How Ga. Tech picks non-conference opponents

Mississippi State was one of the first opponents Dan Radakovich scheduled after he took over as Georgia Tech athletics director 2 1/2 years ago.

The teams haven’t played since 1929, so why now?

“Mississippi State fit in because they’re drivable, they’re an old SEC rival and we just thought it would be a good game,” Radakovich said. “And they needed a game [like Tech did]. It takes two to tango.”

About 44,000 tickets have been sold for Saturday’s noon kickoff, and with walk-ups the crowd could approach 50,000, Tech officials said.

More generally, Mississippi State fits Tech’s scheduling philosophy under Radakovich.

The Jackets want their three non-conference games, other than Georgia, in this order of preference:

• Nearby SEC team whose fans can drive to Tech, or a Big East team.

• D-I team from a non-BCS conference.

• I-AA team.

This breakdown gives Tech at least six home games a year, which are fiscally important because they bring in between $1.5 and 2 million per game, and it fulfills Radakovich’s preference to schedule schools that are similar to Tech in size and philosophy.

The Jackets play a home-and-home series with SEC or Big East foes. They get two home games out of three-game series against D-I schools like Tulane and Middle Tennessee State. And they always host I-AA teams.

“There’s been a return to some of the SEC schools that had been part of Georgia Tech’s past and certainly from those areas Atlanta is easily accessible so hopefully we’re going to be able to fill the stadium and have a good atmosphere,” Radakovich said. “One of the other things we’re doing is trying to deal with like-minded schools, we have Vanderbilt, Syracuse, Tulane, games against those schools with the same type of educational mission.”

The 2008 schedule, with two I-AA opponents, is an anomaly. When Army opted out of its contract to host Tech, Radakovich had few options. He replaced Army with an Oct. 11 home date against Gardner-Webb.

Schedules are made several years in advance, and Tech’s schedule still carries former AD Dave Brain’s imprint.

So the 2009 and 2013 schedules don’t mesh exactly with Radakovich’s approach. Each has three SEC opponents. Over the next four seasons, Tech will play nine SEC teams.

Radakovich wants to keep that Southern emphasis while rotating in Big East teams.

“We have a lot of alums throughout the East Coast so I think that was important for us to add intersectional opportunities there,” he said.

Tech will play Syracuse in 2015-16 and is talking to Pitt about 2019-20. Tech also is also trying to reschedule a delayed home-and-home series with Louisville.

“You don’t want to get into a circumstance where you overschedule yourself, but you have no idea whether someone is going to be good or bad in five or six years,” said Radakovich, who handles scheduling along with senior associate AD Paul Griffin. “Right now, everybody says ‘geez, you play Syracuse, they’re terrible.’ But by 2015-16 they could be phenomenal. So you don’t know.”

As for the season opener in the Georgia Dome sponsored by Chick-fil-A, Radakovich doesn’t envision Tech playing in it anytime soon.

ACC rival Virginia Tech will participate next year against a yet-to-be-named opponent, probably from the SEC.

But Tech is interested in being a part of that kickoff weekend, Radakovich said, perhaps by playing an attractive nonconference game on the preceding Thursday or on Labor Day.

GEORGIA TECH’S FUTURE NONCONFERENCE SCHEDULE

2009: Home - Georgia, Jacksonville State; Away - Mississippi State, Vanderbilt

2010: Home - Ole Miss, Middle Tennessee State, South Carolina State; Away -Georgia

2011: Home - Georgia, Western Carolina; Away - Ole Miss, Middle Tennessee State

2012: Home - Middle Tennessee State, S.E. Louisiana, TBA; Away - Georgia

2013: Home - Georgia, Vanderbilt, Elon; Away - Alabama

2014: Home - Alabama, Wofford; Away - Georgia, Tulane

2015: Home - Georgia, Tulane, TBA; Away - Syracuse

• Tech will play Auburn in 2017-18, is talking to Pitt about 2019-20, and will face South Carolina in 2021-22.