The annual “UGA Countdown to Signing Day,” will highlight players from the 2002 SEC Championship team this year, event organizers said.
That was the word Monday from Countdown founder Matt Stinchcomb and his cohorts Jon Stinchcomb and David Greene. The three lettermen met with reporters at Georgia’s Butts-Mehre Heritage Hall football complex on Monday to discuss plans for this year’s event, which will be held July 13th on the Bulldogs’ Woodruff Practice Fields.
“There’s always a little tweak here and there, but the formula has worked well so far,” said Stinchcomb, who organized the first event eight years ago. “The fans have enjoyed it, the guys who have participated in it seem to really enjoy it and the charities that are beneficiaries are very appreciative of it, so we don’t want to change it too much.”
The event, featuring autograph and photo opportunities with current and former Georgia players and football drills and games for children, is a fundraiser for the Georgia Transplant Foundation and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. There is $25 per person charge to attend and packages are available for families of four or more. Stinchcomb said they are expected to go over $1 million in charitable contributions for those organizations this year.
They honored the 1980 national championship team in 2010 and have had other themes in past years. Stinchcomb was at a lost to explain why they decided to honor the 2002 in this year in particular.
“This is a Liberal Arts university, so we aren’t great at math,” he joked. “We wanted it to be an anniversary of sorts and it’s not, though we are 10 seasons removed I guess.”
There’s also a golf tournament held in association with the event. To order tickets or get more information visit www.ugakickoff.com.
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