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As Georgia Tech continues to invest in our football program, an anonymous donor has stepped forward to lead an effort to enhance our recruiting staff with a generous gift of $200,000 on a match-funded basis, matching 50% of the first $400,000 of commitment for the two-year program.

Your contribution will receive full Alexander-Tharpe Fund credit and be eligible for tax benefits.

Please read the letter below from director of athletics Todd Stansbury and head coach Paul Johnson outlining the goals for this initiative. Contributions can be made via mail, phone or online. We thank you for your support of Georgia Tech football!

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Letter from Todd Stansbury and Paul Johnson

To our Fellow Georgia Tech Football Supporters,

The competitive landscape in college football has changed more in the past decade than in the prior 30 years. The advent of social media, conference television networks and the college football playoff system has raised the level of interest and economics of our sport to all-time highs. Given that football continues to be the primary funding source for most other intercollegiate athletic programs, new football programs have emerged and legacy programs have deepened their commitment to take advantage of the opportunity.

Georgia Tech has a proud football history with four national championships in the last century and two Orange Bowl appearances in the last decade. Championship football is an important part of our DNA, and we have a well-deserved reputation for providing an elite blend of high-caliber academics and athletics competitiveness that create Everyday Champions.

Maintaining and enhancing our competitive position requires continued investment in the staff, programs and facilities needed to compete at the highest level. Initiatives are under way with major donor funding of a new locker room, enhancing our athletics headquarters with improved student-athlete facilities, endowed scholarships and the reinvigoration of our Total Person Program – an area in which we were industry pioneers decades ago. We are investing several million dollars up front as our pro-rata commitment to the new ACC Network, which will provide dividends in the years ahead. Also, we are transitioning to a new apparel partner, Adidas, which will further enhance our image as a global brand.

As important as these large-scale initiatives are, it is just as important that we engage our alumni and fan base broadly as partners in our efforts. The strength of our Institute is the success of our alumni: Georgia Tech is a transformative institution that equips our graduates with relevant degrees of high economic and societal value. The breadth of our alumni success is our key differentiator relative to other educational institutions, and one that we hope to capitalize upon more fully in multiple forms of partnership.

After careful study and planning over the past several months, we are launching an important new initiative that we think will have broad-based interest amongst our fans and alumni: the development of enhanced talent identification and recruiting capability.

Our Institute resides in one of the most talent-rich states and regions of the country. This has not gone unnoticed. We compete every day with significant neighboring programs for talent – 16 of the last 26 National Champions since 1990 are schools in adjacent states. Programs from every conference in America recruit our state aggressively. While we have every intention of maintaining and deepening our commitment to recruiting the best “right-fit” talent in Georgia and the region, attaining the level of success we desire requires further investment to consistently compete at our targeted level.

Specifically, we need to:

  • Identify talent earlier and engage early in discussions to ensure that those players and coaches that are truly interested in the opportunity at Georgia Tech are making the right decisions to be eligible to join us.
  • Recruit talent more broadly, geographically, but with correct focus. Targeting schools that have the right blend of academics and athletics that fit with our values and with a student body that embraces the unique opportunity to play football in a vibrant, urban environment. Given that we must be more selective academically, we must compensate by recruiting more broadly.
  • Enhance the effectiveness and penetration of our messaging. We have a unique combination of highly relevant degrees of global renown, a commitment to athletic excellence and a 400-acre campus in the heart of one of America’s highest-rated cities. Student-athletes, as well as parents of student-athletes, who experience this in person “buy-in” to the Georgia Tech experience. However, getting them here requires significant pre-engagement through social media, coaching relations and brand building.

To optimize these efforts, we are undertaking an approach that deepens the resources dedicated to our football recruiting efforts, with the addition of four professionals:

  • One specialist/analyst each for offense and defense to work with the coaches on talent identification and process management;
  • One new analyst that is focused on early stage (Freshman and Sophomore) talent identification;
  • One specialist focused on brand development and new media applications for outreach.

What do we need from you to get there?

The financial position of our athletic department improves dramatically in the next 2-3 years as legacy contract costs roll-off, investments in the ACC Network are completed and new revenue initiatives begin to bear fruit. At that time, the proof of concept of these initiatives should be completed and the cost to maintain and deepen investments in these areas should be well supported.

Our objective is to source $300,000 to $500,000 of annual run rate costs for the first two years of this initiative with the support of a broad base of fans and alumni. A member of our board has agreed to make a minimum level of commitment to the initiative of $200,000 on a match-funded basis, matching 50% of the first $400,000 of commitment for the two-year program.

Money donated to this initiative will receive full Alexander-Tharpe Fund point recognition. We will make a monthly auto-payment plan available for those who would like to partner with us in this effort and prefer a monthly deduction approach. Contributions will qualify as tax-deductible under both 2017 and new 2018 tax regulations.

Our Institute and our coaching staff have a history of winning at the highest level. While the competitive landscape has become more difficult, the things that make Georgia Tech unique are nearly impossible for others to replicate. With your help and partnership in important initiatives such as this, we can expand the Georgia Tech opportunity to more right-fit student-athletes and win championships, without compromise.Todd Stansbury and Paul Johnson

Contributions are accepted online, via mail or over the phone:

  • Click here to contribute online
  • Via mail (checks payable to Alexander-Tharpe Fund):
    Alexander-Tharpe Fund
    Attn: Football Recruiting Challenge
    150 Bobby Dodd Way
    Atlanta, GA 30332
  • Call (404) 894-5400
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