Athletic board buzzing about Georgia-Florida, too
Greensboro — As it does everywhere else in Bulldog Nation these days, the site of the Georgia-Florida game came up in Thursday’s meeting of the executive committee of the UGA Athletic Association board of directors at Lake Oconee.
UGA President Michael Adams and athletics director Damon Evans said, basically, that they are open-minded about what happens with the game after 2010 and that they’d like to make a decision by, say, late summer.
The best comment on the issue, though, came from board member Bob Bishop.
“I have very strong feelings about that, but the problem is I change my mind about once a week,” he said.
Adams indicated that comment crystallized a delicate decision.
“It’s not one of those [decisions] that is 90-10,” Adams said.
Another board member suggested Bulldog Nation might be divided 50-50 on the issue, to which Evans replied: “It changes a little bit [depending on] how we compete down there. The year in which we do well, I don’t hear as much about it. The year we lose, it’s, ‘We got to go.’”
While saying he has “no predisposition” one way or the other about where the game should be played after the current Jacksonville contract expires in 2010, Adams did reveal why, in years past, he has favored keeping it in Jax.
“The thing that has consistently driven me in that equation is all the folks in South Georgia who say this is their best chance to see a live game,” he said.
But Adams reiterated no decision has been made beyond 2010, and “we . . . are going to listen to folks on both sides of the equation.”
Since Georgia and Florida like to sign a new contract when existing deals get down to two games, Evans questioned whether a four-year contract — the typical length — is too short.
“It rolls around so fast,” he said. “I’d like to get to the point where this is it for a while.”
For those still wondering: No, the $40 million expansion of the football facilities at Butts-Mehre Heritage Hall — approved by the board Thursday — does not include the indoor practice facility (IPF) long sought by Mark Richt.
In fact, the Butts-Mehre project pushes the IPF onto the backburner, Adams said.
And yes, Richt was OK with that.
As much as he has advocated an IPF, he decided the massive expansion/renovation of Butts-Mehre was more important.
“Let me be clear about this,” Adams told the board. “The coach was given some options. This is what he chose. And a lot of things now move ahead of an indoor practice facility. With this $40 million expenditure in the near term for football, there are a bunch of other sports that are standing out there. . . . We’ve got to do some fan-serving facilities; we’ve got to make some basketball [improvements] and some other things that now move ahead of an indoor practice facility, given the decision to do this.”
Added Evans: “Everybody brings up indoor practice facility. We have done studies; we have traveled to other institutions. . . What it came down to for Mark was, what do the student-athletes touch every single day? This [Butt-Mehre] is where they are every day. An indoor practice facility is used [only] in inclement weather.”
The Butts-Mehre project, adding 53,000 square feet of new construction and renovating 23,000 square feet of existing space, will produce a massive new weight room, a new training room, new coaches’ offices, new meeting rooms and a large multi-purpose area that will be used for receptions and other functions and, on occasion, limited football drills. But that multi-purpose area, with synthetic floor, won’t be large enough or high-ceilinged enough to be an IPF, Evans said.
“What it will allow them to do is what they call walk-throughs,” he said. “Or they can go in there and do some other drill-type work.”
The Athletic Association board gets back together this morning at the Ritz-Carlton Lodge for a presentation by Mark Fox.
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121 comments Add your comment
NorthAveEngineer
May 25th, 2009
10:54 am
The City of Jacksonville should have special rules that will allow UGA to play the game in Jacksonville only when they have a good chance of winning, such as when the Florida quarterback is hurt or the week after the Florida coach has been fired. That way, the fans will be happy and want to come back in other “winnable” years. In other years, Ga should get to play the game wherever they want, including Athens, Atlanta or even Clarke Central High School! Don’t worry though—Damon Evans is a master negotiator and will get the best possible deal for the Dawgs!
Erk Russell
May 25th, 2009
11:23 am
EXCUSES, EXCUSES! Georgia has become a bunch of whiny babies. It was not an issue for 60 years. Then when Georgia decided to replace Coach Dooley with Goofball, instead of me, the program started declining. Where is Goff and Donnan coaching now. And yeah, Richt is a good coach, but not a great one. He has to resort to tricks to motivate his players.
Leave the game in Jacksonville and bring in a coach that will build men into football players, bot boys making excuses. Florida knows they are going to win, because that is the mindset the coaches have built down there.
Ozzfest
May 25th, 2009
2:01 pm
Since I go to SSI & JAX just about every year for the game, it is hard for me to image that very many of the fans who ACTUALLY ATTEND the game have much to complain about. It is a killer scene. Period.
The Truth
May 25th, 2009
2:25 pm
How about the game be played in the Ga dome EVERY year?? How many Florida fans would accept that? Whats that…. no one!? Ok so why are so many people so willing to give FL homefield advantage every year??
Supporting the game in Jax every year is just as dumb as supporting the BCS.
But i guess thats why college football remains the JOKE that it is…. really really dumb fans who can never come together to do anything meaningful like protest against all the POINTLESS bowl games by not showing up!
Fools Gold
May 25th, 2009
6:23 pm
Seems that UGA needs to start recruiting good players for their sport programs instead of spending the money foolishly. I mean the football team is getting blown out by the Big Boys of the SEC . The basketball program is a complete embarrassment and the baseball team is now the laughing stock of the SEC. LSU with that 16 – 0 beat-down was just total annihilation. Keep that bus warm in the Tallahassee baseball regionals mutts cause its gonna be a quick exit!
Saint Simons.
May 25th, 2009
7:18 pm
my parents caught me on the computer after hours (8pm). I guess I’m due for my spanking…
Go Dawgs!
Edith
May 25th, 2009
9:05 pm
It is good for Georgia’s recruiting that we play this game in Jax. We are starting to get really good prospect from Florida. All this talk is really to get a better deal from Jax for the game. It will stay in Jax don’t worry.
Alfred Neuman IV,Summa Cum Laude,UGA'90
May 25th, 2009
10:33 pm
The game should alternate sites between Quito & the North Pole. That way, no one could complain about the temperature disadvantage & we might be able to hold UF to less than 50 on the years we play at the North Pole.
Bulldawg
May 26th, 2009
5:49 am
If the ACC is such a great Baseball Conference, why are there MORE teams from The SEC in the NCAA Baseball Tournament than there are from the ACC ?
It is because there are 5 ACC baseball teams, one less than half the league, who cannot play their way out of a wet paper bag.
JaxDawg
May 26th, 2009
10:37 am
It’s not the travel or Florida having a “home field” advantage or even the coaching that’s been the major change in this series. Florida’s advantage comes from the schedule.
From 1993-2003 Florida has had a bye week before playing UGA
By contrast UGA had not one bye week before FL in the same span.
In 1997- UGA wins – FL had a bye week before the game, UGA did not.
In 2004- UGA wins- neither team had a bye week before the game
In 2007- UGA wins- UGA had a bye week before the game, FL did not
If you look back at the late 70’s-80’s when UGA was last dominating the series, neither team had a bye week most years. To consistently have a bye week before playing one of your biggest rivals is HUGE.
Last year was the first time since 2004 neither team had a bye week before the game and prior to 2004 you have to go back to 1992 for the last time neither team had a bye.
If Richt and Damon want to complain about something it’s this. I’m not trying to make an excuse here, but let’s be real if you have two equally talented teams that are rivals and one team consistently gets an extra week of rest and preperation, it has to be considered a significant advantage, regardless of where the game is played.
Just something to think about.
GO DAWGS!
Mort Merkel
May 26th, 2009
11:30 am
Here’s how adamant this south Georgia native-alum is about Georgia-Florida staying in Jacksonville. I would rather lose Mark Richt than see that tradition lost.
Brett
May 26th, 2009
11:44 am
Herschel Walker, Jim Brown, and Gale Sayers are just a few of the big man sports legends that are playing in the Sports Legends Challenge poker tournament this fall. Check out http://www.SportsLegendsChallenge.com to see how you can face off against some of the greatest sports legends of all time for your share of $5,000,000!
jH
May 26th, 2009
12:12 pm
Rainy day, dream away, let the sun take a holiday. Flowers bathe and uh, see the children play, lay back and groove on a rainey day. Well, I can see a bunch of wet preacherrs, look at them on the run. The carnival traffic noise, it sinks into the splashy hum. Even the ducks can groove, rain burdened in a park side pool, and I am leaning out my window sill, digging everything and uh, you too.
athensdawg
May 26th, 2009
1:26 pm
I will say this….
championship football coaches and championship programs don’t care who they play and when or where they play them…….we could play them on friggen mars and still get beat.
it’s all a bunch of excuses. we have not been as good as florida over the last what…20 years?!!! know what that boils down to? coaching…coaching….coaching……
the day mark richt decides to throw his beloved gameplan in the trashcan…that is when we will start turning the corner.
as they say of all the good coaches – they can beat you with their players and then switch sides and beat you again.
Charles Hill
May 26th, 2009
1:34 pm
I am from NC now so Jax is not closer but my SG roots say keep it there. I joined the jas BD club to get better parking but guess what, Adams bought out some of the parking and we were severely limited. Guess 60 years fo going to games is not enough. Don’t worry though, I will be ther with good parking. May bring in a boat. Cullowheedawg
NBA draft fan
May 26th, 2009
7:37 pm
What a bulge!
superDawg
May 26th, 2009
9:04 pm
stay in jax party hard,pull for the dawgs and have a good time.UGA will eventually take back control of the gayturs and the earth wabble will correct itself.NUFF SAID.
superDawg
May 26th, 2009
9:06 pm
UGA MAN UP PLAY AGGRESSIVE AND POUND THEM LIZARDS.
UGA_2001
May 30th, 2009
3:22 pm
I don’t understand how the Ga/Fla game can give SoGa people the best chance to see a live game.
You have to be a season ticket holder to even qualify for tickets. Most people that get them have had season tickets for years.
You cannot tell me that these SoGa people only go to one game a year.
Nashville Dawg
June 1st, 2009
7:22 pm
It’s not fair that the Dawgs have to play the game right down the road from Gainesville every year. They should rotate the game each year between jacksonville and Athens, but UGA should still get half the tickets in Jax because of all the money they spend down there. In Athens, UF should only get 10,000 tickets! Damon Evans needs to do something quick to give UGA a better chance to win this game!!
jdawg
September 23rd, 2009
2:06 pm
If this meeting is really held at the Ritz Carlton Lodge….really, do we need to meet in that nice of a facility….I know, I know it is no tax dollars, but it is my dollar that they are using to meet. the Ga Ctr should be just about it…..I would be glad to serve and reduce my expense…jdawg