Georgia Tech Fans,
It’s an exciting time on The Flats!
Football is coming off a top 25 win and volleyball is getting ready to host perhaps its biggest home weekend in program history, with No. 2 Pitt and No. 5 SMU coming to McCamish Pavilion next weekend for homecoming.
ACC Championships are right around the corner for our cross-country teams (Oct. 30 in Blacksburg, Va.), and golf, swimming and tennis seasons are underway, with those three teams all in action at home this weekend – golf hosting its annual Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate Invitational at Golf Club of Georgia in Alpharetta, swimming hosting its second-annual dual meet tournament at McAuley Aquatic Center and men’s tennis hosting ITA Southeast Regionals at the Byers Tennis Complex. Admission for all of these events is FREE.
Baseball and softball are about to begin playing fall exhibition games and, believe it or not, it’s almost time for basketball season, as Karen Blair’s and Scott Cross’s teams will open their highly anticipated 2026-27 seasons on Nov. 2 and 3, respectively, at the Thrillerdome.
As you can see, we’re full throttle here on The Flats!
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Your loyal support has been on full display throughout this season at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field. Attendance has continued at the record levels that began last season, including streaks of six-straight crowds of 50,000 or more at Bobby Dodd Stadium (the longest streak since 1966-67) and nine-straight crowds of at least 45,000 (the longest streak since 2014-16).
I’d like to especially thank the fans that came out to last Saturday’s win over No. 23 Duke. There were a lot of reasons for fans to stay home – the weather forecast and related modifications to the gameday schedule due to Hurricane Isaias, and the team’s slow start over the first month of the season. But your loyalty and passion shined through the clouds hanging over The Flats (literally and figuratively) and you once again played a huge role in a big win, moving us to 8-1 against nationally ranked ACC opponents under Brent Key.
In recognition and gratitude for your continued loyalty and support, Tech Athletics and the Reck Club are offering tickets for next Saturday’s homecoming game against Boston College (Oct. 24 – 3:30 p.m.) for 65% off (a nod to everyone that helped us celebrate the 65th anniversary of the Ramblin’ Reck at last week’s game). This special offer is available only through this Saturday (Oct. 17) at 7 a.m., so be sure to click HERE to purchase your 65% off tickets today!
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As I noted earlier in this letter, in addition to football taking on Boston College and all of the traditional homecoming events on campus, next weekend’s festivities also includes two outstanding volleyball matchups against No. 2 Pitt (Friday, Oct. 23 at 7 p.m.) and No. 5 SMU (Sunday, Oct. 25 at 1:30 p.m.), both at McCamish Pavilion.
Our volleyball team is not only one of the most successful programs in the nation with six-straight NCAA Tournament berths, but it’s also one of the most well-supported, with an incredible 64-straight sellouts at O’Keefe Gymnasium. It is literally one of the toughest tickets in town and certainly in all of college volleyball.
In order to give more fans an opportunity to be a part of the excitement, we move a few matches each season across the parking lot to McCamish Pavilion. This has allowed us to set new attendance records every year, including a record crowd of 5,478 that came out for last season’s McCamish match against Georgia.
Next weekend, it’s not only a pair of top 5 teams coming into McCamish Pavilion, but it’s also a pair of matchups that will go a long way towards determining this year’s ACC champion and seeding for the NCAA Tournament.
If you’ve never experienced elite-level college volleyball in person, this is an opportunity you certainly don’t want to miss. Volleyball is fast becoming one of the country’s most popular sports, with both attendance and TV viewership booming. These women are some of the most talented athletes in the world, and there is no conference better in volleyball than the ACC, with three teams in the nation’s top five and five squads in the top 25.
In advance of this incredible weekend of volleyball, we are also offering a flash sale for tickets to next weekend’s matches at McCamish Pavilion. Through this Saturday (Oct. 17) at 7 a.m., you can purchase tickets to either match for just $10. Click HERE to take advantage of the special offer and to add the exciting action of Tech volleyball to your homecoming plans.
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Around the country, with the expected excitement and energy around college football, it always seems that the beginning of basketball season tends to sneak up on all of us. I’m here to urge you to pay attention, as we’re just a little more than two weeks away from the return of Georgia Tech men’s and women’s basketball!
Having had the opportunity to see both teams practice this fall, I’m excited for our potential on the hardwood this season. Coach Cross and Coach Blair have built talented rosters, and I think our fans will appreciate the way both teams play – fast-paced, with energy, tenacity, teamwork and discipline.
One of our top priorities as a department is to bring back the excitement of Georgia Tech basketball. The Thrillerdome has been, can be and should be one of the most exciting atmospheres and one of the hardest tickets in all of college basketball. It has been before, and as you’ve shown with the environment that you’ve created at Bobby Dodd Stadium over the past year, we can make it that way again! But we need your help and support to get there.
We need you at McCamish Pavilion this season, beginning with the women’s home opener against Hofstra on Monday, Nov. 2 and Scott Cross’s debut as the men’s coach against Hampton on Tuesday, Nov. 3. Click HERE to check out 20 upgrades and enhancements that we’ve made to the fan experience at McCamish Pavilion for the 2026-27 basketball seasons, and be sure to take a look at the wide array of ticket options (click HERE for the men and HERE for the women) that we have available for you to see the Yellow Jackets in action this season.
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Recently, I have been asked if Georgia Tech has a position on the proposed Protect College Sports Act (PCSA) legislation making its way through Congress. The PCSA is bipartisan federal legislation that was introduced by Senators Ted Cruz and Maria Cantwell to establish nationwide regulations for college athletics. Its most noteworthy provisions include establishing clear rules and enforcement mechanisms related to revenue sharing, NIL and eligibility. The U.S. Senate passed the bill last month by an overwhelming 77-22 majority, sending it to the House of Representatives, which is expected to debate and vote on the bill when it returns to session in November.
There are three things to know regarding Georgia Tech’s position on the PCSA:
1) Georgia Tech is all-in on competing at the highest level of college sports – now and in the future.
Georgia Tech strives for excellence in all of its endeavors, and that includes athletics. In recent years, thanks to the commitment of President Ángel Cabrera and the GTAA Board of Trustees, Tech has made significant investments into elevating our athletics programs. Georgia Tech firmly intends to be a part of – and to compete for championships at – the highest level of college sports, whatever that might look like in the years ahead.
2) The current landscape of college sports is unsustainable, and that’s why a federal solution is necessary.
While Georgia Tech has high expectations, we also believe that the long-term health of college sports requires a solution that serves the greater good. Currently, institutions make decisions based solely on their own independent interests. Ideally, all of us in higher education should make decisions based on the collective health of the entire college athletics enterprise.
Take the NFL as an example: team owners are incredibly competitive and want to win. However, they come together as a collective group to make decisions that are in the best interests of the entire league, as they recognize that 1) a rising tide raises all ships and 2) as stewards of a beloved product, they have a responsibility to the health and long-term, sustainable success of that product.
A federal solution is necessary to provide consistent rules across college sports and to establish a regulatory framework for the broad and increasingly complex issues facing college athletics.
3) Georgia Tech supports the Protect College Sports Act.
As an institution, Georgia Tech supports the passage of the PCSA, even as we are not in favor of every single provision of the legislation. However, we believe that creating unnecessary conflict and division at this stage of the process only makes it more difficult to advance the legislation and achieve the broader regulatory framework that college athletics needs.
Let me be very clear: by supporting the PCSA in its current form, Georgia Tech’s expectations to compete at the highest levels of college athletics are not compromised.
Our position reflects two realities:
- Georgia Tech has the same aspirations and expectations as our peers to compete at the highest levels of intercollegiate athletics.
- The long-term health of college sports requires a solution that serves the greater good of the entire system.
Even if/when the PCSA becomes law, no one truly knows what lies ahead in the coming years, what the exact rules will be, what the financial challenges and solutions will be and what conference membership will look like. But Georgia Tech will continue to have a voice and has been actively engaged at the conference and national levels, contributing to the discussions shaping the future of college sports. Most of that work is done behind the scenes, in private conversations with real changemakers. We will continue to engage to best position Georgia Tech and college athletics for the future.
In closing, I’d like to recognize that our homecoming festivities will be particularly special this year, as we celebrate outgoing Georgia Tech President Ángel Cabrera and his wife, Beth, in their final homecoming before Dr. Cabrera moves on to his new role as President and CEO of the Aspen Institute. Please join us in thanking the Cabreras for all that they have done for the Georgia Tech community in Dr. Cabrera’s seven years as President of the Institute! We also ask that you please join us in congratulating and welcoming Georgia Tech alumnus Dr. Tim Lieuwen as our Interim President. While the Cabreras will be greatly missed, we’re looking forward to continuing to advance Georgia Tech and Tech Athletics under Dr. Lieuwen’s leadership!
Thank you once again for your support of Georgia Tech athletics. I hope to see you soon at one of the many exciting events that are coming up on The Flats! Go Jackets!
Sting ‘Em,
Ryan Alpert
Director of Athletics