UGA’s McGarity unsure about 2012 schedule but says SEC will stick with 8 games
ATHENS – When asked about Georgia’s future schedules in the wake of SEC expansion, Georgia athletic director Greg McGarity deferred Monday to that well-known football scheduling expert of “Hogan’s Heroes” fame.
“What was it that Sgt. Schultz used to say? ‘I know nothing,” McGarity said in a fake German accent.
Lame jokes aside, McGarity was telling the truth. He said the SEC’s 12 current ADs met two weeks ago to discuss future schedules, but that all those scenarios involved a 13-team league. After Sunday’s news that Missouri has officially joined the league, the SEC will be a 14-team conference starting next season. Texas A&M agreed in September to join the SEC.
“I really don’t know anything,” McGarity said Monday. “Two weeks ago all we saw were several different variations of a 13-team schedule, but we haven’t seen anything regarding 14 teams. The only thing we know is that Missouri is in the East. I guess that means that we play Missouri next year. But who knows where and who knows who our Western opponents will be? That’s what you just don’t know, because you can’t assume anything.”
McGarity said one thing about which he is sure is they won’t be expanding from eight to nine conference games. South Carolina President Harris Pastides was quoted earlier Monday saying that would be the case.
“No, no, no, I don’t know where that came from,” McGarity said. “That was in error. That has never been discussed. The model is an eight-game conference schedule. I do know that.”
One scenario floated on Monday was that Georgia, which was slated to pick up Alabama next season in Tuscaloosa, would get the Tigers in Columbia instead.
“Not necessarily so,” McGarity said. “We’ll have to play everybody in the East, so there’s six games there, then you play two Western opponents. One of those will have to be Auburn, we hope, just like Alabama hopes theirs will be Tennessee. So who knows?
“We just haven’t had any discussion yet on what our schedule will look like next year. But we have to know by the end of the month. We have to for logistical purposes.”
McGarity said preliminary word out of Birmingham is that they will meet again in two weeks to finalize future schedules. That day won’t come soon enough for him.
“We have to get moving on 2012,” McGarity said. “We’ve got printed materials, we’ve got season-ticket orders, hotels to reserve, we’ve got to move pretty quickly here. But that’s just part of the challenges that occur when you go through expansion this quickly.”
– Chip Towers
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
212 comments Add your comment
1eyedJack
November 8th, 2011
12:20 pm
Why shouldn’t Georgia be favored over Awbun? Statistically we have a much better defense and offense and it’s a home game.
RawDawg
November 8th, 2011
2:12 pm
lodger16x
November 7th, 2011
9:41 pm
There’s an easy way to keep the 8-game schedule AND solve the problem of playing most other-division teams only once every 6 years. It would require that all teams skip one team in their division each year. So there would be 6 division games, and 3 non-division games ( one of those with the cross-rival). This is not any more unfair than the current rotation system. In this system, the longest time between an SEC team visiting another would be reduced from 12 years to 6.
**************************************************
This actually isnt a bad idea… I wouldnt mind giving up 1 East team per year to preserve some scheduling diversity with West teams. EXCEPT if you have 2 teams tied for number 1 who dont play each other… whats the tie breaker?
ole yeller
November 8th, 2011
2:27 pm
UGA better on both sides of the ball. Auburn will show up and play but NO WIN in the forcase. After Saturday 11/12/2011 maybe UGA will get a little love.
Nick R Brown
November 8th, 2011
3:41 pm
The 15 game schedule is coming, but it won’t be what you think. When the SEC has 16 team we will go to 4-divisions of 4-teams with an 8 game schedule, 4 game OOC, and have a two game SEC playoff. Each division winner with be seeded at the end of the year, 1 plays 4, 2 plays 3 in the SEC Semi-Final round with the higher seeds getting home field advantage, and the winners play in the SEC CG at the dome. And therefore a team making it to the CG and a bowl will play a 15 game schedule.
As far as our season goes, every cross-division opponents is a home and home series. I don’t see how we can’t drop Bama. We already started the home and home with Ole Miss this year and Bama is the incoming opponent. I’d think because of that we retain Ole Miss next year, and we retain AU as our permanent cross division opponent and rotate to Bama in 2013.
Basically what this will mean is that every team will now have one permanent cross divisional opponent and one rotating cross divisional opponent each season. Texas A&M, for instance, will likely have Mizzou as a permanent cross divisional opponent and rotate with the other slot. Bama will always have Tennessee and rotate the other spot.
Save the SEC, scrap divisions – News Junkie - Tuscaloosa News - Tuscaloosa, AL - Archive
November 9th, 2011
3:03 am
[...] A&M, those in charge of such things are working out a schedule. There seems to be a lot of hand wringing over this, but the solution is simple: abandon [...]
Atticus
November 9th, 2011
8:39 am
8 games is going to be too inequitable. There will be way too much variation from team to team. It already is that way when you see a team like UGA win the East with the schedule they had. Its a joke Mr McGarity, please get it right, we should be playing at least 9 conference games, you can’t play just a little over half the conference and expect it to be legit. Plus its about time this sham of making alumni and fans pay big money to watch Coastal Carolina and N Mex St should be ended.
Jborodawg
November 9th, 2011
8:46 am
What a mess. I for one do not want a nine-game SEC schedule; we beat up on each other enough as it is; which gives the top 2 or 3 teams strong strength of schedule, but also tends to lower the rankings of the others that have a couple losses in the conference. Gawd forbid, but it looks like we’ll lose the annual Awbun-UGA and Al-Tn games; that’s about the only way to make it work without going to a nine game SEC sked.
Good grief, it’s an 11 hour drive from Atlanta. Even if ya fly to St Louis, it’s a 2 hour drive from there. Heck, Atlanta to College Station is a 13-14 hour drive. Even if ya fly into Houston, it’s another 1.5 to 2 hour drive.
Too late now, but I would have much preferred Clempsum or Central Fla …or…about any two teams from at least our area of the country.
ole yeller
November 9th, 2011
9:54 am
Looks like the Dawgs will have to wait until 2013 to play Bama. Missouri took their place in the straw test of the 2012 schedule. I don’t know who that favors. time will tell who plays who and when.
zbulldawg
November 9th, 2011
2:35 pm
FROM THE BEAT: This guy is already wanting to know what the schedule is for 2012 so he can start BEATING up on UGA before this season is over. When it does come out he will be the first to criticize it.The only reason I read this grap is so I can show some support for UGA.WHO’s beat CHIPPEE !
Jborodawg
November 9th, 2011
5:39 pm
That “Save The SEC-Tuscaloosa News” link (NOV 9, 3:03 AM) is good reading; the writer makes some compelling points. For Dawg fans, we lose the annual Tenn game, but keep Flawduh, S. Car, Awbun, and Vandy.
“Atticus”: be glad you’re a Bulldogs fan; most if not all of the other SEC teams play three of those type games.
“lodger16x”: your math doesn’t add up. “… keep the 8-game schedule…there would be 6 division games, and 3 non-division…”
Again, I recommend the “Save The Sec…” link. Kudos for whomever posted it. There’s just no way to have a perfect format that pleases everybody. Yep, it’s a mess.
big__things
November 9th, 2011
11:28 pm
So as the title says I absolutely cannot stand working. I’m soon to be 32 years old and have pretty much been working since I was 11 years old(paper route) with a few breaks over the years. Most recently I was unemployed for a lil over 2 years until a neighbor got tired of seeing me in the neighborhood during the day and gave me a job. This was back in April of this year and I am still employed with him at the moment. Prior to this job I was doing electrical construction. Now I am doing carpentry work, building, remodeling. At first I was thankful to be getting back to work even though I would have been happy if I never found another job ever again. Now I feel like I’m trapped in hell.
I’m working harder than I have ever worked before in my life making the same hourly wage I worked for when I was 24 minus benefits(no bennys at all). At first I didn’t mind the job as I was actually doing something productive, now I can’t stand it. I have to force myself out of bed in the morning and at night I sit in pain thinking about waking up the next morning. My boss is an absolute slave driver, treats and talks to me like I’m 12 years old. ABSOLUTE HELL. Friday can’t come soon enough but I can’t even look forward to Friday because now I’m expected to work Saturdays for straight time(I’m paid under the table and he doesn’t pay time and a half for overtime). He doesn’t even ask, just expects me to work. 2 weeks ago it was Friday morning and we were on our way to the job when he looked at me and said you’re working tomorrow. I said it ain’t happening as I had stuff to do and he started screaming at me basically saying that from that day forward to plan on working Saturdays with no exceptions.
I can’t take it anymore. Not just this job but working in general. When I think of work I think of slavery. At 32 I still have NO CLUE what I want to do with my life. I don’t have much of an education other than a high school diploma and some trade school. I have no interest in going back to school and piling on thousands of dollars in debt. I don’t even wanna wake up anymore if this is how the next 40 years are gonna be.
I try to tough it out but I’m just getting to nerves end. I’m in debt and have been hammering away at paying off my last balance. I try to tell myself that once I’m free of this debt and save up a little emergency fund I can tell my boss to screw and be done with the job. I get out of my car everyday at the shop repeating to myself “end game…….end game” so I can muster up the strength to keep walking to the shop and not turn around and get back into my car and drive home.
I keep being told to look for another job if I don’t like this one………find something you would like to do. Told that “I HAVE to work” and there are no other options other than that. I don’t want to be a SLAVE. I don’t to be like everyone else. The Jones’. No thanks. I’d rather sleep on a beach someplace and eat at soup kitchens rather than be trapped in a job I hate, up to my eyeballs in debt with a 30 year mortgage, car payments, nagging wife, and crying kids(the american dream?). That’s not me.
I dunno what to do. How to keep my head up and look forward. I’m probably not even making any sense to anybody and just ranting but I needed to get this out other than letting it build up inside. Arggggggggggggggggggg * * * do I do? No matter what job I take on I will be in the same spot after a month or 2 hating life.
Jborodawg
November 10th, 2011
7:59 am
This too will pass.