TO: Fans, Friends, and Supporters of Georgia Tech Athletics
FROM: Dan Radakovich, Georgia Tech Director of Athletics
So many great things have been happening in the last few days surrounding Georgia Tech that I just couldn’t wait my customary two weeks before reaching out to all of you. I must begin with a hearty congratulations to Coach Paul Johnson and our Yellow Jacket football team for their magnificent victory over Georgia last Saturday. This victory was not only groundbreaking in that our first-year head coach pulled it off — in Athens no less — but signaled how quickly this team has risen to an elite national status (15th-ranked) and in position to win 10 games in 2008.
From the moment of that great victory, more accolades began to pour in. First, we moved up to No. 15 in the BCS rankings. On Monday, four of our football players were named first team All-ACC — more than any team in the league – and four others were named second team or honorable mention. Then, on Tuesday we learned that Coach Johnson had deservedly been named the ACC’s Coach of the Year. Wednesday brought word of Jonathan Dwyer being named the ACC Player of the Year. Today, senior Darryl Richard will win the prestigious Tatum Award, also presented by the ACC. To say Georgia Tech is having a great week would be the understatement of the year!
But, things got even better. We were offered and accepted an invitation to play in the Chick-fil-A Bowl on New Year’s Eve here in Atlanta, at the Georgia Dome. Our opponent will be from the Southeastern Conference – most likely LSU or South Carolina. That will be determined Sunday. What a great opportunity for our fans and alumni to fill the Dome with gold and white as we play a nationally-televised (ESPN) game in an unopposed time slot at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 31.
I want to talk about ticket sales for the Bowl game in a moment but there is another important message. Remember that almost all teams travel to a destination for a week and make a significant economic impact in the various bowl communities. We have an opportunity to do that for an entire month here in Atlanta. When you patronize a downtown hotel, restaurant or pub in the next month, let the server or management know that you are representing Georgia Tech and supporting our appearance in the Chick-fil-A Bowl. This is as important as ticket sales for our future bowl opportunities.
It is now time to work on selling our allotment of 17,500 tickets. We have good seats available at this point and it is imperative that our fans create a surge of excitement for our coach and a football team that deserve nothing less. If things go according to plan, this will be the 12th consecutive Chick-fil-A Bowl sellout. We expect sales to be brisk. We have had our online bowl ticket order system up and running for a few weeks now, before we knew our exact destination. We truly appreciate the cooperation of the 2,807 season ticket-holders who complied with our request and ordered Chick-fil-A Bowl tickets prior to the Nov. 20 deadline. Those fans, as promised, will be receiving priority in the seating areas they requested.
Aside from purchasing the tickets and supporting our red-hot football team, I have one other request of our Georgia Tech family. We simply must take it upon ourselves to become involved in all of the Chick-fil-A Bowl events when bowl week rolls around. Here is a link to the various bowl-related activities. From parades, to pep rallies, to tailgate parties, make a special effort to get downtown and show you Tech colors. This is our time to flood Atlanta with Yellow Jacket spirit and pride.
This reminds me of one other note from last weekend: I want to thank the hundreds of fans who also braved nasty weather to meet the team when we arrived back at campus Saturday evening. The outpouring of support was tremendous, and it was hugely appreciated by our players and coaches. Had it not been a Thanksgiving weekend with our student body largely away from campus, there is no telling what the scene would have been like down here on the Flats.
While taking in all of this good news on the football front, let’s not forget to support a couple of very good basketball teams we are putting on the court. Both our men’s and women’s teams are off to a great start and deserve your support as well. This would be a great weekend to jump on board. The women take on Georgia tomorrow night (Friday) at 7 p.m. at the Thrillerdome, followed by a huge ACC vs. SEC match-up as our men’s team battles Vanderbilt on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m.. Hope to see you there!
Again, it’s been a magical, memorable week around here, and I can’t thank you all enough for your great support and enthusiasm for the direction of our program. Go Jackets! To Hell with Georgia!
DECEMBER SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Dec. 4 — Swimming hosts Short Course Nationals (all day)
Dec. 5 — Women’s Basketball hosts Georgia (7:00)
Dec. 5 — Swimming hosts Short Course Nationals (all day)
Dec. 6 — Men’s Basketball hosts Vanderbilt (2:00)
Dec. 6 — Swimming hosts Short Course Nationals (all day)
Dec. 6 — Men’s Track at MTSU Christmas Invitational (all day)
Dec. 13 — Women’s Basketball at Oregon (5:30)
Dec. 14 — Men’s Basketball hosts Illinois-Chicago (2:00)
Dec. 17 — Men’s Basketball hosts Georgia Southern (7:30)
Dec. 18 — Women’s Basketball vs. Winthrop in Bahamas (6:00)
Dec. 20 — Men’s Basketball at Pepperdine (5:00)
Dec. 20 — Women’s Basketball vs. Memphis/UT-Arlington in Bahamas (12/2:00)
Dec. 22 — Men’s Basketball at Southern Cal (10:30)
Dec. 28 — Men’s Basketball vs. Virginia (5:30)
Dec. 30 — Women’s Basketball vs. Florida A&M (6;00)
Dec. 30 — Men’s Basketball vs. Tennessee State (8:30)
Dec. 31 — Football in Chick-fil-A Bowl (7:30)
CHICK-FIL-A BOWL EVENTS
Dec. 27 — Georgia Power Football Feud, Marriott Marquis (7-9 p.m.)
Dec. 28 — Chick-fil-A Bowl at the Falcons, Georgia Dome (1:00)
Dec. 29 — Fellowship of Christian Athletes Breakfast, Marriott Marquis (7:45-9:30 a.m.)
Dec. 30 — Texaco Scholarship Luncheon and “Chalk Talk” presented by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Marriott Marquis (12:30-2:30 p.m.)
Dec. 30 — Chick-fil-A Bowl Fan Night, Georgia Aquarium (6-10 p.m.)
Dec. 31 — Football in Chick-fil-A Bowl (7:30)
