Skip to main content

When Goodwin Hall, the indoor practice facility for the Auburn University Marching Band, was built in 1974, the estimated number of band members was 200-225. Since then, the band has doubled in size and features student musicians from schools and colleges across campus.

help the band“Goodwin Hall is a great facility, but…it’s a lot smaller than we need it to be now. It was just not meant to have that many people rehearsing at the same time, so it makes things very cramped and difficult to rehearse correctly,” said Logan Herda, a music education major who plays the alto saxophone.

This is what happens when you try to squeeze 400 people in a space meant for about 200:

Band practice room

That is why funding an expansion to Goodwin Hall is a top priority for the Marching Band and the College of Liberal Arts. The expansion also will provide student musicians with a much-needed storage space for instruments and uniforms, as well as a place to get ready on game day.

According to majorette Ashley Gardner, an industrial and systems engineering major, “We normally disperse throughout the campus to change. It’s just chaos…. Having a space that is designated for us would just be awesome.”

In addition to the Goodwin Hall expansion, other band facility improvements include field storage to protect instruments from inclement weather and an artificial surface for the practice field. The field, which contains deep ruts after just a few weeks of practice, is difficult to maneuver and remains soggy after a rainfall. Emily Rouse, an education major, believes the improvements will have a significant impact for band members.

“As a tuba player, instruments are not very portable,” she said. “I can’t store a tuba in my car. Right now, our tubas sit out on the field. They don’t have a place to go. When it’s raining we have to hustle over and put them under the pavilion. We’ve had to cancel a few rehearsals this year because there’s not really a place for us to go when it’s raining.”

For many alumni and friends of Auburn, the pageantry of the Auburn University Marching Band bursting onto the field on game day is an integral part of the Auburn experience.

Please help our student musicians by making a donation online today.

Your gift will benefit and preserve this time-honored tradition for generations to come.

Leave a Reply