UPDATED: Georgia to host recruits for Jacksonville matchup with Florida

There have been plenty of debates the past several weeks – and over the years – on whether Georgia’s annual rivalry game against Florida should remain in Jacksonville or move to a home and home format. While that debate likely carries on, there has been one change starting in 2022.

Sources tell DawgsHQ that Georgia plans to leave tickets for recruits and their families in Jacksonville for the first time in 2022. The Bulldogs are the designated home team giving them the ability to do so. There still won’t be any contact between coaches and recruits allowed due to the off campus nature of the game.

The SEC Eastern Division rivals have played in Jacksonville annually since 1933 with the exception of two years (1994 in Gainesville and 1995 in Athens due to stadium construction for the Jacksonville Jaguars), but Georgia head coach Kirby Smart has called for a change to that. His concern is the recruiting disadvantage that it puts the programs at playing the game at a neutral site. 

Similar circumstances have been seen over the last few years, including Georgia and Clemson’s season-opening matchup in Charlotte last season. Both schools were able to provide 200 total tickets. Alabama and Miami met in a neutral site season opener last season too and did the same thing. The number of tickets allotted for each team in Georgia-Florida in Jacksonville is unknown at this time.

The Jacksonville City Council voted unanimously in October of 2021 to approve a contract keeping the game at TIAA Bank Field through the 2023 season with extension options for 2024 and 2025. That included a minimum guarantee for each school of $1.25 million for 2022 and 2023 and $1.5 million for 2024 and 2025 on top of split ticket revenue, an additional $60,000 for the two teams for travel expenses and Georgia getting $350,000 for a chartered plane.

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Kirby Smart debates Tim Tebow on location of Georgia-Florida game

At SEC Media Days in July, Smart spoke with former Florida quarterback Tim Tebow on the SEC Network set about what it would mean to have that game played on campus as opposed to the neutral site. His argument centered around recruiting.

Tebow called Georgia-Florida “one of the best environments” in College Football. Smart pushed back by asking the Heisman Trophy winner how many times he got to play in Athens – knowing the answer of course. To him, that would be just as special as playing in a 50-50 split stadium. He also knows that doing so would open doors in recruiting.

“It’s not an advantage for anybody,” Smart said, dispelling the notion that he was only upset because his team has to make the further trip every year. “Look at the history of it. The team with the better players, the better team usually wins that game and it affects the outcome of the SEC East.”

“It’s more about for me, I’m competing against guys all across the SEC who host kids at their biggest game,” he continued. “When Auburn plays Alabama, guess where the recruits are? They’re at Auburn. And when LSU and Alabama play, that’s where the biggest recruits want to go. So it’s an opportunity for us to bring these kids that fly in from all over the country, what game do they want to come see Georgia play? They’d like to see Georgia play Florida. They can’t do that. It’s very important. Recruiting is very important. I just can’t get a Florida coach to agree with me about it.”

First-year Florida head coach Billy Napier was also asked about the topic at SEC Media Days, saying that he wants to experience the game in Jacksonville before having an opinion on whether it should be played on campus or not. This year’s Georgia-Florida meeting is set for October 29th in its traditional 3:30 p.m. ET time slot on CBS.

*** UPDATE: DawgsHQ initially reported that both teams would be able to host recruits on an annual basis. We have since learned that only the designated home team is able to do so, being able to provide tickets for recruits without any contact. Georgia is exercising its right to provide tickets for the first time as the designated home team in 2022.

The SEC amended its rules back in 2012 to allow the home team to give tickets to recruits for neutral sites games, but at that time, according to a Bleacher Report article citing quotes from Georgia athletic director Greg McGarity who spoke to the AJC, he and Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley reportedly agreed to not do so. Both have since moved on from their respective positions.