THE FLATS – Georgia Tech’s Brent Key is one of 20 head coaches on the official watch list for the 2026 Dodd Trophy, the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation and Peach Bowl, Inc. announced on Thursday.
Named after legendary Georgia Tech head coach and athletics director Bobby Dodd, the Dodd Trophy is awarded annually to the head coach of a team that enjoys success on the gridiron, while also stressing the three pillars of Dodd’s coaching philosophy – scholarship, leadership and integrity. Teams of coaches on the watch list must have an NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) score that exceeds the national average of 971 (Georgia Tech’s current multiyear APR score is 977).
Entering his fourth full season at the helm of his alma mater, Key has compiled a 27-20 record as the Yellow Jackets’ head coach (including eight games as interim head coach in 2022). His 23 victories in his three seasons as permanent head coach are tied for the second-most ever by a Georgia Tech head coach in his first three full seasons at the helm. The only other head coaches that have won as many as 23 games in their first three full seasons at Tech – Paul Johnson (25 – 2008-10), Bobby Dodd (23 – 1945-47) and William Alexander (23 – 1920-22) – are all enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame.
Key has led Georgia Tech to fourth- (2023), fourth- (2024) and second-place (2025) finishes in the Atlantic Coast Conference, making Tech the only team that has finished fourth or better in the ACC each of the last three seasons. He has also led the Jackets to a gaudy 7-1 record against nationally ranked ACC opponents.
In 2025, Key’s Yellow Jackets won nine regular-season games for the first time since 2014 and only the 16th time in the program’s 133-season history, rose to as high as No. 7 in the national polls (their highest regular-season ranking since 2009) and top-25 finishes in both the final College Football Playoff rankings and the coaches’ poll.
A midseason Dodd Trophy watch list will be released in the fall. A panel of previous winners, national media, a member of the Dodd family and a member of the College Football Hall of Fame will identify a final list of candidates at the conclusion of the 2026 season, and the winner of the 2026 Dodd Trophy will be announced in Atlanta during the week of the College Football Playoff quarterfinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.
2026 Georgia Tech Football Tickets
Season Tickets
Georgia Tech’s highly anticipated seven-game home schedule at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field also includes massive non-conference tilts against Colorado (Sept. 3 – 8 p.m., ESPN) and Tennessee (Sept. 12 – 7 p.m., ESPN) and ACC battles against defending conference champion Duke (Oct. 10) and 2025 bowl winners Louisville (Nov. 7) and Wake Forest (Nov. 21).
With one of the most attractive home schedules in school history, coming on the heels of back-to-back sellout crowds to close out the 2025 campaign, the only way to guarantee seats for all seven games at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field in 2026 is by being a season ticket member. To become a season ticket member, click HERE.
To purchase season tickets to be donated to local heroes as part of Georgia Tech’s Military and Heroes Appreciation program, click HERE.
One limited-edition Buzz/Ramblin’ Reck bobblehead will be gifted to each season ticket account.
Mini Plans
A pair of three-game mini plans are also available now. Each three-game mini plan offer a 15% savings over purchasing tickets on a single-game basis.
The White & Gold Mini Plan tickets for three of the most in-demand home dates of the season – the opener versus Colorado (Thursday, Sept. 3), Family Weekend against Mercer (Saturday, Sept. 19) and homecoming versus Boston College (Saturday, Oct. 24), starting at just $115.
The ACC Pick-3 Mini Plan allows fans to choose three of the Yellow Jackets’ four ACC home games this season – versus Duke (Saturday, Oct. 10), Boston College (Saturday, Oct. 24), Louisville (Saturday, Nov. 7) and Wake Forest (Saturday, Nov. 21) – starting at just $96.
Georgia Tech posted a 9-4 overall record (tied for the 10th-most victories in Tech’s 133-season football history) and No. 24 final national ranking in 2025. The Jackets rose to as high as No. 7 in the national rankings and were ranked in the final 14 national polls of the season, which was their longest streak since Tech was ranked in all 16 polls in 1999.
Georgia Tech also went 6-2 in Atlantic Coast Conference play in ‘25, which was good for a tie for second place in the 17-team conference. The Yellow Jackets are the only ACC team that has finished in the top four of the conference standings each of the last three seasons.
Full Steam Ahead
Full Steam Ahead is a $500 million fundraising initiative to achieve Georgia Tech athletics’ goal of competing for championships at the highest level in the next era of intercollegiate athletics. The initiative will fund transformative projects for Tech athletics, including renovations of Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field (the historic home of Georgia Tech football), the Zelnak Basketball Center (the practice and training facility for Tech basketball) and O’Keefe Gymnasium (the venerable home of Yellow Jackets volleyball), as well as additional projects and initiatives to further advance Georgia Tech athletics through program wide-operational support. All members of the Georgia Tech community are invited to visit atfund.org/FullSteamAhead for full details and renderings of the renovation projects, as well as to learn about opportunities to contribute online.
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