o “The Arch”, an iron gate found on everything from the UGA logo to jerseys, is representative of the Arch on campus, which was an original gateway to the school. Legend has it that if a freshman passes under The Arch during his first year, he will never graduate.

o When the UGA Bulldogs win a local football game, the school chapel bell traditionally rings until midnight. Except when Georgia beats Georgia Tech, one of their biggest rivals, then the bell rings all night! In the old days, it was the job of the freshmen to do the hard work of ringing the bell; today, fans, students, and alumni take turns.

o During the 2007 season, the bell rang after UGA’s loss to the University of Florida, when the 877-pound bell fell. He has since been returned to the platform.

o Bulldogs like to have their opponents ‘Between the Hedges’. This is a reference to the hedges that grow around the field of play at Sanford Stadium, and dates to the 1930s, when a sportswriter made the reference.

o In 1939, coach Wally Butts decided that silver pants would go well with red jerseys; thus began the beginning of the ‘silver britches’ of the Bulldog. Although coach Vince Dooley changed the pants to white for several years, the silver breeches were brought back in 1980 and worn during the school’s National Championship season.

o UGA has a student ID card and travels in their own dog house, with air conditioning! Because bulldogs are susceptible to heat stroke, he spends football games perched on ice packs. If opposing teams get too close to his prized ice, he snarls viciously. He is a tough pup, who wears a T-shirt with a varsity letter and a spiked collar.

o The mascot dressed as a bulldog is called ‘Hairy Dawg’.

o Football players tour the ‘Dog Walk’, which features players walking through crowds of fans on their way to Stanford Stadium, led by the Redcoat Band.

o Georgia’s original colors included ‘old gold’, until the intense rivalry between Georgia Tech and Georgia resulted in a color skirmish: Georgia students declared yellow an unfit color for the Georgia Bulldogs, considering it a funky color, and the yellow was removed. Crimson (also known as ‘Good old Georgia Red’) and black have been the official colors ever since.

o College football was nearly made illegal in 1987, after UGA quarterback Richard Gammon was so badly injured in a game against the University of Virginia that he died as a result. In those days, players did not wear helmets. Football was immediately disbanded in Georgia schools, and just as the Georgia Legislature was preparing to formally ban college football, Richard’s mother wrote a letter, published in newspapers, calling on the legislature to save football, saying that it was his son’s most precious item. “Prohibition was defeated and college football in Georgia survived! Today, visitors to Gammon’s hometown of Rome, Georgia, can stop and pay respects at the family gravesites, with plaques detailing the sad death and the great plea of a mother to rescue the sport so loved by her son.