Dear Georgia Tech Fans,
Happy New Year!
As we reflect back on 2023, I think that your Yellow Jackets certainly saved the best for last. Consider that since my last letter to you in November:
- Our volleyball team earned its fourth-straight NCAA Tournament berth under head coach Michelle Collier and advanced to the Sweet 16 for the second time in three years with first- and second-round wins over South Alabama and Florida (the latter coming on the Gators’ home floor);
- Our women’s basketball team made the trip to Athens and led by as much as 20 points en route to a convincing 64-53 win over the Bulldogs, part of an impressive 11-4 start for Coach Nell Forter’s squad;
- Coach Damon Stoudamire’s young but very talented men’s basketball team had some great moments in the month of December, downing a pair of nationally ranked opponents – No. 21 Mississippi State and No. 7 Duke – in back-to-back games at the Thrillerdome, then beating Penn State in Madison Square Garden before advancing to the championship game of the Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu;
- And, of course, on the gridiron, the Jackets earned their first bowl win in seven years and capped their first winning season in five years with a convincing 30-17 triumph over UCF in the Gasparilla Bowl.
VIDEO: Gasparilla Bowl Recap
On behalf of Coach Brent Key and his student-athletes and staff, I’d like to thank Yellow Jacket fans near and far for your support of the Jackets throughout the 2023 season. You played a huge part in the team’s success.
The atmosphere at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field for the final three home games of the season – important wins over nationally ranked North Carolina and the postseason-clincher versus Syracuse, as well as the hard-fought, one-score defeat to UGA – was second-to-none.
VIDEO: Head Coach Brent Key on the atmosphere at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field
You snatched up our entire allotment of tickets to the Gasparilla Bowl and then some, as the White and Gold turnout in Tampa was incredibly strong.
And those of you who couldn’t make it out in person tuned in on TV. The telecast of Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate was the most-watched ABC Saturday night football game and the third-most watched game involving an ACC team of the 2023 regular season, while viewership of the Gasparilla Bowl – on a Friday night – was the highest of any game on ESPN during the first two weeks of Bowl Season.
In the ever-shifting landscape of college athletics, home attendance, traveling to postseason games and TV viewership are all of the utmost importance as we look to re-establish Georgia Tech among the nation’s elite athletic programs.
Along those lines, there are already opportunities available for our fans to help continue to raise the profile of our football program in 2024:
- Great ticket and travel packages are on sale now for our season opener versus defending ACC champion Florida State in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic in Dublin, Ireland. It was announced last month that ESPN College Gameday will be live in Dublin for this game, which will mark the first time since 2019 that college football’s premier pregame show will originate from a Tech game. This is a huge opportunity for our program to make a statement on the national (and international!) stage, both on the field and off. We hope that you’ll consider being a part of it – visit gt2ireland.com for a full list of travel and ticket package options!
- Additionally, 2024 season tickets for the Yellow Jackets’ six home games are also on sale now. A challenging and entertaining slate is on tap, as all five of the FBS opponents on our ’24 home schedule – Notre Dame, Miami, NC State, Duke and Georgia State – earned bowl berths in 2023. To secure your tickets today, visit ramblinwreck.com/footballtickets.
Another important way that you help position Georgia Tech athletics for long-term success is through your generous financial support of our student-athletes.
While the final numbers are still not in, I want to thank you for your support of Competitive Drive Initiative: Turn 2, which launched in November with a goal of raising $2.5 million in support of student-athlete scholarships over the final two months of the year. For the second year in a row, Tech fans supported CDI generously, and we’re looking forward to sharing the total amount raised with you in the near future.
In addition to your support of the Alexander-Tharpe Fund, another vital channel of support for our student-athletes in the current landscape of college athletics is contributing to their name, image and likeness opportunities through support of The Tech Way. Name, image and likeness opportunities are crucial to the student-athlete experience, and The Tech Way is ensuring that we are competitive in this all-important space. To learn more about membership benefits, visit thetechway.com.
As always, thank you for your support of Georgia Tech and our outstanding student-athletes. I look forward to seeing you on The Flats soon!
Sting ‘Em!
J Batt
Director of Athletics
