Sarah Haymon
By The Numbers:
380
Total members of the Auburn University Marching Band
4
Drum majors
1
Head drum major
3,000
Average number of steps total during a band practice
24,000
Average number of steps total on gameday
700
Miles is the longest distance Haymon has traveled for an away game (Arlington, Texas)

The phrase “strike up the band” is a key line in Auburn’s fight song, stirring emotion, excitement and pride among the Auburn Family. But to Sarah Haymon, it’s not just a line to celebrate—striking up the band is literally part of her role each and every Auburn football gameday.

Haymon, a senior in music education, leads and conducts the 380-member Auburn University Marching Band on the field and in the stands. It’s a job with many unseen moving parts, and she’s the first line of communication between the members and the directors. As head drum major, she must have strong leadership skills and also a wealth of knowledge about football.

“When we’re in the stands, the biggest things that the drum majors have to do is watch the game and call cheers appropriately based on what’s going on in the game,” Haymon said. “If you don’t know what a first down is, you’re not going to be able to call the first down cheer. You have to be watching the game, paying attention to what’s going on—whether we’re on offense or defense and what down it is. We have very specific cheers that we play for certain downs. So if we get a stop on third down on defense, we’re playing ‘Crazy Train.’”

Preparation for gameday begins at summer band camp where the members memorize music and perfect their marching skills. The rehearsals continue during the fall with practices being held four days a week, plus a morning rehearsal on gameday.

“We have to practice the things you see on gameday,” she said. “You may think we don’t really have to practice, but everything has a lot of moving parts logistically and musically. Anytime you watch us do ‘War Eagle,’ us moving our horns up and down, we have to practice and make sure our band has it in time and that it looks good. It’s really important to always be present in the rehearsal which can be hard sometimes after a long day. You have to be able to put all that aside and focus on the task at hand.”

Before the Auburn University Marching Band hits the field for the halftime performance, they’ve already practiced, performed at Tiger Walk, Spirit March, Four Corners Pep Rally, marched around the stadium and performed pregame festivities.

An iconic pregame responsibility of the drum major is the spiking of the mace. The drum major slowly steps from the end zone, twirls the mace and does the high step out amongst the roar of more than 87,000 cheering fans. Haymon’s first performance of the mace routine was at the Mississippi State game in September.

“One thing they teach you, especially in music, is to visualize your performance,” she said. “You think about exactly what you want to do and you try to imagine the perfect performance. As the band video was playing behind me, I was trying to take a breath and take a moment to think about exactly what I wanted to do and exactly what I wanted it to look like.

“It was an incredible experience. Even as one of the drum majors on the side, getting to spike the mace and hearing the crowd’s reaction to that is already a really incredible experience to be a part of, but actually getting to do the runout as the whole band is pushing forward was just amazing.”

Haymon has been involved with band since sixth grade, and she plays the piano, mellophone, french horn and flute and sings. After graduation, she hopes to become a band director and apply the skills she learned from the Auburn University Marching Band.

“From the time I was really young, I was going to Auburn games and watching the band be a part of gameday,” she said. “The band is such a big part of gameday, so it’s been really cool to get to be a little part of that.”

Haymon’s favorite cheer on the podium is to conduct the “Thumb Cheer,” the lead-up chords of the “War Eagle” cheer.

“The ‘Thumb Cheer’ is such a powerful cheer, and so that’s usually what we’ll do right at the end of the game,” she said. “That’s when I really get to remember I’m getting to lead a 380-person marching band and not everybody gets that opportunity.”

Haymon advised for future female drum majors to “make sure you command with confidence and a smile. Being genuinely nice to people goes a long way in establishing and maintaining respect, and having self-confidence gives everyone else confidence in your ability to lead them.”