Check out the UGA-UF line.
Considering the Gators have lost the last two games to UGA by 35 and 19 points respectively, either Vegas is seeing a remarkable improvement out of Mullen’s crew, or sensing that a lot of Florida fans are very confident in their team’s chances.
Auburn athletic director Allen Greene is concerned about amateurism.
At the SEC Spring Meetings in Destin on Wednesday, Greene was asked about his opinions on the topic, and said he believed the discussion surrounding athlete compensation for likeness was “overly-simplified.”
“I think it’s complicated, I think it’s really complicated,” Greene said, before later going into his more firm opinions. “Amateurism is the lynchpin of intercollegiate athletics, and so we just want to make sure that, whatever we do, that we make sure that we keep amateur athletics amateur.”
Hmmm… what does that mean, Mr. Greene?
Auburn had a total revenue of $147.6 million last year, according to its financial report. It spent slightly less than $17 million on aid to student-athletes, and slightly more than $1.45 million on student-athletes meals. Coaches salaries totaled $26.2 million and support staff was paid $26.7 million.
That doesn’t sound that complicated.
“I think as discussions continue to unfold and we learn a little bit more of the dynamics that are involved,” Greene said, “hopefully we make the smart decisions that are in the best interest of the student-athletes and for intercollegiate athletics.”
The smart decision in the best interests of the student-athletes is not to pay them, amirite? Saying “no comment” would probably be even smarter.
Filed under It's Just Bidness, The NCAA
And scheduling times are being set.
I could really do without a mid-September nooner. Gonna be a scorcher.
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UPDATE: For you SEC fans out there, here’s the full conference slate for the first three weeks.
Filed under Georgia Football
Shorter Dan Mullen: I did not have trolling relations with that football program.
Filed under Gators, Gators..., Georgia Football
Soon to be heard on the recruiting trail:
Pruitt will try to use that as a sales point, but you better believe that everyone else is going to be showing that statistic to every kid’s momma and asking her how she likes those odds for her boy.
I’m not rooting for kids to be hurt, of course, but considering the damage the Neyland Stadium turf did to Georgia’s 2013 season (and Nick Chubb’s career), I can’t help but wonder if there’s a little karma at work here.
First, some comic relief from the always reliable Mike Bianchi:
First and foremost let me state this right from the get-go: In the grand scheme of things, Smart is just a temporary football coach at Georgia and should have little say-so regarding whether to move one of the most historic, euphoric rivalries in college football from the place where it has been played — except for a two-year hiatus when the stadium was being renovated — for the last 85 years.
That’s right, since 1933 — amid the Great Depression when President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected to the first of his four terms — Georgia-Florida has been played along on the banks of the scenic and serene St. Johns River. And Smart, who like many college football coaches seems to believe the world revolves around his whims and wishes, is now making veiled references about moving this game out of Jacksonville and turning it into just another home-and-home series.
“You are always looking to see what you can do to make your program better,” Smart said earlier this week during the SEC spring meetings in Destin. “Nothing is off the table, but nothing has been decided.”
This isn’t the first time Smart has discussed the possibility of the Georgia-Florida game moving to the campuses of both schools. Smart hinted last fall that the Florida-Georgia game being played in Athens every other year could boost the Bulldogs’ recruiting rankings even higher than they are now. He was referring to an NCAA rule that limits schools to only hosting recruits during home games.
“Yeah, absolutely it costs you a recruiting weekend. You don’t get to have anybody; they don’t get to have anybody,” Smart told 247Sports.com in November. “So our version of the LSU-Alabama game is held in Jacksonville and we don’t have prospects. So it’s not conducive to recruiting; absolutely it’s not.
“It’s just the way it’s been done here before. It’s just not great for recruiting because you lose a home game every other year and that just comes with it. But it certainly helps to have more home games.”
Memo to Kirby Smart: Don’t be Kirby Dumb.
Don’t even think about ruining one of the greatest atmospheres and one of the most awe-inspiring scenes in college football because of a stupid recruiting weekend.
Note to Bianchi: if anyone pulls the game from Jacksonville, it won’t be Kirby Smart on his lonesome.
Which is not to say there isn’t a battle going on between Georgia’s head coach and his bosses. There is: money versus recruiting. Georgia being Georgia, which side do you think is having its way? Per Seth Emerson ($$),
Jacksonville, the site of the annual Georgia-Florida game, otherwise known as the world’s largest outdoor cocktail party, emerged as the unlikely main subject for both schools this week. It happened in large part because Georgia coach Kirby Smart appeared to leave the door open to moving the game — held almost continually since 1933 in Jacksonville — to campus sites. The main concern being that Georgia gives up a valuable weekend every year in which it could recruit, since there are limitations created by the trip to Jacksonville.
But it will remain a difficult sell, considering how lucrative the game is for both schools, and the tradition involved.
“It doesn’t surprise me at all that Kirby is focused on recruiting. Everybody knows that that’s at the top of his list,” McGarity said Wednesday. “But there are a lot of things to consider. The president and I talked about it earlier. The historical aspects of the game. You’ve got a lot of people that look forward to that game. So you’ve got a lot of things to consider. And I’m sure once we have maybe something to review from the city we’ll all sit down and talk about it and go from there. But I totally understand where Kirby comes from in terms of recruiting.”
The contract with the city of Jacksonville runs through the 2021 season. Right now Georgia receives around $3 million more over a two-year period to hold the game in Jacksonville than it would if it were held at campus sites. McGarity referred to it as “financially advantageous” to play in Jacksonville.
“And it could be even more under a new contract,” Morehead said, “We don’t know what Jacksonville is going to offer.”
Methinks Jere is being a little cute there. I have little doubt he already has a pretty good inkling what Jacksonville is prepared to throw on the table to keep the Cocktail Party there. And, yes, that means more.
For all McGarity’s assurance that he knows where Kirby is coming from, I’m not sure he really grasps that as well as he believes, which shouldn’t be much of a surprise from someone who routinely demonstrates the old cliche of playing checkers while his opponent plays chess. In other words, it looks to me as if Smart is playing a two-sided game here — one side is supporting his school as it prepares to squeeze as lucrative a deal from the city as it can, while the other side is getting his school to meet his demands on the recruiting front.
Make no mistake about it. Smart wants to use Jax as a staging ground for recruits. And why wouldn’t he? It’s one of the most unique settings in college football and if you’re trying to dazzle five-star recruits, unique is always a good sales pitch. His problem isn’t that there’s a formal SEC or NCAA rule preventing him from doing so. His problem is his bosses ($$).
It’s not that the schools can’t have recruits there, though.
The annual Oklahoma–Texas game in Dallas is different, for example. Neither school does official visits for that game because the campuses are too far from the stadium. But the home team gets to invite recruits to the game for unofficial visits. So when OU is home, it’s OU’s guest list. When it’s Texas’ year, it’s Texas’ guest list.
But if Georgia and Florida were to do the same thing, the coaches still wouldn’t be able to have contact with them. Such a hypothetical would raise the question: What’s the point?
A main reason why the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party has remained in Jacksonville is the money it generates for both schools. And that’s another explanation Georgia athletic director Greg McGarity shared in the past for not having recruits attend as visitors. He said several years ago that the ticket allotment for recruits — and where they would sit — would hinder that revenue.
Another concerning factor for potentially hosting recruits would be logistics. A trip to Jacksonville is essentially a road game for Georgia because the Bulldogs fly there. Theoretically, both schools can “host” kids from the Jacksonville area, though, because of how much they prioritize the area.
Let’s get the easy rebuttal out of the way first. Given his staffing resources, does anyone seriously see logistics as a real problem for Kirby to surmount in Jacksonville?
Planning an operation isn’t the issue. Money, both on the spending side and on the income side, is. That’s the other part of Smart’s long game, I suspect. And if the city is willing to toss in even more money to keep the CP there, why not push McGarity and Morehead to give up a few bucks, as long as the athletic department still comes out ahead, financially speaking?
Maybe I’m wrong, but as of now, you have to say this: Smart’s definitely got people talking about his priority at least as much as McGarity’s. If something’s gonna give, I know which side I’d pick to prevail.
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UPDATE: Um… it looks like Mr. Conventional Wisdom isn’t worried about the game moving.
It’s funny how these kinds of discussions always seem to come up when the end of the contract begins to draw near.
I remember a time when Vince Dooley, the Georgia director of athletics, thought seriously of pulling the game from Jacksonville when the local merchants got greedy and, in some cases, started demanding three-night minimum for hotel rooms. That problem got worked out and a new contract was signed.
This time there will again be all kinds of arguments to move the game, but Jacksonville will sweeten the financial package and the deal will get signed.
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UPDATE #2: Speaking of comic relief…
Filed under Georgia Football
In his 2019 preview, Pete Fiutak has this to say about Georgia’s defense:
Best Georgia Defensive Player
S JR Reed, Sr.
The 6-1, 194-pound Reed combines with Richard LeCounte to give Georgia one of the nation’s better safety tandems. Reed could do more when the ball is in the air, and LeCounte led the team in tackles, but the senior is the better pro prospect and should be the biggest playmaker in the secondary.But this could all change in a hurry in terms of who the best defensive player really is.
Freshman LB Nolan Smith and ends Jermaine Johnson and Travon Walker are special, and there’s a whole lot more talent coming in. For now, though, the secondary will be the star.
2. S Richard LeCounte, Jr.
3. CB Eric Stokes, Soph.
4. DT Jordan Davis, Soph.
5. LB Tae Crowder, Sr.
As we sit here in late May (which is a way of saying things can change, of course), what there doesn’t appear to be on Georgia’s defensive roster is an obvious All-American candidate, like Smith or Baker.
That’s not to say there isn’t talent and that there isn’t depth. The Dawgs have both. But if you’re like me and believe the best units have that one guy, or if they’re really special, two guys, who a coordinator can build his defense around, you have to think the new defensive brain trust is either going to have to develop that guy, or be a little more creative with its schemes.
Which do you see as more likely for the Dawgs this season?
Filed under Georgia Football
Gawd love Kirby. Worry wart’s gonna worry:
“We’re a couple of injuries away from the danger zone,” Smart told Paul Finebaum on the SEC Network. “In years past, we weren’t at that point at some positions, (while) we’re stronger at other positions.
“So there are concerns, but we’ve got the ball headed in the right direction.”
Smart, entering his fourth year as Georgia’s head coach, said ultimately it comes down to how his players handle the offseason.
“How we’ll play and how this team will perform together is going to be decided this summer,” Smart said. “A lot of that identity, I won’t even know until fall camp, because you have grad transfers and everybody coming together, and that’s what I love about this job.
Eh, what makes this season different from any other?
What areas of the team do you see being a couple of injuries away from the danger zone? Quarterback, obviously, but where else?
Filed under Georgia Football
Groo is worried about beer. Oh, not about overserved fans’ behavior. More to the point, he’s worried about beer service.
I’m not opposed to the idea of alcohol sales in the stadium, but can Sanford Stadium handle it? I don’t mean the patrons; I’m talking about the neglected infrastructure of areas of the stadium that haven’t been touched since the East stands were added in 1981. I’m trying to visualize how the already-overcrowded concourses of Sanford Stadium would handle beer lines. Navigating the tight East or South concourses for concessions (or anything, really) is already bad enough.
If the plan involves placing beer sales in more open areas in Reed Alley, around Gates 6 and 7, or the West endzone, fine. But this is about revenue, so the temptation won’t be to limit the number of taps or place the majority of them away from where most fans are seated. I have no doubt alcohol sales will happen sooner than later, but I’m going to be very interested in how Georgia implements it. Getting it wrong could be just one more reason to stay at home and enjoy the cold ones from the fridge.
Silly wabbit. This is Greg McGarity we’re talking about. That’s not how the Georgia Way rolls. This is:
For the first time in the history of the University of Georgia, Sanford Stadium will offer alcohol sales this fall. But it won’t be available to general populous — not yet anyway.
The Bulldogs are going to sell beer and wine in one specific area on the club level of its on-campus stadium during the 2019 football season, UGA Athletics Director Greg McGarity confirmed to DawgNation Wednesday. Also known as the 200 level, that is considered a “premium seating” area and has controlled access and the sales are available only to a certain level of donor.
However, that there will be a point-of-sale exchange of money for that area makes it precedent setting.
“We have an area that we’re going to utilize, that we’re going to cordon off and create an area for members of the Magill Society to have limited beer-and-wine sales this year,” McGarity said. “It’s available to a certain level of donors, but it’s not accessible to fans in general seating areas. We’re permitted to do it under the current rules as it stands now. We’re just doing it as a benefit to our donors.”
To be a member of the Magill Society, one must agree to donate at least $25,000 to the UGA Athletic Association over a five-year period. The Magill members must consume the alcohol in the designated area and cannot carry it back to their seats. They’ll be unable to view the game from serving area.
Most schools look at beer and wine sales as a fan-friendly gesture and a way to generate some serious concessions revenue. At Georgia, it’s just another means to make people feel special about turning over $25k a year to the athletic department. People who will feel special, but won’t be able to watch the game while they drink. Though that’s kind of the point — the journey is more important than the destination.
The perfect touch here would be to put the name of the designated drinking area up for bidding rights. (I keed, I keed… I think.)
(h/t PWD)
Filed under Georgia Football, I'll Drink To That
Get The Picture 