Big Bertha (drum)

For other uses, see Big Bertha (disambiguation).
The original Big Bertha in fall 2018.
The original Big Bertha outside Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium before a UT football game.

Big Bertha is a bass drum used by the Longhorn Band of The University of Texas at Austin. The Big Bertha name was chosen to evoke the famous German Big Bertha howitzer and has been used for two Texas bass drums, with the second debuting in 2022. Both Big Berthas have laid claim to being the largest bass drum in the world.

Big Bertha is wheeled onto the field for the pre-game show during varsity football games, and is used in other occasions such as parades – including the London's New Year's Day Parade accompanied by the Longhorn Alumni Band[1] – and spirit rallies. The drum is managed by the Bertha Crew, sometimes called "drum wranglers", who move the drum and play it after touchdowns, and it is nicknamed the "Sweetheart of the Longhorn Band".

  1. ^ "Big Bertha II, Largest Bass Drum in the World, Debuted at Texas-Iowa State Game". University of Texas at Austin. 15 October 2022. Retrieved 13 November 2022.