Sousaphones, many of which are still being used today.

During the 1990s, the band began focusing more on “corps” style marching, a format influenced by the major drum and bugle corps that many Redcoats are members of. In 1995, the Redcoats were outfitted in the first new uniforms in several decades and received a new “look” with a new, more modern logo. In 2000, the Redcoats became the first band in the Southeastern Conference to receive the Sudler Award for the “close historical relationship and outstanding contribution of Intercollegiate Marching Bands to the American way of life." Other schools who have been recipients of this award have been Florida A&M, Ohio State and Nebraska, making UGA among the elite marching band programs in the nation.

During the 2004-2005 year, the Redcoats will be celebrating their 100th anniversary of being, in the eyes of many, the “heart” of the Bulldog Spirit. Such events planned for this momentous occasion includes an alumni reception after the Homecoming game at the Georgia Center, a special halftime show during the Georgia-Vanderbilt football game, and the publishing of a pictorial history of the Redcoats, which includes photographs that have not been seen in over 50 years!