Radakovich’s exit shows disparity between Tech, Georgia
The financial issues that Dan Radakovich dealt with at Tech won't be an issue at Clemson. (AP photo)
It’s almost always about money. There may be other factors in changing jobs: Going back home, returning to an alma mater, or, as Dan Radakovich said Tuesday, having the desire to “get into a collegiate environment. I hadn’t had the opportunity to be in a pure college town.”
A nice sentiment. But primarily it’s still about the money, either what one can make or one can spend.
When Radakovich resigned from the athletic director’s job at Georgia Tech for the same position at Clemson, it said as much about his former employer than his new one. Radakovich won’t have to sell a ticket or plead with donors at Clemson, which is what he had to do at Tech. The pressure for victories and the chase for dollars is greater than ever in college athletes – too great, actually, but that’s a topic for another column – and right now Tech just isn’t all that attractive.
Radakovich won’t say that. But he’ll use words like “challenges” and “difficulties.” He was weary of trying to get people to “jump off the connector” in hopes he could alter their perceptions of what the metro campus looked like. He won’t criticize Tech’s high academic requirements or limited number of majors, but he’ll amplify on the difficulty coaches have to convince recruits that the school can provide an “enriching” experience.
That’s why he was so driven to improve and add facilities. “Sometimes they [recruits] make their decision first with their eyes,” he said.
Here’s the problem: While Radakovich denies also that the Tech AD position is a “steppingstone” job, relative to others in major college athletics, that’s basically what he just affirmed by leaving one ACC job for another, just two hours up the interstate. He is close with Clemson’s retiring AD, Terry Don Phillips, and had coveted the impending vacancy for several months.
Greg McGarity knows what drives Radakovich and what wears on him (or any athletic director). (Curtis Compton/AJC)
None of this bodes well for the perception of Tech on the college sports landscape, and we haven’t addressed the ever-present shadow cast by the beast in Athens. Georgia and Georgia Tech are different campuses with different missions. But they’re rival programs in close proximity of each other. The financial situations at the two athletic departments are at opposite ends of the spectrum.
According to the Equity in Athletics database, which tracks budgets of every collegiate athletic program, Tech’s sports teams had total revenues of $46,910,364 for the one-year period ending June 30, 2012. Georgia was nearly double that at $91,670,613.
Georgia athletic director Greg McGarity said he wasn’t surprised by Radakovich’s exit. The two have known each other for years and speak often. He knows what drives the man. “When he was at American University, he missed the bright lights of big-time college athletics,” McGarity said.
He also knows what can wear down an athletic director.
“The financial challenges to run a college athletic program are much more difficult at some institutions than others,” McGarity said. “When you have a strong fan base and full stadiums and when you have a tremendous level of support, it makes your job easier from a fundraising standpoint. Financial circumstances can be taxing mentally. You’re always worrying about where the next dollar will come from. It wears on athletic directors just as it wears on anyone. There’s a constant pressure.”
Radakovich was back in his Edge Athletic Center office Tuesday for some desk cleanout. Asked about the challenges of running athletics at the Institute, he didn’t hesitate: “Always looking at ways to get people to consistently come to the stadium and the venues. When we’re winning, attendance is good. When we’re OK, attendance is OK. When we’re not winning, attendance falls. The challenge is to create a bigger core. We tried a lot of things to get that to happen.”
Some have characterized Radakovich’s decision to leave as “jumping ship.” That’s overstatement. Tech isn’t in financial straits. The football team, while struggling, isn’t devastated. But his departure is a reality check for the school.
Radakovich tries to minimize Georgia comparisons, saying, “The comparisons aren’t fair because the schools aren’t chartered the same, and they don’t have the same level of resources athletically. … Georgia has been up the street for the last 100 years. It’s a factor. It’s something that you have to manage each and every day. But it doesn’t make the list of why we do what we do.”
He was still saying “we” Tuesday. A day earlier, he was putting on a bright orange sports jacket at a news conference. “We” is past tense. And the jacket he put on Monday might as well have been green.
By Jeff Schultz
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517 comments Add your comment
YELLOW BRITCHES
October 31st, 2012
5:43 pm
Well, Duh!!! And you get paid for these insights? Master of the obvious.
Yellowjacket.aj
October 31st, 2012
5:46 pm
Put in Timeout, blah, blah…You miss the point. We have a tradition of Div 1 football and I and my other alum friends are appalled that we can’t field top 20 football teams consistently. Football pays for all the other sports by the way. As for turning out great graduates….whatever. It shounds like you want to turn Tech into MIT, Cal Poly, or Princetone where sports are a joke and practical undergraduate education is secondary. Tech can have both great academics AND great sports with the right leadership and alumni commitment. And it’s a fact that university presidents see more applications after positive media exposure of the sports teams. Tech’s tradition has always been turning out top flight, practical undergrads who are well rounded. In the 70’s when I was on campus we were rated as one of the roughest intramural football programs in the country as well as one of the best engineering schools. No alums I know want to see Tech turn into Rice or Harvard but that’s where we seem to be headed.
F22
October 31st, 2012
6:13 pm
I think Tech and Mercer would be a great game.
Ed
October 31st, 2012
6:40 pm
Radakovich probably got tired of pretending to enjoy Dungeons and Dragons and Harry Potter movies. Having to go to parties dressed as Luke Skywalker just to schmooze with potential donors was probably the last straw. At Clemson they’ve never heard of any of those things, so he can just concentrate on building a great athletic department.
lance manion
October 31st, 2012
7:30 pm
There are a lot of folks here taking shots at Tech, in most cases because they are jealous of the young men and women who can get into the school and then succeed. Lets face it, most of the stupid troll posts here are not from UGA graduates, they are likely from those folks who view UGA as a sports team only. Most of my UGA alum friends recognize Tech for what it is, a great, top ranked engineering school. Tech sports are in good shape overall. Basketball just got a great new arena, baseball has a beautiful stadium, the soft ball facility is first rate, we added a great indoor practivce facility for football and we are building a new tennis facility. The women’s basketball program is now a top 25 program, volleyball has been great, baseball is one of the top programs in all of college for the past 30 years and golf is as well. Football has been consistently competitive since 1990 and we had 14 consectuive winning seasons. Yes, we need to improve, but over the past five years we have beaten a number of top 25 teams, as recently as last year. Tech is M.I.T. with a competive sports program. Very few schools can make that claim. So, we’ll be just fine. If you hate us, it is likely that you are simply not good enough to get into our school.
ToccoaDawg
October 31st, 2012
8:06 pm
Schultzie how about writing an article about what’s wrong at tech and how they need a person in charge that will make big changes to right the ship.
curdog
October 31st, 2012
8:15 pm
Yes, TLH is not a nice place!
Don’t come here!
There are too many new comers!
You wouldn’t like such a place!
Even worse if you lived 30 miles outside town!
Stay in N Metro GA!
Skeeters!
Snakes!
Fire Ants!
Hurricanes!
Ticks!
Sink holes!
Even some Democrats and liberals!
It’s Hell here!
s/ B. Rabbit
Pitbull
October 31st, 2012
8:28 pm
Be sure and take those school children and show those future engineers the cubicle they will be sitting in for the next 30 years after they get that Tech degree.
Show them how if they work long and hard enough in their engineering job then they can get the cubicle in the back by a window so they can see the parking lot.
Explain to them how they will be reporting to the most politically savy ex engineer who has the corner office with TWO windows.
Then tell them about the other departments in the organization such as Legal and Accounting and Human Resources that are staffed with UGA grads.
Tell them about the organization’s health and dental plans that are served by doctors and dentists that majored in microbiology at UGA.
Let them know that if they are in an accident while on company time to have their supervisor contact the organization’s Risk Manager who graduated from UGA.
Yeah, show it all to them and see what they think.
PS Be sure and let them know not to play music in their cubicle because it disturbs the other Tech engineer losers up and down the row.
Be glad these future engineers are not your kids because you wouldn’t want them to have that life, would you?
Titus
October 31st, 2012
9:27 pm
Nice comeback Schultz and yeah, a 1.6B basbase of capital has nothing to do with an organization’s buying power, revenue or budget, be it athletics, textbooks or tiddlywinks. What time are you due back at boy’s town?
Darby Quinte
October 31st, 2012
10:01 pm
I think that 53 arrests and a Fulmer Cup says it all about the sleazy stuff that UGA tolerates.
Norwegian Blue
October 31st, 2012
10:02 pm
@ George Stein and Sammy Dawg. Yikes! I guess I’m uniquely qualified to comment on this since I’ve lived in Tallahassee and Atlanta, and 10+ years in both? It’s a little bit apples and oranges, but if I have to choose a city, it’s Atlanta all day. No college student (or football recruit) is going to FSU to experience Tallahassee. But I imagine many students (and recruits) come to GT because of Atlanta. For the record I’m a Georgia fan so I have no dog (or dawg) in this fight.
Norwegian Blue
October 31st, 2012
10:08 pm
As for Darby Quinte and others, UGA is as tough on its student-athletes as Tech is. I’ve lived in Georgia for 40 years, have friends and family attached to both schools, and this argument is silly. Tech’s a great school. Georgia’s a great school. Tech’s in a rough patch right now, and Rad is jumping ship. Good for him. And good luck at Clemson (which UGA and GT fans can agree is an awful place.) Tech will find an excellent replacement at AD who will bring good things to their athletic programs.
Norwegian Blue
October 31st, 2012
10:24 pm
And I apologize for Pitbull. No need to be ugly. I don’t know if he’s a UGA grad, but he’s (mostly) clueless. EIther school will set your son (or daughter) up for success. I’d probably lean GT for my kids, but no doubt UGA offers a lot that GT doesn’t.
Same excuses different day
October 31st, 2012
10:31 pm
An Argument SOME GT fans make that invalid:
We have higher academic standards and don’t recruit the same players as UGA.
-why don’t you morons look at who GT extends scholarship offers to and reevaluate that BS excuse. SAME PLAYERS.
-didn’t tech win a national title in 1990? Was it a garbage school then or something? NO!
Answer: Atlanta sucks and GT fans aren’t that great! I know this because I used to have season tickets. They were cheap and for the money the football was decent. Oh and most of the tech fans I met NEVER attended the institute. I eventually went to UGA and commissioned in the US Army. Just another dumb UGA grad. Wish I was as smart as Vad Lee, Tevin Washington, Uzzi, and Attatouchou. Are you kidding me? Have you people ever heard them speak at a press conference. Dumb as rocks. Tech is in a slump right now. That is all.
wreckmaniac
October 31st, 2012
10:34 pm
Sammie Dawg: Its also been a while since “we’ve” ( or anyone for that matter) has heard from UGA. One win over a top 10 team for the first time in 5 years dosen’t give you a reason to crow especially since the nation’s best players always come to UGA.
Norwegian Blue
October 31st, 2012
10:34 pm
Last part of SEDD’s comment above is dead on. Tech is in a slump right now. That is all.
Pug
October 31st, 2012
10:34 pm
GTBob, you’re certainly NOT one to talk about being on a blog and throwing jabs at another team/school. You’re on the UGA blogs all the time and can’t seem to keep your mouth shut! Then again, you do mysteriously disappear every year that your “team” loses to the Dawgs…
wreckmaniac
October 31st, 2012
10:42 pm
A lot of truth in this writeup. However, Dr Rice took Tech to the stars. It will take a special person but it can be done. There is a tendency to dismiss GA Tech because it dosen’t fit the typical football factory. Just when this dismissal takes place is when Tech is at its best and most dangerous. Programs such as Auburn, Tennessee and Tech will recover as they always have. Notre Dame and FL Stave have been a joke for years but look at them now.
Norwegian Blue
October 31st, 2012
11:19 pm
As a UGA fan, if GT, Auburn and UT are my options, I’m 80% for GT, and 20% split evenly for AU and UT. I agree with wreckmaniac, GT is at a low point now, but that probably means they’re about to rebound, big time. As an Atlanta resident, I certainly hope so. Not just in football, but basketball and baseball too. Tech’s success does not hurt UGA. It’s all good. (Bring back Bobby Cremins!!!)
Cmdawg99
October 31st, 2012
11:53 pm
2 dogs 2 cokes and 2 nochos please. How manytes do I have to say that to get to 91 million?
Thomas Brown
November 1st, 2012
3:44 am
55 Years of Georgie tek Football – starting 1957 :
- not won a Major Bowl Game Current 55 years starting 1957
- been to only 2 Major Bowl Games Current 55 years starting 1957
- one conference championship Current 55 years starting 1957
- 7 wins 21 losses to UGA at Bobby Dodd Stadium starting 1957
- 8 wins 19 losses to UGA at Sanford Stadium starting 1957
- 15 wins 40 losses to UGA Current 55 years starting 1957
- # 38 in the nation in wins Current 55 years staring 1957
- 344 wins 282 losses 13 ties Current 55 years stating 1957
- teams with more football wins than Georgie tek Current 55 yrs starting 1957 :
1-Nebraska
2-Oklahoma
3-Texas
4-Ohio State
5-Alabama
6-Michigan
7-Florida
8-Southern California
9-Auburn
10-Tennessee
11-Georgia
12-Louisiana State
13-Florida State
14-Notre Dame
15-Brigham Young
16-Arkansas
17-Miami-Florida
18-Arizona State
19-Virginia Tech
20-Clemson
21-West Virginia
22-Fresno State
23-Southern Miss
24-Washington
25-UCLA
26-Penn State
27-Texas A&M
28-Miami-Ohio
29-Boston College
30-Ole Miss
31-Bowling Green
32-Syracuse
33-Colorado
34-Utah
35-Toledo
36-Air Force
37-Oregon
38-Georgie tek
Stinger2
November 1st, 2012
5:47 am
o.k. Schultz. You say the problem at GT is the financial disparity betwen UGA and GT.
So what is the solution. You know the old saying….if you don`t have a solution you are part of the problem.
RTech
November 1st, 2012
6:49 am
Ga Tech should drop all these money losing minor sports and just keep football, basketball and baseball that bring in cash. The ath dept is broke and needs to stop wasting money.
GTgrad71
November 1st, 2012
6:59 am
UGA has Engineering. 800 Engineering students NOW. Mechanical. Civil, Electrical.
Georgia Tech’s Charter is to be the only Engineering College in Georgia.
Something has changed.
UGA, Auburn, Florida, Tennessee, Clemson, Alabama, Sanford Etc all have Engineering.
Can the State of Georgia continue to support a Specialty College that teaches the same as most of the major colleges around us? Only 50% Georgia students?
MC
November 1st, 2012
7:11 am
lance manion, SugerHillDawg nailed it on the 30th at 3:26. The GT mantra of when we lose whine about academics. In a nutshell. If for any reason we can’t compete or stand the heat in a big time conference then get out of it. Go to Conference USA or better yet go independent or get in a conference with some of the service academies. Maybe even drop down a division. But PUHLEEEEZE stop the excuse making. You some like a bunch of sissies.
MC
November 1st, 2012
7:13 am
Stinger2 just look around the empty stadium and the solution will be crystal clear.
Buzzman
November 1st, 2012
8:17 am
Jeff Schultz, I have lived in Clemson for 10 years now, I am a Atlanta native, and I cannot believe you would rather live in Atlanta. Yes Clemson is not a big town, but alot of athletics find the campus very appealing. Also the parents find out it is alot safer than downtown Atlanta. If I was a young freshman being recruited out of high school to play ball for Ga. Tech and Clemson, I would chose Clemson just because of the safer environment, they also have alot more degrees to offer than Tech. Yes I love Tech, my old school but let’s face it, this is 2012, not in the sixties where Atlanta was alot safer. I will always pull for Tech and I do hate Purple and Orange, but I am just being realistic.
Paula
November 1st, 2012
8:50 am
Gosh, Jeffy….I would say there is disparity….didn’t UGA have to fire their last Athletic Director because he was caught with a woman who was not his wife? To put the UGA program on some type of platform is laughable.
heartofdarkness
November 1st, 2012
8:57 am
Club Med atmosphere for students, government subsidized entertainment industry grafted onto academic institutions. And the result is:
In the U.S., 42 percent of all 25-64 year-olds have reached higher education — making it one of the most well educated countries in the world, but behind Canada (51 percent), Israel (46 percent), Japan (45 percent) and the Russian Federation (54 percent). When it comes to the young adult population, however, the U.S. ranks 14th among 37 OECD and G20 countries in the percentage of 25-34 year-olds boasting higher education attainment, at 42 percent. This puts it above the OECD average of 38 percent, but over 20 percentage points behind the leader, Korea, at 65 percent.
According to the report, higher education attainment levels in the U.S. are growing at a below-average rate compared to other OECD and G20 countries. Between 2000 and 2010, attainment levels in the U.S. increased by an average of 1.3 percentage points annually, while its OECD counterparts boasted a 3.7 percentage-point increase per year overall.
But none of those other countries has a football team ranked in the top 20. Where are their priorities?
Thomas Brown
November 1st, 2012
11:00 am
_______________________
ESPN.com news services
ATLANTA — The NCAA put Georgia Tech on four years of probation, fined the school $100,000 and stripped its ACC title game victory from the 2009 football season for violations that also included problems in the men’s basketball program.
The NCAA said Georgia Tech should have declared receiver Demaryius Thomas ineligible after he accepted $312 worth of clothing in ‘09 from former Yellow Jackets quarterback Calvin Booker, who was working for a sports agent at the time. But the investigation took a harder turn against the school when athletic director Dan Radakovich broke NCAA rules by alerting Johnson that Thomas and safety Morgan Burnett would soon be interviewed.
It seemed obvious to the NCAA that Thomas and Burnett were told to prepare answers to questions they would be asked during the interviews.
“The staff members provided, before the NCAA could conduct their interview, information about what would be discussed in the interview,” NCAA committee on infractions chairman Dennis Thomas said. “These actions impeded the enforcement staff investigations and hindered the committee in getting to the truth in this case.”
The NCAA said the violations were considered major.
“They were not isolated because the violations occurred over two academic years and involved members of the men’s basketball staff,” the infractions committee report said. “They were also not inadvertent, as the institution and (former) head men’s basketball coach (Paul Hewitt) were aware of its staff members’ involvement in the tournament, which had occurred on the campus for a period of 10 years.”
Hewitt was fired from Georgia Tech after the season.
The NCAA Committee on Infractions has penalized Georgia Tech’s football and men’s basketball programs, citing the school’s failure to cooperate with the investigation, among other violations. The penalties include:
• Four years’ probation (July 14, 2011 through July 13, 2015)
• Reduction in official men’s basketball recruiting visits for 2011-12 and 2012-13
• $100,000 fine
• Vacating 2009 ACC football championship game victory
• Reduction in recruiting days for 2011 summer evaluation period
• Public reprimand and censure
“We could have been more aggressive in our investigation,” Peterson said. “Had we known then what we know now, we could have acted differently.”
The NCAA took a different view. It said in its report that Randy Nordin, who served as general counsel at the time for Georgia Tech, “adopted an obstructionist approach.” Neither Nordin nor Paul Parker, who served as a compliance officer, still works at Georgia Tech.
Peterson added that Georgia Tech is “very concerned about having to vacate the championship title,” but the school has already been in touch with ACC commissioner John Swofford.
“Consistent with NCAA procedures, Georgia Tech will return the championship trophy and the official conference records for 2009 will not designate a champion,” Swofford said in a statement. “All ACC record books will be amended accordingly.”
_________________________________________
TallaDawg
November 1st, 2012
12:36 pm
Sammy Dawg @ Oct. 30th – 2:54 PM – Only in the areas students make dumps; get just a little distance from the dorms/apartments and Tallahassee is great, plus beaches close enough for day trips.
MilledgDawg
November 1st, 2012
1:50 pm
Lance Manion @ Oct. 31 at 7:30 p.m.: If you hate us, it is likely that you are simply not good enough to get into our school.
Possibly that’s true for some, although that probably only applies to those who want to be engineers. For everyone else, I don’t know a single UGA student who has ever expressed any desire or regret about not attending Georgia Tech.
Another possibility is that we hate you because your trolls go onto UGA sites such as this one and talk trash.
lance manion
November 1st, 2012
2:17 pm
Milledawg, you are right, there are a few trolls that go over and mess with y’all when the AD gets caught with panites in his lap and a blonde in his car etc, so we get the trolls here as well when things go badly. The truth is, when you get past the football B.S., that both schools are fine and have their place inr our state. UGA is a fine, major university with a broad curriculum. They are our flagship school and we should all be proud. Tech is a specialty school, that ranks at the top nationally and internationally and attracts students from all over the world. The fact that we are always competitive in athletics, makes us unique and proud. When I read stuff posted by idiots, like “Atlanta is a cesspool”, “you should drop a division” or someone actually criticizing Tech for having too many non white Georgia kids, it makes UGA folks look stupid. Sadly, most of these folks are not even UGA alums. I currently have a son at Tech and another on the way. They will finish with great degrees and get great jobs geared for the future. That is what college is all about. Along the way, they will get to see a top 25 baseball program, a top 25 women’s basketball team, a Tech men’s basketball team that is on the rise again, and a football program that is down this year, but will be back. They live in Midtown, one of the great urban areas in the southeast. It is not for all kids, but if you are smart enough, willing to work like crazy and enjoy a great suburban campus located in the middle of a great city, then Tech is the place to be. Not knocking UGA, just the idiots who say stupid things and make the school look like it has a fan base full of bigoted, narrow minded people. Go Jackets!
lance manion
November 1st, 2012
2:27 pm
Milleddawg, both schools are fine and have their place in supporting education in our state. UGA is a good, large university with a broad curriculum. It is our flagship school and we should all be proud. Tech is a technology focused school, with majors that are science and math related. The curriculum is difficult, and there are no easy majors. They all require tough classes. That said, it is not an excuse. We are proud that we can be a top rated school, both nationally and internationally and still compete successfully in division one. Check our records and rankings in baseball, golf, track over the past 30 years. Look at our football record over the past 15 years. Look at our new facilities, and our men’s basketbal team’s recent recruiting classes. We are M.I.T. or Call Tech with a good D1 sports program. To see people make stupid posts about our students, our location and even bring race into it, is inexcusable. Tech is going to be fine in atletics, we always resolve our problems. And by the way, Wall Street Journal ranks us number one in engineering in the country. Sure, we wish the football team was better this year, but all in all, we have a great school and program.
lance manion
November 1st, 2012
2:57 pm
Sorry for the dual posts. I can never tell when this thing works or not!
Thomas Brown
November 1st, 2012
3:44 pm
How is being ranked the # 36 national university, being ranked at the very top ? The very top is # 1 Harvard. Georgie tek is not that, never has been, and never will be. And, by the looks of it to me as being ranked the # 36 football team in won/lost record after 1957, you are not just experiencing a down season in football. You’re down in football, on NCAA Probation in Football, and will remain thusly as you have for 60 years, now and counting.
lance manion
November 1st, 2012
4:47 pm
Thomas, Georgia Tech is the number one ranked engineering program in the country, based on the Wall Street Journal and number four according to US News. Look at the following rankings:
Industrial – 1st
Aerospace – 4th
Biomedical – 2nd
Civil – 3rd
Chemical –10th
Computer -6th
Electrical – 5th
Environmental – 6th
Materials Science – 7th
Mechanical – 6th
Nuclear – 5th
Yes, our engineering program is ranked ahead of schools like Harvard, Duke, Brown and others. We are the number 7 public university in the country.
The Georgia Institute of Technology ranks 24th among the top 200 universities recognized in the Times Higher Education Magazine’s 2011-2012 World University Rankings. Georgia Tech moved up from 27th last year and was the top-ranked public university from the southern United States.
So Thomas, yes, we are a top ranked school. As for football, we are number 36 on the list since 1957. So what? Not bad for a academic institution of this caliber. And yes, UGA has beat us a lot recently. But that cmoes and goes. It wasn’t too many years ago we had you three years in a row. Would we like that again? Yes. Are you better in football for now? Yes. That said, we beat you in basketball and baseball last year and will likely do so again.
lance manion
November 1st, 2012
4:50 pm
By the way, I somehow doubt Thomas Brown has ever attended college, much less UGA.
godawgs82
November 1st, 2012
6:53 pm
It is tougher to be accepted to UGA Honors Program than to get into Ga Tech.
That’s a fact.
E1Tech
November 1st, 2012
8:41 pm
Tech—academic elite.
Ga—university of football–the players can barely read, but somehow pass those mickey mouse classes they take. congrats to the “dogs”
northbeach Scott
November 1st, 2012
10:37 pm
I think it may be time for Tech to considerpulling the plug on the football program or move to a lessor league. The rats are leaving the sinking ship and when I see the dumb dumbs that we have playing on the team, I think I have completely lost hope.
Oh yeah, To Hell with Georgia, cesspool of the South.
Wilson1972
November 1st, 2012
11:22 pm
Again, we are left with the arrogance of how much more superior that GT is. Why doesn’t Tech try to become a more well rounded institution of higher learning? Add classes, attract more students,expand. It’s supposed to be about preparing people for life. Unfortunately for tech, once the University of Georgia gets a foothold in their new engineering department. Tech will be left with nothing. What few engineering students that will go to tech are the ones from somewhere other than Georgia. The population in this state is full of people from all over the country. Most of the people I come across are sports fans, Many times I’ve been asked about about the Ga GT rivalry. Honestly Georgia fans really don’t hate Tech. But make no mistake my experience has always been Tech fans usually talk about how stupid Ga fans are and how dumb their students are. All the while Georgia gets stronger academically every year while Tech remains stagnate. Oh by the way, yes 10 years and all those research dollars will be going to UGA. It is the flagship university of this state. And with the relationships that the university has made in the business world.GT has way more problems than their athletic department. But it’s been the mindset of the institute that has created this problem. And now we are at this point from Tech fans. WE ARE TOO SMART, WE MAKE MORE MONEY, WE JUST CAN’T COMPETE IN SPORTS! Good grief, change, evolve! Before you destroy a fine school.
George Burdell
November 2nd, 2012
12:58 am
I don’t think GT is worried too much. GT’s endowment is almost triple what UGA has, which is sad considering how many more that UGA has.
Thomas Brown
November 2nd, 2012
3:57 am
lance manion November 1st, 2012 4:47 pm
_______________________________
NATIONAL UNIVERSITY RANKINGS :
_______________________________
http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities/page+4
# 36 Georgie tek
Vett
November 2nd, 2012
8:40 am
Current GT student perspective on GT Athletics: http://www.rcsoatl.com/2012/11/hopeful-for-change-in-gt-athletics.html
Been There
November 2nd, 2012
9:24 am
GT has two issues. The first is a string of ineffective Presidents with concerns outside of GT. My goodeness we even supported engineering degrees from UGA. Totaly against our self-interest as the Tech School vs the Arts, GT is failing internally. I have a son there and the BS factor vs education/learning and becoming job ready is almost beyond tolerence. No wonder athletics suffer. The second is the past AD made everything a hassle. Season Tickets, Parking and at one point when changing crowd management staff even walking to the game. I read Vett’s link and I have to wonder as a GT Alum of the late 70’s and early 80’s why a change was made to student ticketing. In the old days you paid an athletic fee and your student ID had a different background color vs one who did not pay the optional fee. That ID was admission to all sporting events. To have seats together frats and other groups went to the game together, entered together and sat together. Simple, effective and still raised the money. GT needs a long Alum based review of all current operations academic as well as athletic. We are in danger of losing something precious.
lance manion
November 2nd, 2012
9:24 am
Thomas, take a look at the international rankings.
Georgia Tech #24
UGA somewhere between 201 and 225
Wilson, you are delusional if you think the top kids in the state will chose UGA over Tech for an engineering degree. I’m not going to take shots at a start up program with a limited number of majors, but they will never compete with Tech and are not designed to do so. You would have to be a fool to think that. Besides, UGA people who run the program have already admitted that they are here to fill a niche, not to be able to compete with one of the top schools for engineering in the world. As for Tech being stagnant academically, that is ridiculous. All of Tech’s major engineering programs are top ranked. The SAT scores at Tech continue to climb and admission is more difficult with each year. I’m not trashing UGA, it is a good, big university that serves the needs of our state. In fact, I attended UGA as a post graduate, so I am very familiar with both schools. UGA has many fine students in a variety of programs, but in math, science and engineering, it is no contest. You act as if there is something wrong with attracting many of the top students in the country. The fact is that companies locate in Georgia, just to have access to research and students from Tech. This is good for our state, and our region. No one is dropping the level of any sports at Tech. By the way Wilson, with our worst team in basketball in years, Tech beat you guys last year. Maybe you guys should considered finding an easier basketball conference.
lance manion
November 2nd, 2012
9:49 am
Obviously we have some issues to correct, as any institution does, but sports wise let me remind my UGA friends:
UGA trails Tech in Basketball 102-86 in the all time series.
In baseball, Tech has won five of the last six games in the series, massively outscoring the dawgs.
In Volleyball, Tech is 10 – 1 against UGA since 1999.
Yep, we are trailing in football, but we’ll get that fixed again soon. In the mean time, lets keep things in perspective.
I do agree with Been There’s post that we have to make things easier on our fans. We have great facilities, with massive improvements. Our women’s programs are doing well, even though they only began at a major level less than 30 years ago. As for student’s, my son and his frat brothers are at every game, en masse. It is easier to load your Buzz card and get tickets to anything. I do have a problem with the currently football ticket / donation situation. I agree with others that we will sell more seats, if we drop the donation requirements. That has not worked for us.
No excuses. We compete academically and athletically with any school in the country. We will find a new AD that will make adjustments to help football. The future is bright. Go Jackets!
reality
November 2nd, 2012
9:53 am
CPJ isn’t the problem. The option isn’t the problem. The AD isn’t the problem. The president isn’t the problem. These things have all changed over time, yet…The reality is that GT has never and will never out-recruit UGA in football. Winning once or twice in 20 years is NOT to be confused with being competitive. There is no rivalry, there is only an ‘auto win’ on the schedule for UGA and a almost certain depressing end to GT’s season year in and year out. Please, for the love of the young men playing for GT, please QUIT PLAYING UGA IN FOOTBALL..and quit playing every other football factory. In fact, just quit playing football. GT cannot and (history shows) compete thus it is just an injury, angry fan, depressed alumn away from someone getting hurt. Giving UGA an auto win is not a worthy reason to sustain a non-competitive ‘rivalry’. Just drop the madness before someone get’s hurt please!!
lance manion
November 2nd, 2012
10:17 am
Reality, you are living in a fantasy. Obviously, you have no clue about the facts. By the way, in what year did you graduate from UGA? What is your degree in?