Battle Hymn Trumpeters

Before each home game, silence grips the otherwise noisy Sanford Stadium. A trumpeter steps forward in the southwest corner of the stands to play a solemn 14-note solo of UGA’s fight song, Glory to Georgia, before others in the Redcoat Marching Band join in for the dramatic finish.

Battle Hymn of the Bulldog Nation, as it’s become known, is one of the most memorable traditions of home football games in Athens. This season, the arrangement turned 30.

Redcoat alumnus Jeff Simmons BMus ’88 wrote the arrangement in 1987 by incorporating the source material to Glory to Georgia (the most well-known version being Battle Hymn of the Republic).

The arrangement was first introduced to fans during the band’s pregame warmup in the Tate Student Center parking lot (a predecessor to today’s Dawg Walk, according to Redcoat alumnus Marion English, BMus ’88, MMEd ’98).

In 2000, the tradition moved inside the stadium, where the band plays the song live accompanied by video highlights -past and present -narrated by the late football announcer Larry Munson.