Florida-Georgia in Jacksonville vs. Home-and-Home

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — What makes college football special is the tradition. The pomp and circumstance of it all. Bands on the field, young men playing a game they love in front of tens of thousands of people — if not a hundred thousand — every Saturday. The Florida Gators and Georgia Bulldogs play in one of the most unique games college football has to offer.

The two schools have been content on keeping the game in Jacksonville. The Athletic Directors haven’t had a serious discussion, or any discussions for that matter, on changing the location of the rivalry. The Gators and Bulldogs have met in Jacksonville every year since 1933, aside from a two-year stretch due to stadium construction in Jacksonville. The Gators won both of those games in 1994 and 1995.

Florida AD Scott Stricklin told Gators Online back in July that there were no plans on moving the game.

“Because of the outstanding atmosphere and tradition, along with the financial implications for both schools, I’d be surprised if the Florida-Georgia game isn’t in Jacksonville for the foreseeable future,” Stricklin said.

Smart seems to be the one driving the conversation, as he tends to bring up making the series a home-and-home, every now and then. He was asked this week and, after telling media members that it was them who kept this talk alive, acknowledged the biggest reason Florida and Georgia will continue playing in Jacksonville.

Money.

Money Talks

The Gators and Bulldogs split the ticket revenue and they are guaranteed at least $1.25 million in 2022 and 2023. If the option is picked up for the following two years, then each team will be guaranteed $1.5 million. The city of Jacksonville also foots the bill for travel.

“When it comes down to it, the very basic element of everything comes back to, No. 1, money, and No. 2, recruiting and getting good players,” Smart said this week. “I firmly believe that we’ll be able to sign better players by having home and home because we’ll have more opportunities to get them to campus. But I also think there’s a financial factor that factors into that with having the game there and being able to make more money for the university possibly there. So, you have to weigh both of those and make really good decisions.”

Scott Stricklin addresses the issue

Speaking again on the issue with Orlando Sentinel columnist Mike Bianchi, Stricklin had this to say about the Florida-Georgia game.

“You know, there’s been no formal conversations about moving the game. My counterpart at the University of Georgia (athletic director Josh Brooks) seems committed to keeping the game in Jacksonville based on our conversations,” Stricklin said. “Because of the tradition and the fact that the schools benefit financially from having the game in Jacksonville, I would be surprised if it’s ever moved. But, obviously, Coach Smart is coming off a national championship and his voice is listened to by a lot of people in Athens.

“I get the sense there’s a couple of media people in Georgia who are driving this narrative because you’re the first Florida media person who has even asked me this question. Typically, I get that question from one or two particular Georgia media types. I don’t know how much of a story this really is other than obviously Coach Smart brings it up from time to time.

“Honestly, I don’t know how much of a priority (moving the game) is for Georgia. You know, Georgia has scheduled other neutral site games each of the last two or three years. If it were really that big of a priority, I would think they would just be going away from all neutral site games, but they don’t appear to be doing that.”

Former Georgia QB Aaron Murray chimes in

This is what Aaron Murray had to say about the game being held in Jacksonville.

“As a player (at Georgia), though, I will say being there in Jacksonville, running out of the tunnel, 50-50 divide, the atmosphere in the stadium? It’s unlike anything else in the country,” said Murray. “I mean, Texas vs. Oklahoma obviously has a very similar feel in their rivalry game and it’s tremendous. As a player, there’s something to be said about being in that type of environment, the uniqueness of it. Those are some of the most special games.

“I’m not saying I wouldn’t have enjoyed the game as much if it was (at Georgia) or (at Florida). It would have been awesome. I’m a kid who grew up going to games in The Swamp just being an hour and a half from Gainesville. It’s just that different vibe, that different feel,” said Murray. “Driving over the bridge and seeing the red and black and all the orange and blue. It’s special and I do think that’s what makes this game so unique and puts it on a different level.”

Gators and Dawgs get help from the SEC

According to Palmer Thombs of Dawgs Online, the one gripe that Smart has about the game in Jacksonville will end. Florida and Georgia had not been allowed to host recruits at the neutral site game. That will come to an end.

Georgia is the designated home team this week. The Bulldogs plan on hosting recruits for the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party. Presumably, Florida would be allowed to do the same next year, when the Gators are the “home” team for the neutral site game.

Get used to the game in Jacksonville

If Smart’s major point of contention has been recruiting, it would appear that issue has been assuaged. It’s a laughable argument for a coach whose team has finished 11th, 3rd, 1st, 2nd, 1st, 3rd, and 3rd in the On3 composite recruiting rankings.

If the home team each year can host recruits while continuing to rake in money from the city of Jacksonville, and maintaining one of the most unique venues and atmospheres in college sports, we may be able to, finally, put this issue to rest.