Starting in 2020, @GeorgiaTechFB will have an annual home game at @MBStadium for 5️⃣ consecutive years 🐝🏈🏟 Full details and watch press conference LIVE: https://t.co/Eusd04UwQv #TogetherWeSwarm pic.twitter.com/QwItxQUweB— Georgia Tech Sports (@GTAthletics) February 26, 2019
I don't get this move at all. With games announced so far of Clemson, ND and ND again.m the crowds will be filled with visiting fans and I don't see them even filling up MB stadium.
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I hope they move our games there. I'd love an opportunity to pack 30k Hokies in a visiting stadium
We do that every other year.
Firing Paul Johnson indicated to me that GT hadn't completely given up on football. This makes me wonder...
But maybe they got a really favorable contract with MB stadium... hard to say without more details.
Was it ever confirmed that CPJ was forced out? I'm under the impression that he left of his own volition.
No links, but those who would know (Chip Patterson, Will Brinson) were on the radio here in Raleigh saying they forced him out because they were sick and tired of the triple option
shit....we could make a club
There already is a club. It's called everybody and they meet at the bar on Saturdays
Honestly... I kinda like watching option teams, when they aren't playing VT.
I'd wager a decent amount of cash that Paul Johnson- 75% (roughly) win % is their ceiling for the next 20 years. His offense was the equalizer for a program that can't take marginal kids academically. They will never recruit as well as UGA for example. The new guy won't be any better. And no, Johnson wasn't forced out.
They won't recruit as well as UGA but they will recruit much better with a different scheme. And even GT should expect better than 7-5 in the ACC coastal.
Hard disagree on whether PJ was forced out. But no linkable support for that belief.
GT hasn't been consistently good since Bobby Dodd was their coach from 1945-1966. Bobby Ross had the national championship season in 1990 but I was pretty surprised to see his record was 20-26 outside of that season. O'Leary, Gailey, and PJ each had several mediocre seasons mixed in with a the occasional good year. PJ is the only GT coach since Ross to win the ACC.
Anyway, I don't think GT has a particularly high ceiling.
They'll never sniff the playoff but they should expect to average better than 7.4 wins per year. And they will be able to recruit some better players with their location alone. Yeah they have tougher entrance requirements, but so does Stanford.
How many wins per season do you think GT fans should expect to average? The coach with the most wins per year since 1966 was George O'Leary, who averaged 7.57. Paul Johnson averaged... 7.55.
Also I don't think Stanford is a particuarly good comparison, as they are very different types of schools. Even though GT is in an area rich with football talent, the competition for those players is extremely high with SEC and ACC schools all around. Stanford doesn't have nearly the same density of competing schools (Cal and nobody else for 350+ miles around) and they still recruit nationally. Personally I don't see any comparable path to success for GT.
If GT wants to excel in recruiting, they focus hard on recruiting the greater Atlanta area (similar, though not as extreme, as Miami in the 90's). They embrace the local rap/pop culture scene to appeal to recruits. To improve fan engagement, they try to follow the Atlanta United model.
GT has fans with big money, in an urban area, in the number 1 college football market in the world. They have two things working against them: Two rivals (Clemson and UGA) recruiting their turf and high academic standards. It will be tough, but they could become something. I'm really hoping Geoff doesn't get it going there.
I am pretty damn sure that Chan Gailey never had a losing season at GT. If I remember right his low years were 7-6, the problem was I think the ceiling was 8 wins. They got tired of being good but not great.
CPJ got them to a higher ceiling but also a much lower floor.
I have a source who is a major donor (C-level employee with multiple degrees from GT, at a company that recruits heavily from GT) said that PJ wasn't 'forced out' or even 'asked to leave' by anyone in the athletic department, but he "saw the writing on the wall" - The program had lost the interest of key large donors, and a lot of young alums in Atlanta stopped renewing season tickets. Beyond that, said source *believed* that PJ was frustrated with the way recruiting was going (hated the facilities arms race, hated sucking up to 18 year olds). Rather than fighting an uphill battle for the remainder of his contract (even with the administration backing him in the short term), PJ decided to just quit.
That I can believe. With his 100% guaranteed contract, they didn't really have any leverage to force him out. But getting tired of the recruiting battles, that I can believe. Not like he does not have millions to retire on.
That makes a lot of sense. After a two seasons where GT went 12-12 I felt like the timing of the announcement was sudden and awkward so it always felt like there was more to it than what was published. But in this context it's definitely believable PJ just said "F-it" and retired. I really can't imagine him enjoying the recruiting process. Sounds like the fan malaise is there though.
This strikes me as a clever move from a marketing, recruiting, and $$ perspective. In fact, I would suggest that this move is clearly aimed to elevate their football program.
its all about the $$$.... even if its from opposing fans.
Exactly, GT was probably promised money equal to ticket value for their stadium. Then promptly forgot to consider in the concessions revenue. Their GT, they can do that.
If the money was honestly better, they can use all the scratch they can get a hold of. How many basketball coaches are they paying?
This.
What is Mercedes Benz stadium paying?
Of course ND gets another ACC Neutral site "road" game.
It's not like the league office is making Georgia Tech move its home games.
??? ND has only played 4 neutral site conference games since joining the ACC, and 1 was a home game that ND moved...
2012 vs. Miami in Chicago. (pseudo home game for ND) This was actually prior to ND even joining the ACC (joined 7/1/13)
2014 vs Syracuse at MetLife
2015 vs BC at Fenway
2016 vs. Syracuse at MetLife
2018 vs. Syracuse at Yankee Stadium. (This game was supposed to be a ND home game, but ND moved it)
Can't say this is a ongoing trend for ND that is suggested except to Syracuse, who is NYC's proclaimed "home team". These games are benefiting the home teams far more than it benefits ND, so your angst towards ND doesn't really make any sense....
Also, how is it ND's fault that GT wants to play them in MB dome to get more fans....?? Seems to make complete sense to me...
2012 Miami, 2015 BC, and 2018 Syracuse were all part of ND's Shamrock Series, which means they were all ND home games. ND has been doing this since 2009 (except for 2017). Naturally, with the ACC taking up 5 out of 12 spots on ND's schedule, there's a decent chance that the Shamrock game will be against an ACC opponent.
Furthermore, out of the 6 seasons that ND has had the deal with the ACC, they've only played 2 ACC teams in the Shamrock Series.
I don't know why Syracuse keeps moving their ND games to Metlife, although the reasons are probably similar to GT moving their games to MB.
I am fully aware of their Shamrock Series, and I get that, but what DC appears to be insinuating is that ND plays a bunch of road ACC games that end up as neutral site, which isn't the case at all. You pointing out that ND uses a home game to move their Shamrock Series game to a neutral site further solidifies my point. It's taking a home game away from ND, not the other way around...
ACC teams do make up 5/12 p/season, but based on their history, ND doesn't appear to be targeting ACC teams for that series. They have a LONG standing history with BC and played nearly every year already anyway, so that makes sense, and I really wouldn't count that one because they very likely would have included BC into that rotation whether they were in the ACC or not. So really only 1/5 possible Shamrock games have been vs. ACC.
Based on your post, ND is now down to 2 true ACC road games that ended up neutral site since joining the conference. Hardly a trend, which is my point.
Syracuse moving the ND game to NYC actually makes a lot of sense. Both teams have quite a significant NYC following and selling tickets wouldn't be difficult. So GT making this move is trying to move the meter and attract more fans that otherwise wouldn't travel to B-D stadium.
Oh, I was supporting your point. I'm pretty sure I had to post that same info about the SS last time dc tried to make his point about ND's road/neutral games.
Short version, if all of those neutral site games got moved back to the home stadium they were originally scheduled for, the only two that wouldn't go to South Bend are the Syracuse games.
Shorter version, there's no Notre Dame conspiracy here.
Cool.
Leg. Thumbs up.
Interesting. Seems kind of like a way to generate hype. Was GT selling out Bobby Dodd which has a capacity of roughly 16K less than MB?
This kind of thing can backfire if you end up with a half empty stadium.
Whether or not the stadium fills up will depend on the opponent, and it sounds like they're trying to put their marquee games in there. It was full when they played Tennessee there a couple of seasons ago.
Na, chick-fil-a wants more revenue from the stadium location. They are closed during the Sunday NFL games.
Considering ATL United gets 70k+ for 20 dates in the spring summer and fall, NOT on Sunday, I don't think Chic-Fil-A has a revenue problem
You can never make enough money.
Just for the record, 5 stripes plays 5 home games on Sunday this season...
but there are plenty of other home games to rake in revenue.
Darren Rovell actually "reported" on that the first two falcons games. God I hate that douche.
considering they will most likely suck for the next 2 to 3 years until the roster is overhauled away from Chinballs system, this isn't such a bad idea. Their own fans won't show up unless they have a reason so why not attract other fans for the money.
"We may get our ass beat but at least you will too busy entertained with everything else to notice"
This is a good move for them. MB Stadium is only about 1 mile from Bobby Dodd. They will more than make up for the home revenue to play there. From a visitors standpoint, I would much rather play them in MB than BD. I'm sure ND would sell out (plus any SEC team would sell out the visitor allotment in 5 minutes).
As a visitor (fan) I would rather watch in Bobby Dodd. The stadium is an ugly mismatch, but with the Atlanta skyline in the background it's a fantastic setting (especially at night) that you don't see a lot in college football. You want the all 22 view for the best skyline view.
The new fancy NFL stadiums have no soul.
Bobby Dodd is a classic venue, but You can still see the skyline from MB too. It's even nicer when you open the roof. Also, does GT have alcohol sales? MB gives them a huge benefit to do that.
Bobby Dodd is definitely cool for a night game with the Atlanta skyline. I was able to go to the 2011 Thursday night game at Bobby Dodd (which was an awesome game, the only time we scored more than 30 against a PJ Georgia Tech team), and it was a cool atmosphere. Bobby Dodd for a regular day game? I'll take MB all day over that. The Benz is amazing.
I haven't been to Benz, just Georgia dome which it sounds like Benz is a huge upgrade. But the games listed sound like hopeful night games
It's never been all that hard to get GT football tickets, but I suppose I'd go to a game in either venue if it's a team I wanted to see (Like VT).
Wonder if we can get odds on whether they will have more fans than Atlanta United averaged this year?
They will not. Atlanta United sells out almost every game. In fact, I would bet they sell more tickets/game than the Falcons!
I encourage everyone to go see a match there if you get the chance. It's an incredible sporting atmosphere.
I thought they didn't have the top sections open for seating except for a few games. Pretty sure they averaged around 50,000
United averaged 53,002 in MB in 2018
Falcons averaged 72,429 in MB in 2018
GT averaged 46,885 in Bobby Dodd in 2017
I choose to ignore your facts and accept my reality as truth.
classic internet
I don't know how Atlanta does it, but Seattle also sells out every game in an NFL stadium, they just don't have the entire thing open for business for MOST of their MLS games. Some upper decks are closed off, etc. They'll sell out the whole venue for rivalry games, but sell out a 2/3 opened stadium for the rest. I imagine after seeing the numbers posted above that ATL is doing the same thing.
Still very impressive though. Especially considering there are significantly more games in a soccer season to fill a stadium.
I live in walking distance of GT, so I love when we play at Bobby Dodd. Really hope that game in 2021 and 2023 isn't us.
I really need to go down for a game one year. I haven't been to Bobby Dodd, only the Georgia Dome. Maybe I can make it this year!
The most interesting part is how the CFA Kickoff got an ACC conference game.
Would be nice if we had an arrangement with the Redskins to have a game at FedEx every year or every other year. Then carry on that tradition when the Skins build a new stadium (hopefully downtown)
Personally I prefer the current arrangement where we don't do that. Going to the WVU game cured me in a hurry.
Resisting urge to downvote for horrible statement.
This is wrong on so many levels:
MCB on the other hand:
FedEx is one of the worst professional sports stadiums in world. I hope I never have to watch a game there again.
Do not want! That WVU game was a fucking disaster of a game. The parking wasnt ready, the gates weren't ready, the infrastructure can't accommodate VT. FedEx wouldn't work with the schools to open parking earlier so you could tailgate. The whole thing sucked , well the game was great. But that had nothing to do with the venue.
EDIT: this was in reply to VT_antzo, I clicked reply so i dont know why it's not under his post.
Their crappy football atmosphere will be even more evident in the dome.