Alabama's Tradition of "Dixieland Delight" a Tad Different than Wisconsin's "Jump Around"

The Badgers have only had the tradition since 1998, but there's nothing like it anywhere else in college athletics.

Wisconsin Badgers fans take part in the traditional Jump Around between the third and fourth quarters against the Wisconsin Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium. / Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

Alabama has “Dixieland Delight.”

Wisconsin has “Jump Around.”

Both songs are used to hype fans during football games, but they are completely different genres of music.

While “Dixieland Delight” is a country song performed by the group Alabama, “Jump Around” is a hip-hop song by the group House of Pain.

Each fanbase has a unique way of making it their own. Crimson Tide fans added a few colorful lyrics to the stadium version while Wisconsin fans continuously jump as the song plays.

The Crimson Tide will get a taste of it today when they take on the Badgers in Madison. Kickoff is 11 a.m.

The Badgers started the tradition on Oct. 10, 1998. Purdue, led by quarterback Drew Brees, visited Madison for a game, which was tied heading to the fourth quarter. The song blared out across the stadium before the final quarter began and ignited the crowd.

It’s been a staple since.

According to Wisconsin’s alumni web site, Ryan Sondrup played tight end for Wisconsin but a knee injury sidelined him. He was also an intern with the athletic department. Kevin Kluender, the assistant director of marketing, gave Sondrup an assignment: put together a playlist of songs to energize the crowd and team for games.

Sondrup enlisted Badger teammate Eric Waisanen, a defensive lineman, to help. Waisanen worked as a bartender in Madison when Sondrup came in to talk about the playlist.

“We were looking for something that was popular,” Waisanen told ESPN. “One song was by Metallica. There may have been a Mötley Crüe song in there.”

They punched in the number for “Jump Around” on the jukebox at the bar and they knew they had a gem and put it on their top five for the playlist.

The song debuted at Camp Randall Stadium that weekend against the Boilermakers.

“The students exploded like popcorn. We’re all going wild on the sidelines. They are actually playing the song we picked out on Monday. This is unbelievable.”

- Eric Waisanen

Wisconsin won, 31-24.

The song has been played before the start of the fourth quarter of every home game except once in 2003 after stadium went through a renovation. Wisconsin administrators prevented the song from being played until engineers approved the stadium’s structural integrity of being able to withstand the vibrations of thousands of people jumping in unison.

Fans were furious.

Engineers put the safety concerns to bed and the song was quickly back in the rotation.

See Also

How to Watch: No. 4 Alabama at Wisconsin; Week 3 College Football TV Schedule