Yellow Jacket Fans,
Welcome to November! It’s one of the most exciting times of year in college athletics, as we begin the stretch run of our fall seasons and open our winter seasons.
Here on The Flats, of course, we have one of the most exciting and consequential Novembers in the history of our football program. Your Yellow Jackets are 8-1 (one of the 15-best starts in the 133-year history of Tech football, and the best since 2009), 5-1 in ACC play, ranked as high as No. 14 nationally in this week’s coaches’ poll and, with three regular-season games remaining, are in the heart of the races for berths in the ACC Championship Game and College Football Playoff.
In particular, Senior Day at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field on Saturday, Nov. 22 versus No. 24 Pitt (7-2, 5-1 ACC) is shaping up to have HUGE ACC title game and CFP implications. With everything that could be on the line, it’s not an exaggeration to say that it could wind up being one of the biggest home games in Georgia Tech history!
Attendance at Bobby Dodd Stadium is up nearly 30% year-over-year heading into November and our last two crowds in particular – 50,000-plus versus Virginia Tech and a sellout of 51,913 against Syracuse – were our largest back-to-back crowds in almost a decade. And it hasn’t just been big crowds – they’ve been electric! The atmosphere that you create as fans is a big part of the reason that we’re going for a second-straight undefeated campaign at Bobby Dodd when we host Pitt in two weeks. We expect the stadium to be packed once again when we celebrate our 27 seniors – including Heisman Trophy candidate Haynes King – against Pitt, so I urge fans to get your tickets today to be a part of what could be one of the most exciting days in the history of Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field! And if you’re going to have to watch the game on TV, please consider buying tickets and donating them to active and retired military personnel as part of our Military Appreciation Day festivities.
In addition to football, we wish the best of luck to our white-hot volleyball team (winners of five of their last six and six of their last eight) and our cross country squads (heading into NCAA Regionals next weekend in Huntsville, Ala.) as they enter the most pivotal parts of their seasons as well.
November also means the beginning of basketball season, and both our men’s and women’s teams opened their seasons with wins at McCamish Pavilion this week. I was really proud of the fight and resolve that Coach Stoudamire’s men’s team showed in their season-opening win. I’m very confident that this is a team that will get better and better over the course of the season as they continue to develop and get some key players back from early-season injuries.
On the women’s side, what a debut for Coach Blair and her squad! The defense was suffocating, in particular. I really believe that fans will love this team’s style of play – they play with relentless effort on both ends of the floor. I’m excited to watch them grow over the course of the year as well.
If you haven’t done so already, please get your tickets to see both teams play at McCamish this season. The Thrillerdome can and should be one of the great atmospheres in all of college basketball. In addition to the efforts that you’ll see from our basketball teams, our fan-engagement team is also working hard every day to bring a Bobby Dodd-like atmosphere to the Thrillerdome. But, like at Bobby Dodd, we need your energy to make it happen. Click HERE (men’s) and HERE (women’s) to get your tickets today.
In other winter sports news, swimming and diving season is also underway. It’s a huge year for our teams at McAuley Aquatic Center, as we’re set to host both the ACC Championships and NCAA Championships in February and March, respectively. We get a bit of a preview next weekend, as we’ll host our massive, three-day Georgia Tech Invitational from Thursday-Saturday.
The Tech Way, TheLinkU and True, Third-Party NIL
Away from the field, court, course and pool, I’d like to share some news with you regarding the shifting landscape of name, image and likeness in college athletics. As many of you know, the implementation of the House v. NCAA settlement this summer allowed institutions to begin sharing revenue directly with student-athletes. At Georgia Tech, we are sharing the full $20.5 million that we are permitted to distribute to our student-athletes this year, which is essential to our goal of competing for championships at the highest level of collegiate athletics.
However, in order to remain competitive in this ever-evolving landscape, we must identify opportunities for our student-athletes to earn additional compensation through “true, third-party NIL” partnerships – i.e. our student-athletes partnering with businesses to offer use of their name, image and likeness for promotional purposes (endorsements, appearances, etc.) in exchange for market-value compensation. Our location in the heart of Atlanta – one of the world’s most active business communities – gives us a huge opportunity to be a leader in this space.
As we continue to identify innovative ways to stay competitive in attracting world-class student-athletes to Georgia Tech, our collective, The Tech Way, will renew their focus to identify business-to-business cost-savings opportunities that can support Georgia Tech student-athletes. Working with The Tech Way and new partner TheLinkU, companies can identify new avenues for increased revenue and efficiencies that will create third-party NIL support for the Yellow Jackets.
You’ll be hearing more about our partnership with TheLinkU in the coming days and weeks, and I hope that you’ll take advantage of opportunities to support this innovative way to help build a successful and sustainable model in the next era of collegiate athletics.
2026 Football Season Tickets
As many of you saw last week, based largely on your feedback and input, we announced that all seven of our home games in 2026 – including high-profile non-conference matchups against Tennessee and Colorado – will be played at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field.
Like I said in last week’s announcement, our administration places great importance in listening to our fans and incorporating your perspectives into our decisions. In this case, the feedback was clear – you wanted these games to be played here on The Flats – and we’re excited to have another game at Bobby Dodd Stadium next fall. We’re not just excited for season ticket members, but also our students, as having another home football weekend on campus will only enhance the student experience.
Season ticket renewals began this week (season ticket members can click HERE to login and renew) and fans that wish to purchase season tickets should be on the lookout in the coming weeks for information on when new season tickets will go on sale.
Celebrating Two Tech Legends
It was a bittersweet week here in the GTAA, as two legendary figures in our department announced that they will retire in 2026.
Senior associate A.D. for student services Phyllis LaBaw announced that she will retire in February. Since joining Tech athletics in 2005, Phyllis has played a pivotal role in advancing student-athletes’ academic success and strengthening collaboration of across campus. She has worked tirelessly to serve student-athletes and to ensure that they receive the support needed to thrive academically at Georgia Tech, and has always done so with integrity, professionalism and genuine care.
Also, as I’m sure many of you saw earlier today, one of the greatest coaches in this history of college golf, Bruce Heppler, has announced he will retire at the end of the 2025-26 season following 31 seasons at the helm of Tech golf. As I said in his retirement announcement, it’s impossible to put into words everything that Coach Heppler has meant to Georgia Tech and college golf. Not only has he built Tech golf into one of the nation’s premier programs, but he’s also developed hundreds of men that have gone on to be successful in all walks of life. We’re looking forward to celebrating him throughout his final season as his team makes a run at his 15th ACC championship and 28th-straight NCAA regional appearance.
Thank you for your support of Georgia Tech athletics! It’s an exciting time on The Flats and we’re looking forward to seeing you at a game this month. Go Jackets!
Ryan Alpert
Vice President/Director of Athletics
