Hundreds of former students of The University of Alabama will journey home to Tuscaloosa Saturday, Sept. 26. They will re-live a part of their lives from their student days.
Former members of the Million Dollar Band will perform along with the current MDB at halftime of the Bama v. South Carolina football game.
While some of the tunes they will play are familiar from their student days – Yea Alabama, the Star-Spangled Banner, and the Alma Mater – there will also be something more contemporary – a salute to the late Dolly Parton. The student and alumni band will join in playing Dolly’s number one hit and movie theme song,” 9 to 5.”
The student band and the alumni band have band practice Saturday morning on the five million dollar ‘Butler Field’ on University Boulevard, a full football field-sized practice field just for the band. That field was not there yet when many of the alums were in school.
It is named for legendary MDB Director, Col. Carleton K. Butler. Some of the older alumni played under Col. Butler, who, as his name implies, was an old-school military-style band director.
The MDB was featured in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade in 2021 and the Tournament of Roses Parade in 2024.
The Million Dollar Band was established in 1912 and is in its 114th year. The MDB is the largest student organization on the UA campus.
While the student MDB members will dress Saturday in their normal uniforms, the alumni have commemorative T-shirts. With the continuation of summer heat, many wear shorts with their T-shirts.
It’s a good thing that the alumni band performance was not scheduled for last weekend, as two lightning delays caused halftime to be eliminated.
Kickoff time is 6:00 p.m. Saturday, and weather forecasts at this time do not indicate a probability of thunderstorms in the area.
Jim ‘Zig’ Zeigler is a freelance writer about the colorful and positive in Alabama — her people, places, events, groups and prominent deaths. He is a former State Auditor. You can reach him for comments at [email protected]. He is also a member of the Million Dollar Alumni Band, playing trumpet in his freshman year.
