Starting with the season opener against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish early next September, the Texas Longhorns band will join students in Section 18 in the northeast corner of Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, the school announced on Tuesday.
The decision comes after the band spent years languishing underneath the Godzillatron in the south end zone of the stadium, far from the student section and physically disconnected from the rest of the crowd.
"Over the last two years, we have been asking fans for feedback on their gameday experience. One thing consistently mentioned has been the placement of the band," said Texas athletic director Mike Perrin. "We are happy to be able to make this change happen in time for the Sept. 3 season opener against Notre Dame."
The most high-profile changes to the gameday experience implemented under former athletic director Steve Patterson focused on tailgating packages, getting better food vendors into the stadium, and pushing through beer and alcohol sales to the general public. But none of those alterations solved one of the biggest gameday problems -- the lack of a consistently hostile environment at Texas home football games.
This change will actually help in that regard.
"The new location is the most acoustically advantageous placement for the band. This move will have a major positive impact on our game atmosphere," said Scott Hanna, director of the Longhorn Band. "Mike Perrin has been the driving force for this change, and we are grateful beyond words for his leadership."
Nice work, Mr. Perrin.