Billy Napier breaks down his thoughts on the Florida-Georgia game’s future

The Florida versus Georgia rivalry, also known as The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party, has been played in Jacksonville, Florida for every single season since 1933 with the exception of two occasions. But some have been interested in a potential home-and-home format of the rivalry so games can alternate between being played in Athens and Gainesville.

Florida head coach Billy Napier was asked about the future of the rivalry at SEC Media Days last week, opening up about a potential home-and-home in the future.

“I think the big thing here to understand, first of all we have three more games of the Florida-Georgia game, so it’s going to be in Jacksonville for three more years,” Napier said. “I do think that when you dig into this thing, obviously I’ve been asked that question a million times, there is definitely an advantage for it to be a home-and-home. There’s no question.”

Georgia and Florida agreed to an extension of their annual rivalry game in Jacksonville through the 2025 season this May, as the next three iterations of the game will take place in TIAA Bank Field.

But despite that, Napier couldn’t help but think about the potential big-time recruiting opportunity it would be for either school if they hosted one of college football’s most storied rivalries. Which dates back to 1904 according to Georgia and 1915 according to Florida, as the two teams can’t even agree on when the rivalry actually began.

“It’s another recruiting opportunity for your program and what we all know, Kirby (Smart) and I both understand, is gonna be an unbelievable venue and environment for recruiting. But there’s also economic implications big picture wise for the athletic department in terms of creating revenue,” Napier explained.

Construction to TIAA Bank Field is the reason why the game was not played in Jacksonville during the 1994 and 1995 seasons, which could potentially happen again in the near future.

Jacksonville mayor Lenny Curry revealed that the best-case scenario regarding future stadium renovations is that only the 2025 and 2026 seasons will be impacted, giving potential opportunity for a home-and-home in those two years.

And if The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party returning to college campuses is as big of a recruiting hit as Napier imagines, maybe there will be some pushback to the rivalry returning back to Jacksonville once the renovations are complete.

“So we’re gonna have three more years in this current dynamic and then I do believe because of the renovations in Jacksonville we’ll have an opportunity to make the Florida-Georgia game a home-and-home. So that time’s coming, in the mean time, the Gators have got a lot of work to do,” Napier said.