TO: Fans, Friends, and Supporters of Georgia Tech Athletics
FROM: Dan Radakovich, Georgia Tech Director of Athletics
Hey, Georgia Tech fans, I hope you have taken notice that we currently have five competing teams this spring that are ranked among the nation’s Top 25. I’d say we are heading down the stretch in what has to be one of the most successful all-around years in school history.
I have to extend a huge thank you to all of you who have made this possible with your financial support and commitment of time and energy. But we have a long way to go. Our teams have much to play for and we need your continued support and attendance.
Football Season Ticket Deadline
I’ve had an opportunity to catch some of our spring football practices and last Saturday’s scrimmage. It gives me a chance to remind you of the upcoming deadline for renewing your tickets for the 2010 season. Our renewal deadline is Friday, April 16th. We are running just a hair behind our renewal pace at this time a year ago, but I am encouraged by the continued strong results of our Aspire Group sales team for their effort in finding new season ticket holders. To date they have sold more than 625 new season tickets for the 2010 season. I am confident that our trend of seeing increased season tickets sales from year to year will continue.
Campus Kickoff for Faculty and Staff
One of our priorities for 2010 is to engage more of our Georgia Tech faculty and staff. We want these folks to become season ticket holders like never before. All faculty and staff at Tech are eligible for a 20 percent discount on season tickets. We intend to take our message to them in person when we hold a Campus Kickoff lunch on Friday, April 16 at the Tech Student Center ballroom. I will be joined there by Coach Paul Johnson and Wes Durham, as well as a number of our student-athletes for a special presentation at noon.
T-Day Spring Game
I trust you’ve marked your calendar for Saturday, April 24th – the date of our annual T-Day Spring Football Game. The festivities will begin at 11 a.m. that day with music, inflatables, face-painting, fun and games on Callaway Plaza. Kickoff is set for 12:30 as Coach Johnson’s defending ACC Champions conclude spring drills. As a special treat we’ll have the ACC Championship Trophy on the Plaza, available for pictures during the pre-game. Of course the band, cheerleaders and Buzz will be on hand.
As an added bonus, we will have a number of prizes to give away on game day, including season tickets, autographed jerseys and travel. You can register to win online on our special T-Day Game Central (coming soon) – or at the stadium on the day of the game. Be on the lookout for your chance to register and win!
Don’t forget, following the football game, head over to Russ Chandler Stadium at 4 p.m. to watch the baseball team play Virginia Tech.
Spring Caravan is Set
Our annual Spring Caravan is set for another take-off. It all begins Thursday, April 29th at the Cobb Galleria with the festivities beginning at 6 p.m. Coaches Johnson, Hewitt and Joseph will join Wes Durham and I for our annual presentations and a question/answer session. This event will be the first of five that will weave through the month of May. Other stops include Savannah, Gainesville, Dalton and LaGrange. Please click here for a full rundown of events and locations. These events are free but we are encouraging you to register online so that we’ll know you’ll be attending.
1990 National Champions Reunion
Another calendar entry you need to make is for a huge celebration this fall. We will be honoring the 20th anniversary of our 1990 National Championship team November 13 when our Jackets host Miami at Bobby Dodd Stadium. We have a number of people busily making arrangements for what should be a sensational weekend. In the coming weeks, I will be personally communicating with the players and coaches from the 1990 team with news and information about the reunion. In the meantime, team member Marlon Williams has set up a special web site for those associated with the 1990 team and I encourage you 1990 players to visit the site at http://gtfbplayers.ning.com/ and enter your current contact information. I will have much more on this event in the coming weeks and months.
1985 Baseball Reunion
And if you just can’t wait until November for a dose of nostalgia, try Saturday, May 15th out at Russ Chandler Stadium. Prior to our game that night with the Miami Hurricanes, we will welcome and honor our 1985 first ACC Championship baseball team on the 25th anniversary of that accomplishment. It is only fitting that Hurricanes coach Jim Morris will be on hand to join the guys he coached to the conference title when he was our skipper at Georgia Tech. Jim will feel right at home when he sees our Georgia Tech team in their 1985 throwback uniforms that night. I think you’ll get a big kick out of it too!
Baseball
The 2nd-ranked Yellow Jackets face a huge three-game series this weekend at 4th-ranked Virginia in a battle of top-5 ranked teams. Georgia Tech has won 12 of its last 13 games. Virginia is 25-6 overall. The two teams play Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday at 4 p.m. and Sunday at Noon. Tech plays Wednesday night at Georgia.
Softball
Georgia Tech is ranked 10th/6th nationally with a record of 32-6. The Yellow Jackets are coming off a heartbreaking 5-4 loss to 15th/12th-ranked Georgia in front of 1,500 fans Wednesday night. The Yellow Jackets host Virginia for a three-game series this weekend. The two teams will meet in a Saturday double-header beginning at 1 p.m. Sunday’s single game is at 1 p.m.
Saturday is the annual “Strikeout for the Cure” event where the team will be raising money for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. You can make donations for every strikeout a Tech pitcher records or a flat donation. There will be a marketing table set up for that as well as raffles and special pink merchandise for sale.
Golf
The 15th-ranked Yellow Jackets play Friday and Saturday at the Wolfpack Intercollegiate in Raleigh, N.C. Three of Coach Bruce Heppler’s players shot under par in the final round last week to lead Tech to a fourth-place finish at the Linger Longer Invitational. The Jackets are gearing up to defend their ACC crown April 23-25. Also, Georgia Tech has four alumni participating this week at the Masters in Augusta.
Men’s Tennis
The 25th-ranked Yellow Jackets are on a roll. Georgia Tech has won eight straight matches and is a perfect 12-0 when playing at home at the Bill Moore Tennis Center. Coach Kenny Thorne’s team plays at No. 20 Duke on Saturday and at No. 19 North Carolina on Sunday.
Women’s Tennis
Despite injuries to key players, Georgia Tech is ranked 20th with a 12-7 overall record and a 3-3 mark in the ACC. The Yellow Jackets, coming off a 7-0 sweep of Maryland, host Duke Saturday and North Carolina on Sunday. Both matches begin at noon at the Bill Moore Tennis Center. Prior to Sunday’s match, senior Amanda McDowell will be honored.
Track and Field
The Yellow Jacket men’s and women’s track and field teams are preparing for the April 15-17 ACC Outdoor Championships at Clemson, S.C. The Penn Relays are later this month (April 22-24) in Philadelphia.
