Elevating the sounds of Saturday

Private support continues to lift the Redcoat Band to new heights.

Snare drums snap the autumn air, and trumpets sing above the din of 93,000 barking fans. The Redcoat Marching Band provides the iconic soundtrack of University of Georgia football games, but the passion they inspire doesn’t dissipate after the final whistle.

From uniforms to instruments to their practice field, private support has sustained the Redcoats throughout their history. Even today, as the band approaches its 120th anniversary, donors are strengthening the Redcoats for years to come.

“We are proud to be a big part of what makes fall Saturdays in Athens so special to so many,” says Brett Bawcum (BMUS ’97, MM ’00, DMA ’17) Redcoat Band director. “It’s exciting to celebrate 120 years of Redcoats, and we recognize all those years wouldn’t be the same without private support from fans all over.”

Today, Redcoat fundraising priorities are aimed at eliminating or reducing expenses for Redcoat Band members. Fundraisers are also pursuing support for capital improvements like trucks to transport band equipment and practice field enhancements such as stadium seating and equipment storage.

Many Redcoat donors are UGA alumni, but contributions have also come from charitable foundations, businesses, UGA Athletics, the Office of the President, and individuals who simply enjoy fall Saturdays with the Redcoats. In fact, the largest single gift to the band in the last year came from two individuals who were never in the band and did not attend UGA.

That said, the most numerous and consistent supporters of the band are those who wore the uniform. In the last 30 years, the Redcoat Band Alumni Association (RBAA), which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, has donated more than $250,000 to UGA Foundation-managed funds benefitting the band, with members often supplementing that amount with donations of their own.

RBAA supports the band beyond simple donations, however. The group coordinates with staff from UGA’s Franklin College of Arts and Sciences and Hugh Hodgson School of Music to enhance fundraising efforts; encourages Redcoat alumni to take advantage of their employers’ donation-matching programs; and connects former band members to events that “pay” for Redcoat music performances by donating to the band, to name a few.

“For so many of us, we’ve felt the effects of the Redcoat Band throughout our lives, so we have a duty to give back however we can,” says RBAA president Danny Roberson (BMUS ’84, MBA ’87). “The band wasn’t something we created. It was entrusted to us by past generations, and after we put our own little stamp on it, we entrusted it to the next generation.

“Giving back is the next step in that process. This is how we make sure there’s nothing finer in the land than the Georgia Redcoat Marching Band.”

It can be easy to watch the Redcoats and think this championship-level band has championship-level support. But funding gaps do exist, and those are the needs donor support can address.

• Many of the 400 students in the band pay thousands of dollars out-of-pocket to cover uniforms, travel, equipment, and other costs.
• The Redcoat Band currently rents trucks to transport equipment for each game. These trucks have no UGA branding, require multiple drivers, and are not economical.
• The Redcoats’ practice field has a Sanford-accurate surface, but it needs bleachers to accurately emulate a stadium environment and improve the band’s game day preparation. Similarly, storage at the practice field is extremely limited, and proper storage facilities are needed to better secure instruments and critical equipment.

The Redcoat Band practice field, located at UGA’s intramural fields, opened in 2009 with support from UGA President Michael Adams, and the turf was replaced and a director’s tower added with support from President Jere Morehead (JD ’80), Redcoat alumni donors, and the Hodgson School of Music in 2016. An allocation from the UGA Foundation Board of Trustees further enhanced the complex last year.

Donor funds also support the Redcoats academically. Numerous privately funded scholarships include a preference for students who participate in the Redcoat Band.