If the SEC asked, would/should Georgia Tech say yes?
Not long after the conference expansion issue really started to heat up, I found myself in a charity golf foursome with a couple of Georgia Tech guys. We were waiting to hit, so I just asked them point blank:
“If Georgia Tech got an invitation to leave the ACC and join the SEC, would you vote to go?”
Response No. 1: “In a New York minute.”
Response No. 2: “Can we go today?”
Now look, Georgia Tech has had a very good football home in the ACC since 1983. It is the defending ACC champions. And the situation got a lot better on Monday when the ACC landed a very good television deal with ABC/ESPN that will pay the league $155 million per year. In this economy, the ACC essentially doubled their money from the previous contract and that is quite an accomplishment. A number of people (this writer included) thought that the numbers might be lower so give the ACC kudos for getting that deal done.
Having said all that, there are two questions we will ponder today:
How/Why does Georgia Tech get on the SEC’s radar?
Why would/should Georgia Tech even consider leaving the ACC?
First, some history: Georgia Tech was a charter member of the Southeastern Conference in 1933 and remained in the league through the 1963 season, when the school withdrew and became a Southern Independent. We won’t debate the reasons why or the wisdom of Georgia Tech’s move. The fact is that Tech was a member of the SEC for 31 years.
People of a certain age will remember going to Grant Field and watching Georgia Tech, as a member of the SEC, play in some of the best rivalries in all of college football. The Georgia rivalry you know about, but did you know:
That Georgia Tech and Auburn have played 92 times? Tech first played Auburn in 1892 and from 1904 to 1987 the schools met every year but two (1905, 1943).
That even after it left the SEC, Georgia Tech also kept playing Tennessee? Between 1964 and 1987 Georgia Tech and Tennessee met every year but three (1974, 1975, 1978).
That there was no fiercer rivalry in the 1960s than the one between Alabama and Georgia Tech? Bear Bryant and Bobby Dodd were friends until the 1961 game, when Tech’s Chick Graning received a blow to the head from Alabama’s Darwin Holt. It broke Graning’s jaw and nose and put him in the hospital. The episode touched off a war of words between newspapers in the two states and drove a wedge between Bryant and Dodd. A year later Alabama came to Grant Field with an 8-0 record and ranked No. 1. Georgia Tech handed Alabama its only loss that season, 7-6. After the 1964 game the two teams did not play again until 1979. They played six straight years until 1984 and have not played since. They were scheduled for a two-game series in 2013 and 2014 but those games have now been postponed.
The point is that Georgia Tech has a lot of history with the current members of the SEC.
Here is how Georgia Tech could get an invitation from the SEC: If the Big Ten expands to 16 teams and exponentially increases its revenue (now at about $22 million per team), the SEC, which pays about $17 million per team, will have a decision to make. If the SEC decides that it must expand as well, some teams from the ACC could come into play if the SEC wants to strengthen its Southeastern footprint.
Whether or not the SEC would extend an invitation to Georgia Tech is a matter of some debate. The argument could be made that with the University of Georgia, the SEC already controls the state’s market place. But the same argument could be made about Clemson (because of South Carolina) and Florida State (because of Florida).
Why Georgia Tech would say yes:
1) More money. Georgia Tech needs it. Even with the ACC’s new contract, there will be about a $4 million gap in shared revenue per team. If the SEC expands, that gap could grow.
2) Easier scheduling. If Georgia becomes a conference game, then Tech has another non-conference game to play with. That would guarantee at least seven home games a season. That is also more money.
3) Better attendance: Bobby Dodd Stadium holds 55,000. With Paul Johnson in place, attendance is picking up as over 50,000 turned out for five of six games last season. The year before (2008) only one game drew over 50,000 (Florida State). But what if Georgia Tech were placed in an SEC division that included Clemson, Georgia, Florida, Florida State, Miami, South Carolina and Tennessee? How great would the demand for tickets be? How much more would people pay just for the right to buy them? More money.
Why Georgia Tech would say no:
1) The school has 27 years invested in the ACC. It has become a good fit for the Institute, both philosophically and academically.
2) Winning the ACC football championship is hard. Winning the SEC is harder. That’s just a fact. Writer Rick Bragg once said that every SEC game “is like a knife fight in a ditch.”
3) You can’t go back. As much as the old guard romanticizes about good old days the fact remains that it’s been 47 years since Tech left the SEC and the world has really changed.
So if you’re a Georgia Tech fan and you got a vote, would you vote to go back to the SEC if the invitation came? Or do you think the ACC is still the best place for the Yellow Jackets?
If you’re an SEC fan, would you like to see Georgia Tech come back?
The floor is yours.
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661 comments Add your comment
POAD
May 18th, 2010
3:17 pm
30 something in mom’s basemnet? Why haven’t you moved yet? Your 99 means your graduated in 99 I guess? That is 11 years ago and you still live at home. I feel for you. To make you feel better I will Pi$$ on my Akita and take him to my Pond on the back 20 acres of my farm and let him wash it off. I hope you wash your own spankerchiefs. You shouldn’t make your mom do that. That is nasty.
Doug
May 18th, 2010
3:18 pm
Looks like Dan has a Man Crush on TOAD. Ain’t it cute!!!!
POAD
May 18th, 2010
3:19 pm
Otto so Auburn had to catch up after TECH left the SEC.
Goldenrod
May 18th, 2010
3:19 pm
To all you bullpuppies talking trash:
Anthony Allen and Stephen Hill
If you don’t know their names now you will by 11/27/10 when our sheriff leads his posse back into the toilet bowl known as Sanford Stadium, site of a dramatic 45-42 victory in 2008.
CPJ & Nesbitt will have a field day against your new-meat defensive coordinator.
AtlHeel
May 18th, 2010
3:19 pm
Tech is a much better fit for the ACC due to academics. According to US News and World report, the ACC has six schools ranked in the top 40…Duke, UNC, UVA, Wake Forest, Tech and Boston College. Vanderbilt is the only SEC school. Tech’s mission is to be a world class academic institution. Except for Vanderbilt, this would not be consistent with the rest of the SEC. It would be a huge drop for Tech academically to join the SEC. The other SEC schools focus their resources and attention to their football programs rather than their libraries. My suggestion would be for the ACC to invite Vandy to join since they are the only top school academically in the SEC.
uga99
May 18th, 2010
3:20 pm
not only is poad gay, but he’s also retarded.
GO HEELS
May 18th, 2010
3:21 pm
Ga Tech isnt leaving ACC they are begining to become one of the conf top football schools… New contract with guranteed money… The conf is done the rebuilding stage and finally begining to show a bright future… In the pre season polls there are 5 ACC teams in the top 25… The strenght of schedule is there once again new tv contract…. There is no need to leave…
Carl Johnson
May 18th, 2010
3:22 pm
POAD
May 18th, 2010
2:59 pm
Sorry JR I am waiting to hang with Zack Mett when he decides on a school/Bar.
Man, you should of hung out with me and Avery Atkins. We know how to treats the ladies.
POAD
May 18th, 2010
3:23 pm
uga99 can we just hug it out? you will feel better about the uga diploma hanging from your rearview mirror that doubles as a Handicap parking pass.
Woof Woof
May 18th, 2010
3:24 pm
Won’t the ed u ma cation we buy at UGA be worth less if GT is in the SEC!
Techie
May 18th, 2010
3:24 pm
Lets re-invent the wheel!!
uga99
May 18th, 2010
3:26 pm
POAD:
No hugs from your kind, only a hand shake. My UGA diploma is, I’m sure, worth much more than your special ed HS diploma. Tell your mommy I said hello. Gotta go.
Otto
May 18th, 2010
3:26 pm
Another thing I read on here was that GT was a stronger program than UGA while in the SEC. GT 5 SEC titles, UGA 4 GT was on the decline when they left the SEC.
POAD
May 18th, 2010
3:28 pm
Techie if we re-invent the wheel how will the Uga players get a DUI or driving on a suspended license? How will the uga grads drive their lawn mower degrees around my front 10 acres to cut my grass?
Tech Fan
May 18th, 2010
3:28 pm
I present your 2010 Heisman trophy winner…
Joshua Nesbitt – http://imgur.com/dZk0C.png
itpdude
May 18th, 2010
3:30 pm
There is that history thing with the SEC, but that is now ancient history. GT hasn’t been in the SEC since leather helmets were banned. 27 years in the ACC has won tech a lot of conference goodwill. Tech won the Nat Champ in ‘90, with the ACC.The ACC fits the GT profile in academics. The SEC has good schools, no doubt, but the ACC has more GT kinds of schools like Wake, Duke, and BC.
Also, I like that the state of Georgia has two major college football teams and they are in different conferences. I’m more of an SEC guy, but appreciate what an ACC team does for our state’s exposure.
Otto
May 18th, 2010
3:31 pm
POAD, Yes GT had a very good run in the 40s and to mid 50s since then not much.
Dale
May 18th, 2010
3:32 pm
“That’s like bringing the pigeon to the cat.” -Col. Troutman
UGA'91
May 18th, 2010
3:33 pm
I say we bring em all back…Tulane, GT, University of the South (Suwanee). It’d be nice to have a few breather’s that count in the conference standings (ha ha).
GTFan
May 18th, 2010
3:35 pm
I would prefer GT to stay in the ACC. I don’t care for the SEC at all! But, I will give Alabama and Florida props for representing the SEC very well.
Chester Copperpot
May 18th, 2010
3:37 pm
Did the ACC died?
RamblingWreck92
May 18th, 2010
3:38 pm
Just the facts – ma’am:
2010 Stats:
GT #1 in ACC total offense, #2 in points scored.
Once we have a defense this year it’s gonna be lights out for all of our opponents on The Flats and on the road.
UGay got lucky last year and only won due to Nesbitt’s injury and some horrible officiating. That is all.
Bey Bey
May 18th, 2010
3:39 pm
And my butter fingers.
Morgan Burnett
May 18th, 2010
3:42 pm
Please tell me what Nesbitt’s injury or officiating had to do with Caleb King blazing past me for his 75-yard untouched TD scamper en route to UGA’s 30-24 victory?
All the way turnt up
May 18th, 2010
3:43 pm
We did the best we could to pull the team through.
Tide Rising
May 18th, 2010
3:43 pm
Hugo,
Texas AD Deloss Dodds is on public record as saying that Texas wanted to join the sec when Ark bolted to the sec. But they didn’t want to take Tam and the Texas legislature closed down the deal by saying that if the sec took texas then they would have to take Tam as well. The sec was not prepared to take both and so the idea fell apart.
But as I pointed out earlier post an expanded 16 team SEC with Texas, Tam, OU, and Ok st moving to the west and Bama and AU moving to the east would be a simple solution that would work perfectly in the event that the sec doesn’t raid the acc for any teams.
Geographically it would work, we would gain a huge new tv market, and on top of not losing any big regular rivalries except Bama/LSU and AU/LSU (LSU is both team’s 3rd biggest rival) some old SEC rivalries such as AU/UT, AU/UF, Bama/UGA would be restored. And we wouldn’t have the redundancy of covering tv markets in states like Georgia, Florida, S. Carolina where we already have a flagship university presence.
Rammer Jammer
May 18th, 2010
3:47 pm
Tech’s president immediately walked to the podium and announced Tech was withdrawing from the SEC. Bryant never told Dodd why he reneged on his promise.
History goes on to show that Bryant and the Alabama football program went on to have one of the greatest runs in college football history. From 1963 until Bryant’s retirement, Alabama won192 games, with 11 ten win season, 12 SEC championships, and 5 National Championships.
Diggity Dawg
May 18th, 2010
3:49 pm
I would like to see Tech return to the SEC for one reason — it will free up a game on the Dawgs’ schedule so that we can play good non-conference competition AND have up to 7 home games.
Eraserhead
May 18th, 2010
3:49 pm
Been there and done that.
TECHME
May 18th, 2010
3:50 pm
To the comment about Tech being a bad choice but Clemson would bring SEC type football to the conference. Do you watch college football? When is the last time Clemson won anything?? When is the last time they have beaten Tech? Same as FlaSt. What have they done since the 90’s? Maybe Tech doesn’t belong in the ACC, but neither does any other ACC school for that fact.
Tech to the SEC
May 18th, 2010
3:50 pm
Tech would be a perfect fit in the SEC—the ACC is dead. More money, better football, great basketball, teams in better locations…. No disadvantages. Bring it on!!!
Otto
May 18th, 2010
3:51 pm
Tide Rising, agian has it correct at 3:43.
It would be more interesting in a situation where the SEC only takes 2 and the Big 12 is not raided. The Big 12 will need 3 Big 12 North teams to leave in order for things to get to the point that Texas considers folding the Big 12. The Big 12 will not survive without Texas.
Otto
May 18th, 2010
3:53 pm
TECHME and Tech to the SEC, who says Clemson or GT would be near the top of the SEC’s short list.
TECHME
May 18th, 2010
3:58 pm
Otto: I never said they were did I? I believe I was making a comment towards a few post regarding Clemson being a better fit. And who says they are not on the short list?
Fetvuldawg
May 18th, 2010
3:58 pm
As dangerous as North Avenue is I would hate to see SEC players, coaches and fans have to attend a game there and risk getting shot at in the nightly robbery/murder on the GA Tech campus.
GTFan
May 18th, 2010
4:03 pm
Clemson?? Please the only reason Clemson even held on was because of Spiller! He ran that team all by himself. I would like to see how they handle themselves this upcoming year without him or Ford.
audan94 - WDE!
May 18th, 2010
4:04 pm
I will be heading to the loveliest village on the plains in the morning to watch my brother-in-law graduate with a computer engineering degree. Very proud of him. Chalk up another Auburn Grad in the family. Now he can lend me some money.
War Eagle!!
Facts for Clarity
May 18th, 2010
4:08 pm
“the nightly robbery/murder on the GA Tech campus.”
FACT – Midtown Atlanta has a LOWER per capita crime rate than Athens, GA
And when has it been murder you’re reading reports of? Robbery, yes, and off campus I might add, but murder? That’s how rumors get started. The last murder at either Gt or UGA was that UGA professor killing someone.
GeezusDawg
May 18th, 2010
4:10 pm
Tony working the hit count.
GTsuperfan
May 18th, 2010
4:11 pm
I have been a die hard GT fan for over 50 years but I have to admit we routinely field the big bunch of loser football players and we have no business in a league like the SEC. We need to join whatever league Georgia State is in.
Facts for Clarity
May 18th, 2010
4:16 pm
FACT – GTsuperfan is jealous of Georgia Tech in every possible metric.
Delbert D.
May 18th, 2010
4:19 pm
No and no.
Tech Fan Since 1950
May 18th, 2010
4:24 pm
I believe there is a greater chance that Georgia Tech will be selected into the Big Ten rather than the SEC by this time next year. If the Big Ten is really serious about expansion and they want to match southern demographics in their marketing and recruitment efforts as they grow toward the future, it just makes good sense to include Tech and Atlanta. Academically and athletically Tech is a good fit for the Big Ten. However, I still like the ACC for I believe that its best days can still lie ahead if everyone sticks together.
Check these Facts For Clarity
May 18th, 2010
4:27 pm
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported there have been 10 armed robberies, nine targeting students, since Feb. 7 in neighborhoods surrounding Georgia Tech. One student was shot and wounded.
Just the facts.
catlanta91
May 18th, 2010
4:28 pm
As a Kentucky fan I would love to add another beatable Georgia school. Let’s add Georgia State while we’re at it. Don’t laugh Dogs fans we gotcha 2 out of 4 (and very nearly 3 out of 4).
JASon
May 18th, 2010
4:29 pm
Should tech go to the sec? These questions generate a lot of discussion, but why waste your time with it until it becomes a real possibility? At this point it is remote.
GADevildawgs
May 18th, 2010
4:29 pm
Tony you are better than this. This was a lazy summer column. GT brings nothing to the table that the SEC doesnt already have. If it dont bring in more money they aint going to be asked…..simple as that. You know it and I know it – its all about the money. Texas is the prize that every conference wants.
Tailgating
May 18th, 2010
4:32 pm
Personally, I want better geographic rivalries more than almost anything else. It’s all about the atmosphere for families going to games. I’d go to every game if Tech were in the SEC mostly because I could actually hop in the truck and DRIVE there, hang out for the weekend, and be back by Monday (exceptions being Arky and MSU…because Starkville sucks).
Current SEC + Tech, Clemson, FSU and Miami (or whomever would be closer and still competitive) seems like an awesome product to the Southern tailgater. Contrary to what UGA homers would have you believe, GT is not so terrible a place to tailgate.
Scott
May 18th, 2010
4:33 pm
As someone who resides in Austin and is a former DI collegiate athletics administrator, I find all of the speculation regarding Texas to the SEC rather interesting. However, I have very serious doubts that this would ever come about. If Texas goes anywhere, they will go west.
That being said, would the SEC be interested in establishing a TV and recruiting footprint in the Dallas/Fort Worth market by inviting TCU?
BIll
May 18th, 2010
4:35 pm
The SEC requires the female portion of the student body to be good looking. GT gals are mutts.