Georgia Tech will open the 2016 season against Boston College.
It remains to be seen, though, whether that game will be played in Chestnut Hill, Mass., or Dubin. Boston College is in negotiations to play the game in Ireland. Tech has been a willing partner.
Tech athletic director Mike Bobinski said he received an update from Boston College AD Brad Bates at last week’s ACC meetings in Greensboro, N.C.
“He said that, three weeks ago, he’d have said it was less likely,” Bobinski said. “Now, he said, ‘I think it’s got a fighting chance.’”
It was reported in December that the game was a possibility to move to Dublin, which has been host to FBS games in recent years. It would be Tech’s first-ever game off of American soil. If it can’t work out, Tech will play at Boston College, its first game there since 2008. To accommodate the game, Tech has moved a game against Mercer – which began FCS play in 2013 – from Sept. 3, 2016 to Sept. 10 of the same year.
Bobinski said that Tech remains interested and willing to play the Eagles in Ireland, “but I don’t think we want to wait a whole lot longer to know where that game’s going to occur, just because there’s a lot of planning and logistics that go into taking a team overseas.”
Central Florida series: Tech has lined up a home-and-home series with Central Florida, led by former Tech George O'Leary.
Tech will play at UCF in Orlando, Fla., Sept. 16, 2017 with the return game Sept. 19, 2020. O’Leary coached the Yellow Jackets 1995-2001, leading Tech to the 1998 ACC championship. He has been coach at Central Florida since 2004 and has a record of 81-60. O’Leary was also an assistant coach on Tech’s 1990 national championship team.
Tech already had a home-and-home with another American Athletic Conference member, South Florida. Tech plays USF, in Tampa, Fla., in 2021 (Atlanta) and 2022 (Tampa).
Tech has previously played Central Florida three times, in 1996, 1999 and 2000. The Yellow Jackets won all three games.
Money matters: Tickets for the Rolling Stones concert being held at Bobby Dodd Stadium June 9 have nearly sold out. For Tech's athletic department, the event will bring in $250,000 and possibly more. Tech will receive revenues from suite sales, parking and other revenue sources. Bobinski called the $250,000 figure makeable and "in fact, we may even be close to that already, with a chance to do a little bit better as the event comes off."
The additional revenue will help Tech’s bottom line, which is now projected to finish $2.3 million in the black for the year. Tech typically strives to break even annually, but received an unbudgeted $2.6 million payment from the ACC as part of the conference’s $31.4 million settlement with Maryland for leaving the conference for the Big Ten.
In January, the department projected a $1.8 million surplus, but the concert revenue and other savings, such as unused scholarships, have raised it by about $500,000. The surplus will increase the operating fund balance to $6.8 million, about $1.8 million above the goal for the balance.
“We’d like to be able to load that entire ($2.6 million) amount into our fund balance, just to give us a little cushion going forward,” Bobinski said.
Job opening: The department posted an opening last week for an associate athletic director to replace senior associate AD Ryan Bamford, who is leaving Tech at the end of the week to become athletic director at Massachusetts.
Bamford was administrator for football and men’s basketball and provided support in other areas of the department, such as facilities and event management. Bobinski said he began receiving inquiries from the time Bamford was named to the Massachusetts job March 23. Bobinski’s hope is to have a replacement in place by June 1.
“I feel very good that we’re going to have a really strong group of folks because it’s looked at as a very attractive job,” Bobinski said. “And what makes it even more attractive is when the last person leaves for an athletic-director job.”
Etc.: The kickoff time for Tech's game at Notre Dame Sept. 19 in South Bend, Ind., has been set for 3:30 p.m. EDT. The game will be broadcast on NBC. It will be Tech's first game at Notre Dame since 2007.
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