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History of the Rivalry: Florida

August 21, 2023/by Clarke Schwabe

The University of Georgia Bulldogs once kicked off from their own 8-yard line. This wasn’t at a time when the rules of football were dramatically different, nor was it the result of player error. The Dawgs kicked off in the shadow of their own goal posts by choice.

It was so important that they thumb their nose at their opponent and break the rules of the game that they said, “Fine. Put the ball wherever.”

What drives a team to this point? Winning at this level of college football requires scratching out every last tiny advantage, but UGA was willing to give up nearly 30 yards of field position in the first quarter of a game against a hated rival.

Why? It’s a long answer, over a century old, but it’s the reason the Georgia-Florida rivalry is one of the best in sports. And while there are dozens of moments one could point to, we’ll isolate three pivotal snapshots in the series.

Our villain’s origin story

It’s 4^th and 8 for the Gators. Down 20-10 against the Bulldogs, they’re on their own 25 with time running out. Stephen Spurrier is under center, the senior quarterback responsible for so many great Gator moments. Just last week, he had mounted a heroic, fourth-quarter drive against Auburn and kicked the game-winning field goal himself, practically cementing his place as the 1966 Heisman frontrunner.

The seventh-ranked Gators needed some of those heroics now, but Spurrier was having a bad day—multiple sacks and three interceptions—and he had always struggled in Jacksonville, having gone 1-1 against the Bulldogs, who were on the rise under third-year coach Vince Dooley.

Florida’s first undefeated season, a shot at their first SEC Championship, and the pride of having conquered the hated Bulldogs all hung in the balance for Spurrier on this fourth down.

The ball is snapped, and almost immediately Georgia’s pass rush is in his face. But Spurrier spots a receiver dashing for the first down marker. He finds his man two yards from a new set of downs and a sliver of hope. In an instant, three red shirts appear and topple Florida’s hopes.

Just like that, it was over: no undefeated season, likely no SEC title, and a losing record for Spurrier in his playing career against the Bulldogs.

In a post-game interview, Spurrier said, “I’ve never had a good day in the Gator Bowl and I guess I never will. It’s a jinx place for me.”

The Bulldogs couldn’t know it then, but embarrassing the hyper-competitive Spurrier here planted a seed. What grew out of it, nearly a quarter century later, would give the Gators everything they ever wanted and give the Bulldogs an archnemesis for the ages.

Reasons to destroy some property

After Spurrier left Gainesville, the Dawgs took control of the series, going 16-6-1 from 1967 – 1989. The Gators were no pushovers during this stretch: Ten times in those 23 games, the Gators came to Jacksonville ranked, and only once did they walk away with a victory. This run included perhaps the most well-known moment of the Georgia-Florida series.

But in 1990, Florida called their Heisman winner home, and the impact was immediate: The Gators went from 7-5 in 1989 to 9-2 in 1990. Meanwhile, Georgia was in its second year under Ray Goff, who had been named head coach after Vince Dooley retired in 1988. In ’89, Goff’s Dawgs could only reach 6-6, but they did get a win over Florida.

That was Goff’s last victory over the Gators. Spurrier and his Florida teams began their ascent, and Georgia—despite going 9-3 in ’91 and 10-2 in ’92—got swallowed in the Gators’ wake. And in 1995, it all came to a head.

In the mid-90s, Jacksonville’s stadium was being rebuilt to prepare for the Jacksonville Jaguars, so the Georgia-Florida game moved to each team’s home stadium for the ’94 and ’95 seasons. The 1994 game was played in Gainesville, where the Gators romped, winning 52-14. In 1995, things didn’t look much better. The Gators, back-to-back SEC champs, came to Athens with two wins over top-10 teams, while Georgia had not beaten a ranked team since January 1993.

So, on October 28, 1995, the Gators walked into Sanford Stadium for the first time in 63 years, and things played out exactly as you’d expect. Future Heisman-winner Danny Wuerffel threw 5 touchdowns before leaving the game in the third quarter. His backup would throw two more and bring the final score to 52-17.

It remains the record for points allowed by the Bulldogs at home. Legend has it that Spurrier stated after the game that he had wanted to “hang half a hundred” on Georgia because “we heard no one had ever done that before.”

This account is disputed by Spurrier, but whether it’s true or not, he exacted humiliating revenge on the Bulldogs that night, a highlight for his Florida coaching career, which ended in 2001 with 6 SEC titles, a national championship and an 11-1 record against Georgia.

“And here comes the entire team!”

The 2001 season began with a new head coach for UGA, Mark Richt—formerly the offensive coordinator for some of Bobby Bowden’s best Florida State teams—and it ended with Steve Spurrier’s departure from Florida.

Richt would quickly re-establish UGA as a contender, winning the SEC in 2002 and 2005, but he could not find consistent success against the Gators. This was especially frustrating for Georgia fans who watched Ron Zook, Spurrier’s successor, win no more than 8 games every year.

Things became even more frustrating when, after Richt’s first win against Florida in 2004, the Gators fired Zook and hired Urban Meyer, who immediately returned UF to their Bulldog-beating ways and won a national title in year two.

This brings us back to the start of our story. By 2007, Richt had more SEC titles (2) than he had wins against Florida (1). And with a trip to Jacksonville to play the defending national champions looming, Richt and every other Bulldog on Earth was well aware that the Dawgs were 2-15 against Florida since 1990.

Richt knew the Dawgs needed something, anything, to shake off this bad juju and inject some swagger into their game if they hoped to compete with the Gator Goliath. In the week leading up to the game, he told his team: after our first touchdown, celebrate so much that you get a penalty.

So, when Knowshon Moreno leapt over a pile of bodies to score the first touchdown of the game midway through the first quarter, the entire offense celebrated in the end zone. Eleven Bulldogs quickly turned into 53 as the Georgia sideline migrated as one into the endzone.

Nearly every referee on the field hurled a yellow flag into the air as Georgia players jumped, screamed, danced, posed, chest-thumped and fist-pumped in the end zone.

It felt like a dam breaking. Decades of nerves, doom-saying and head-shaking all shaken off with one exuberant moment. The Gators answered back with a touchdown almost immediately, but it didn’t matter: the “Gator Stomp” was such an unexpected, audacious and spirited action that the Gators flinched, and Georgia knew that was all they needed.

UGA won, 42-30, and the brazen celebration launched them to finish the season as the no. 3 team in the nation. Even when Florida won the next three matches, often by a great margin, the Gators knew Georgia could no longer be counted on to dutifully suffer through their Jacksonville trip on the way to a 9-3 record and a good-not-great bowl game.

Florida knew now that if you weren’t careful, the Bulldogs would stomp you.

Since the Gator Stomp, the Georgia-Florida series has been close to even, with Georgia taking nine games to Florida’s seven. However, since Kirby Smart’s return to Athens in 2016, the Dawgs have taken seven games to the Gators’ two. Georgia is at the height of its powers after back-to-back national championship titles, and Napier is working to rekindle hope in the hearts of Florida fans, so expect a classic Georgia-Florida contest: a charged battle between two well-acquainted foes with championship aspirations.

One of whom wears jean shorts.

Your one-stop shop for UGA football fandom is alumni.uga.edu/football! Check in every week for new football blogs and videos, information on UGA Alumni events, and more.

History of the Rivalry: Auburn

August 21, 2023/by Clarke Schwabe

The history of the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry is brimming with incredible moments, stunning victories, and crushing losses, and this week you can make the difference against the Tigers. Join the Beat Week challenge at AUvUGA.com, and help the Dawgs win twice this weekend!

It’s 1889 in Baltimore. Two Johns Hopkins University graduate students—one studying history, the other chemistry—go from class to class. The difference in their fields of study makes it unlikely that they will cross paths, which is ironic given that they are from neighboring states in the deep south. In all likelihood, they are unaware of one another, and they certainly don’t know that in three years, they will launch a rivalry that will stretch across three centuries and regularly involve two of the best college football squads in the nation.

In 1889 Baltimore, history student George Petrie of Mongtomery, Alabama, and chemistry student Charles Herty of Milledgeville, Georgia, had no idea they would soon create the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry.

The birth of the rivalry

After graduating from Johns Hopkins, both Herty and Petrie returned to their home states in 1891 as university faculty and started building collegiate football squads—Petrie at Auburn, Herty at UGA. In 1892, both Georgia and Auburn fielded their first football teams. Georgia was the first to play a game, thrashing Mercer University’s team 50-0.

At that time, it was difficult to find people in the South who knew the rules of this largely Northern game well enough to officiate it. John Kimball, an Auburn graduate in Athens who followed the fledgling UGA team, asked Petrie, the Auburn coach, to come “umpire” the UGA-Mercer game (Petrie would send one of his players to officiate the game) and Petrie asked Kimball to extend an offer to Herty: to have Georgia and Auburn play in Piedmont Park in Atlanta as part of a three-day weekend celebrating George Washington’s birthday.

Herty accepted, and on Feb. 20, 1892, in front of a crowd of several thousand—each having paid 50 cents a ticket—Auburn played its first-ever football game, Georgia played its second, Auburn won 10-0, and the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry was born.

“It’s like playing against your brother”

Time was running out for the Bulldogs. Down 13-7 against eighth-ranked Auburn, Wally Butts’ 1959 Bulldogs team could see their last hopes of an SEC championship fading as Auburn drove to run out the clock. But when Auburn QB Bryant Harvard put the ball on the ground, it found its way into the hands of UGA lineman Pat Dye. A few plays later, as time expired, the Bulldogs jumped ahead 14-13. A few games later, Georgia claimed the ’59 SEC Championship and won the Orange Bowl against Missouri. A few decades later, Dye became Auburn’s head coach.

As if that weren’t enough, Shug Jordan, the Auburn coach in the 1959 game—who would go on to become the Jordan in Auburn’s Jordan-Hare Stadium—had previously been an assistant football coach and head basketball coach at UGA.

Oh, and one of Jordan’s graduate assistants on the sidelines for that 1959 game? Vince Dooley.

A hallmark of this rivalry is the interconnection of the schools. Even beyond Dooley, Dye and Jordan, a great many players and coaches on one side started or ended up on the other side.

Hugh Nall – played at Georgia 1976-1980, coached at Auburn 1999-2008
Neil Callaway – coached at Auburn 1981-1992, coached at UGA 2001-2006
Stacy Searels – played at Auburn 1984-1987, coached at UGA 2007-2010 and 2022
Rodney Garner – played at Auburn 1985-1988, coached at UGA 1998-2012, coached at Auburn 2013-2020
Will Muschamp – played at UGA 1991-1994, coached at Auburn 2006-2007, 2015, coached at UGA 2021-2022
Mike Bobo – played at UGA 1993-1997, coached at UGA 2001-2014, coached at Auburn 2021
Tracy Rocker – played at Auburn 1986-1989, coached at Auburn 2009-2010, coached at UGA 2014-2016

Firehoses, blackouts and revenge

The familiarity and ferocity of these two teams would be enough to create a litany of unforgettable contests, but add to that each school’s football pedigree and their fanbases’ demand for a high caliber football program, and you get unforgettable moments with championship consequences.

It would be nearly impossible to sum up all the memorable moments from the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry in the space of this blog. If you have some time, it’s worth it to scan the Wikipedia entry for the rivalry, just to see all the incredible moments that define Georgia-Auburn. Here are a few of our favorites.

The 1986 Bulldogs walked into Jordan-Hare Stadium as three-touchdown underdogs, coming off a 31-19 loss to the Gators the week before. They were without their starting QB, who was a late scratch due to a death in his family. Despite all this, Georgia fought their way to a 20-16 win over the no. 8 Tigers, and in the post-game hysteria, UGA fans stormed the field. The stadium’s sprinkler system and fire hoses were turned on these fans, but amid the chaos, the hoses were turned on fans (and the Redcoats) celebrating in the stands. Auburn issued an official apology for the response afterwards.

Following losses to South Carolina and Tennessee, the 2007 Georgia squad nearly tumbled out of the top-25. A close win over Vanderbilt, a raucous upset of Florida and a surprising shootout victory over Troy gave the Bulldogs a swagger they had lacked earlier in the year, which they would carry into the Auburn game. Rumors began to swirl the week of the game that UGA might wear black jerseys, something they had not done since the ‘40s. The team wore their standard home reds for warm-ups, but when the team returned to the field for the game, they burst through the Super G banner clad in black. The stadium erupted, and the game was decided at that point: Georgia dominated from the opening whistle, winning 45-20 on their way to an overpowering performance against Hawaii in the Sugar Bowl and a no. 3 finish in the polls.

Much like Richt’s second year, Kirby’s second year was a charmed run. The Bulldogs were 9-0 headed into the Auburn game and ranked no. 1 in the College Football Playoff Poll. The offense was potent and the defense was stifling, but 10^th ranked Auburn had an answer for both: The Tigers crushed the Dawgs 40-17 at Jordan-Hare. However, both Georgia and Auburn would finish conference play at the top of their respective divisions, meaning the SEC Championship would be a rematch—one that would be an almost complete inverse of the previous game. Auburn scored first, but they would not score again. UGA scored 28 unanswered points and left Atlanta with the Dawgs’ first SEC title in 12 years, a ticket to their first Rose Bowl in 75 years and, eventually, a spot in the national title game.

There’s a certain level of chaos one can always expect in any Auburn game, doubly so in a Georgia-Auburn game. Yes, Georgia won a second consecutive national championship last year, and yes, Auburn’s still adjusting to new head coach Hugh Freeze. But it’s the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry, so as usual, it’s anybody’s game.

Your one-stop shop for UGA football fandom is alumni.uga.edu/football! Check in every week for new football blogs and videos, information on UGA Alumni events, and more.

Three sisters united by a love of music

August 17, 2023/by Lindsay Tuck Morris

Barbara Bennett (BMUS ’74, MFA ’76), Sally Bennett Fillebrown (BM ’71, DMA ’89) and Susan Bennett Gallimore (BMUS ’83, MM ’85) may live across the country, but their mutual love of music keeps the three sisters in perfect harmony.

Barbara, Sally, Susan, and their late sister Carolyn (BMUS ’79) all graduated from the University of Georgia with degrees in music performance, just a few years apart. Together, the Bennett women have earned eight total music degrees from UGA.

When they were searching for colleges, the sisters hoped to stay in their home state of Georgia to pursue a music education. The Hugh Hodgson School of Music, then just a single department, was considered the best college music program in the state. Sally, the eldest, was the first of the sisters to attend UGA. The rest soon followed suit.

Their mother, Betty Bennett (MFA ’74), encouraged them to attend UGA because she studied music there as well. She was a part-time flute teacher for the department and impressed upon her daughters an appreciation for UGA and music performance.

Sally said that one of the faculty members, Professor Egbert Ennulat, jokingly called the Bennett women “the dynasty” because for 20 consecutive years, at least one Bennett woman was involved in the Hodgson School as either a teacher or student.

(From left) Carolyn, Barbara, Sally, Betty and Susan pose after performing at a concert at the University of California, Riverside in 1998. (Photo: Steve Walag)

Because they all majored in music performance, the sisters had the unique opportunity of navigating their time at UGA as a family. During the times that more than one of the sisters was at UGA, they would be roommates. Barbara said that living together during college helped bring them closer together.

“When we got to Georgia, we became best friends,” Barbara said.

The Bennett sisters’ long history with the Hugh Hodgson School of Music means that they’ve watched it grow from a fledgling program to its own school, rich with opportunities for students and faculty.

“We contributed at least to the beginnings of that,” Sally said of the school’s growth. “It’s an honor to say I was there.”

Barbara said that the music program’s small community felt like a second family. Because it didn’t have a dedicated building yet, music students would gather in buildings across campus to practice and perform.

Sally said that performing in ensembles with other music students helped contribute to the school’s supportive, tight-knit environment.

“It’s kind of the nature of musicians to build a family,” she said, remembering her close friendships with fellow music students.

Inspired by their family’s connections to the Hodgson School, the sisters donated to establish a merit-based scholarship called the Bennett Family Scholarship for Orchestral Performance.

Barbara led the sisters’ efforts to create the scholarship. She said that although their father wasn’t a professional musician like their mother, he was extremely supportive of the sisters’ music education and was at every one of their concerts he could manage to attend. Barbara chose to name the scholarship after the whole family rather than just the Bennett women so that he would also be recognized in their gift.

They had the opportunity to meet one of their scholarship recipients on a video call and were delighted to see that their gift had made an impact on a student.

“I’m proud to have Georgia in my background,” Barbara said. “I’m glad to be able to give back to the university.”

GIVE TO THE HUGH HODGSON SCHOOL OF MUSIC

Welcome, Class of 2027!

August 15, 2023/by Elizabeth Elmore

Freshman Welcome is among the first UGA traditions a student participates in when they arrive on campus. Held annually, typically on the eve of the first day of class, this special event invites all incoming students (yes, all 6,000+) to Sanford Stadium for a party, pep rally and class photo on Dooley Field. Oh—and did we mention they form the Power G?! The next time that many of these students will take the field is during Commencement four years later, book-ending their collegiate journey.

The UGA Student Alumni Council proudly coordinates this tradition, and are thrilled to welcome to campus the Class of 2027. Go Dawgs!

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UGA alumni business adds to the legacy of a Georgia Center tradition

August 10, 2023/by Lindsay Tuck Morris

This story written by Kensie Poor was originally published on Public Service & Outreach News on July 10, 2023.

A swirl of red and white atop a coconut crust, the iconic strawberry ice cream pie at the University of Georgia Center for Continuing Education & Hotel has been a highlight of the menu since the 1960s. Adding to the legacy, an alumni business, Rock House Creamery, is now the supplier of the famous strawberry ripple ice cream central to the pie.

“I can’t begin to explain just how important this dessert is to so many people across the state of Georgia,” said Darrell Goodman, director of Food and Beverage at the Georgia Center.

The Georgia County Clerks Association (GCCA) has been holding its annual conference at the Georgia Center for over 40 years—and strawberry ice cream pie is always on the menu.

Rock House Creamery makes their homemade ice cream fresh using A2A2 grass-fed milk. (Submitted photo: Rock House Creamery)

“Every clerk looks forward to the famous strawberry pie when we are in Athens,” said GCCA President Amanda Hannah. “I have new clerks ask me if we are going to have the famous strawberry ice cream pie at the conference.”

The iconic dessert was created through swift problem-solving when an ordering mishap left the kitchen staff from the Savannah Room with 600 pounds of coconut instead of the required 60-pound quantity. The chefs found a recipe for a macaroon crust, topped it with strawberry swirl ice cream from the UGA Creamery and finished it with a meringue. Retired Savannah Room baker Luetrell Sims perfected the dessert and her influence remains in the double knife method she devised to slice the thick frozen dessert.

This year, the Georgia Center was tasked with finding a new source for the strawberry ripple ice cream when Greenwood Creamery in Atlanta closed. Greenwood had been the supplier since the UGA Creamery stopped ice cream production. When UGA actively sought a new ice cream partner, we found one right in our backyard.

The Georgia Center partnered with Rock House Creamery, a family-owned and operated business with strong ties to UGA.

The Jersey-Holstein herd at Rock House Creamery spends their time eating, resting and socializing. (Submitted photo: Rock House Creamery)

Keith Kelly, owner and operator of the Rock House Farm & Creamery, is a University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences alumnus and University of Georgia Foundation trustee. Keith’s wife, Pam, their son Brad, and Brad’s wife, Larkin, are all UGA alumni.

“We were excited by the opportunity to be a part of such a cool tradition and dessert for UGA,” said Brad Kelly, Rock House vice president of operations.

Rock House Farm was established in Leesburg, Georgia, in 2005 and the creamery opened in 2016 on a 1940s family dairy farm in Newborn. Today, they specialize in grass-fed beef, pork, and artisan dairy products such as creamline ice creams, old-fashioned creamline milks, and hand-crafted cheeses.

Keith Kelly walks with his grandchildren on the Rock House Creamery family farm. (Submitted photo: Rock House Creamery)

Working with UGA’s Small Business Development Center (SBDC) over the years, the Kellys received support and resources from the center to help them with business planning, financial modeling, and benefited greatly from their expertise and assistance in rolling out their partnership with Farmview Market in Madison, Georgia.

“Local small businesses like us are good with what we know, but the Small Business Development Center at UGA really helps with filling in the knowledge gaps,” said Laura Rotroff, Brad’s sister and vice president of Marketing and Communications for parent company Kelly Products.

Both the UGA SBDC and the Georgia Center are units of UGA Public Service and Outreach.

“It’s rewarding to be able to utilize opportunities like this, to be nimble and partner with UGA in our community,” said Rotroff. “After all, the community is the lifeblood of small businesses.”

Kelly Cramer, a baker with the Georgia Center for Continuing Education adds ice cream to a meringue coconut crust to make Strawberry Ice Cream Pie. (Photo by: Peter Frey)

The continued partnership with UGA is a win all around.

“The strawberry ice cream pie is more than just a delicious dessert. It’s a symbol of the Georgia Center and UGA,” said Georgia Center Executive Chef Rob Harrison. “Rock House Creamery’s focus on using fresh, locally sourced ingredients aligns perfectly with our values, and the partnership between the two entities is a testament to the power of collaboration and community.”

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE GEORGIA CENTER

Previewing the Georgia Bulldogs’ 2023 football schedule

August 7, 2023/by Clarke Schwabe

As the College Football Playoff prepares to expand its field to 12 and the SEC grows its ranks to 16, the University of Georgia hopes to expand its championship tally in a historic way.

A third consecutive national championship would make Kirby Smart’s Georgia Bulldogs the first team with that distinction since the 1930s. But standing between them and college football history is a slate of teams eager to knock off the back-to-back champions.

UGA Alumni has got a LOT going on this season, so make sure you’re connected with us so you find out the latest on game-watching parties, exclusive Alumni content, and news from on campus and all over the Bulldog Nation.

University of Tennessee at Martin

Sanford Stadium – Athens, GA
Sept. 2 @ 6 p.m. – SEC Network+/ESPN+

The Skyhawks play in the Football Championship Subdivision’s Ohio Valley Conference, so this should be a nice tune-up for the Dawgs. Fun fact: a former UT Martin player, Ray Williams, currently holds the world record for heaviest drug-tested, raw squat at 1,080 pounds. That’s three UGA offensive linemen, with about 100 pounds to spare.

Ball State

Sanford Stadium – Athens, GA
Sept. 9 @ Noon – SEC Network

This will be the first meeting between the Bulldogs and the Cardinals, who come from Muncie, Indiana. Ball State, a member of the Mid-American Conference, is coming off of a 5-7 season, so this game gives Kirby Smart and company one more chance to explore the roster and prepare for conference play in Week 3.

South Carolina

Sanford Stadium – Athens, GA
Sept. 16 @ 3:30 p.m. – CBS

The Gamecocks once again appear to be a solid team poised to take down an unsuspecting front runner or two. With quarterback Spencer Rattler returning for his final season, head coach Shane Beamer has a dynamic weapon who appeared to find his rhythm at the end of 2022. Pair that with a couple of young playmakers in the defensive secondary, and South Carolina could frustrate Georgia’s early season.

University of Alabama at Birmingham

Sanford Stadium – Athens, GA
Sept. 23 @ TBD – TBD

The last contest in Georgia’s season-opening, four-game home stand brings the Blazers to Sanford Stadium. UAB’s last appearance in Athens resulted in a 56-7 win for the Dawgs in 2021. The Blazers will still be figuring out exactly what they’ve got in first-year coach Trent Dilfer, and the Bulldogs will take a deep breath before diving into the bulk of their SEC schedule.

Auburn

Jordan-Hare Stadium – Auburn, AL
Sept. 30 @ TBD – TBD

Last year, chaos in the program led the Tigers to a season to forget. New head coach Hugh Freeze brings in an offense that will give the Plainsmen a fresh look and, Auburn fans hope, the spark they need to get closer to even footing with their two championship-caliber rivals. The Tigers have bright spots—running back, offensive line, defensive backfield—but the ongoing renovation may lower their ceiling.

Kentucky

Sanford Stadium – Athens, GA
Oct. 7 @ TBD – TBD

Despite having a second-round draft pick under center, last year’s Wildcats underperformed. And while Will Levis is gone, offensive coordinator Liam Cohen returns to Lexington from the NFL and could provide a boost for Big Blue Nation. Also, Levis was replaced by Devin Leary, a transfer from North Carolina State and a talented, experienced QB. As is typical for Stoops’ Kentucky teams, the defense looks solid. Lots of things point to a bounceback year for the ‘Cats.

Vanderbilt

FirstBank Stadium – Nashville, TN
Oct. 14 @ TBD – TBD

Clark Lea is doing exactly what he needs to do in Nashville. No, they’re not contending for the crown in the east, but they are steadily trending upwards and, after last year, they’ve got a few impressive pelts on the wall. Vandy might be bowl-bound once again, but they’re still far from threatening the Dawgs.

Bye Week

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Florida

TIAA Bank Field – Jacksonville, FL
Oct. 28 @ 3:30 p.m. – CBS

Year one under head coach Billy Napier pretty clearly did not go the way Florida fans wanted. Napier has stressed again and again that rebuilding in Gainesville will take time, and that probably means more than two years. Yes, the Gators have racked up some recruiting wins of late, their running backs are strong, and they’ve retooled last year’s woeful defense. But the presumptive Anthony Richardson replacement is Graham Mertz, the former Wisconsin QB who was notoriously inconsistent, and their offensive line was hit hard by the draft and the transfer portal.

Missouri

Sanford Stadium – Athens, GA
Nov. 4 @ TBD – TBD

This feels like a do-or-die year in Columbia for head coach Eli Drinkwitz. Mizzou has been stagnant for years, save a few recruiting wins like defensive back Ennis Rakestraw and wide receiver Luther Burden. Without a dramatic improvement—and Tigers fans might regard a fourth-place finish as such—the Drinkwitz era may be coming to a close. If there’s hope to be found for the Tigers, it’s on the defensive side, where they return the vast majority of last year’s strong unit.

Ole Miss

Sanford Stadium – Athens, GA
Nov. 11 @ TBD – TBD

The last time Georgia played Ole Miss, the Rebels gave Kirby Smart the worst loss, by point margin, of his career. The Rebs had one of the most potent rushing attacks in the country last year, and most of that offense returns this year—led by impressive sophomore running back Quinshon Judkins and junior quarterback Jaxson Dart. Ole Miss’ defense is now led by former Alabama defensive coordinator Pete Golding, who many expect to improve on last year’s lackluster unit, but we’ll see just how well the players adapt to a new scheme.

Tennessee

Neyland Stadium – Knoxville, TN
Nov. 18 @ TBD – TBD

If the Vols and the Dawgs make it to this point in their schedule without a loss, this will be the game of the season—for all of college football. Expect to hear a lot about this one early on, and if Josh Heupel’s offense continues to blow past opponents, particularly with a new offensive coordinator and new quarterback Joe Milton, expect to hear about it all the way through the season. If the crowd in Knoxville can do this year what the crowd in Athens did last year, this could be a real test for the Bulldogs.

Georgia Tech

Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field – Atlanta, GA
Nov. 25 @ TBD – TBD

As of this writing, Tech fans seem satisfied with new head coach Brent Key. Granted, after Geoff Collins, he needed to do little more than be a thorn in Georgia’s paw to gain that satisfaction, but that’s exactly what he did in 2022. Flipping the script and taking a game from the Dawgs would be nothing short of miraculous. But rivalry games have a special kind of magic—even if the term rivalry is used generously here—so we won’t totally discount the possibility.

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Leadership program accepting nominations

August 3, 2023/by Clarke Schwabe

This story, written by Charlie Bauder, was originally published on UGA Today on Aug. 3, 2023.

The University of Georgia continues to accept nominations for rising 10th and 11th graders to participate in the inaugural Youth LEAD Georgia class in January 2024.

This past January, UGA received a $1.5 million pledge from Chick-fil-A Inc. to support the development of Youth LEAD Georgia, a new UGA-led statewide youth leadership program, as well as an annual youth leadership summit at UGA.

Students participating in Youth LEAD Georgia. (Photo by Charlie Bauder)

“Communities of all sizes continue to nominate outstanding youth to participate in the program,” said Matt Bishop, director of the UGA J.W. Fanning Institute for Leadership Development, which is creating and implementing both Youth LEAD Georgia and the annual summit. “We are excited about the interest in Youth LEAD Georgia and look forward to assembling an inaugural class that represents all corners of the state.”

Nominations will remain open through Sept. 1 and nominated youth will have until Sept. 30 to complete their application.

An adult must nominate students, after which the student and their parent or guardian will receive an email with a link to the application form. For the selection committee to consider students, they must complete the entire application form.

Youth LEAD Georgia participants. (Photo by Charlie Bauder)

There is no cost for student participants. Meals, transportation for tours and program activities, and program materials are available through the pledge from Chick-fil-A. Those selected for the inaugural Youth LEAD Georgia class will be expected to attend all sessions and will be invited to the annual summit in July 2024 at UGA.

During Youth LEAD Georgia, Fanning Institute faculty will work with the youth to build their leadership skills, develop awareness of issues facing Georgia and explore ways to apply their knowledge to issues within their communities. Also, youth will learn more about postsecondary opportunities, businesses and industries in Georgia.

To support youth in applying those leadership skills, Rodney Bullard, CEO of Atlanta-based nonprofit The Same House, has made a $100,000 gift over the next three years to UGA. Bullard’s gift will provide funding for Youth LEAD Georgia participants to plan and implement specific projects in their respective communities.

“This new gift to UGA’s Youth LEAD Georgia program will not only benefit our participants but also help these youth have a meaningful impact in their communities,” said Bishop. “We appreciate Rodney’s commitment to the program, and we look forward to working with both him and Chick-fil-A moving forward.”

Such an effort aligns with the mission of The Same House, Bullard said.

“Inspired by other leadership programs, Youth LEAD Georgia is exactly the kind of program of collegiality and collaboration that we want to foster in tomorrow’s leaders and as a legacy to the state of Georgia,” Bullard said. “It covers three of our key focus areas: youth, education and training, and community improvement and development through the service projects the participants will undertake over the next three years.”

Bullard, along with fellow Georgia businessman and colleague Fred Hicks, has been instrumental in shaping the programming and curriculum.

UGA will announce the inaugural Youth LEAD Georgia class this fall.

Those wishing to nominate a youth for Youth LEAD Georgia may do so here.

For more information on Youth LEAD Georgia, click here.

UGA names new alumni president, board members

July 27, 2023/by Elizabeth Elmore

The University of Georgia Alumni Association Board of Directors has elected its 78th president, C. Lee Zell (AB ’96), and approved eight new board members. Their terms began July 1.

Zell has been on the board since 2015 and succeeds Yvette K. Daniels (AB ’86, JD ’89), whose two-year term concluded June 30. As a national account executive for WBD Sports, the sports marketing and broadcast arm of Warner Bros. Discovery, Zell is responsible for national television and digital advertising sales and sponsorships for a portfolio of sports properties in the Southeast. That portfolio includes the NBA, MLB, NHL, NCAA March Madness, U.S. Soccer, Bleacher Report and House of Highlights.

“Lee is a spirited and supportive alumna who has been involved with our board of directors for eight years,” said Meredith Gurley Johnson (BSFCS ’00, MED ’16), executive director of alumni relations. “She is passionate and committed, and I cannot wait to continue working with her and our new board members as we seek to engage alumni in supporting UGA’s faculty, staff and students throughout the year.”

Zell is a Brunswick, Georgia, native, but now resides in Atlanta. She earned a bachelor’s degree from UGA in speech communications in 1996 and began her career with Turner Broadcasting soon after. She serves on the Washington Media Scholars Foundation Advisory Board, is a member of Leadership Georgia (Class of 2023), and is the vice president of the Chi Omega/University of Georgia House Corporation.

Alumni who joined the board on July 1 include:

Don Grimsley (BBA ’96, MBA ’99), President, Grimsley Enterprises, Inc. / BHHS Commercial Real Estate; Gainesville, Georgia
Jessica McClellan (AB ’00, JD ’03), Trial Attorney, U.S. Department of Justice; Potomac, Maryland
Jason Morris (BSA ’97), Regional President, Colony Bank; Ocilla, Georgia
Rachel Perry (BBA ’93), Chief Innovation Officer – Commercial Risk Solutions North America, Aon Risk Services; Mableton, Georgia
Matt Sawhill (BBA ’01), Principal, Sawhill Strategic Partners; Rome, Georgia
Bowen Shoemaker (ABJ ’06), Assistant United States Attorney, U.S. Department of Justice Middle District of Georgia; Macon, Georgia
Daniel Stewart (BSFCS ’05), President and Owner, Wier/Stewart; Augusta, Georgia
Andres Villegas (BSA ’98), President/CEO, Georgia Forestry Association and Georgia Forestry Foundation; Macon, Georgia

The executive board members who will serve alongside Zell include:

Corey Dortch (BSA ’03, MED ’05, PHD ’11), Vice President – Associate Dean – Evening MBA Program, Emory University; Marietta, Georgia
Todd Phinney (BBA ’88), Secretary – Business Consultant-Field Operations, Chick-fil-A, Inc.; Bishop, Georgia
Anne Beckwith (BBA ’90), Chapters Committee Chair – Community Volunteer; Atlanta, Georgia
Yvette K. Daniels (AB ’86, JD ’89), Immediate Past President – Deputy Director – Division Workforce Management, Georgia Department of Public Health; Stone Mountain, Georgia
Paton Faletti (BBA ’99), Signature Programs Committee Chair – President and CEO, NCM Associates; Atlanta, Georgia
Dominique Holloman (BS ’01, AB ’01, MED ’04, JD ’04), Nominating Committee Chair – Government Affairs Professional, Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority; Atlanta, Georgia
Elliott Marsh (BSA ’02, MAL ’11), Student & Young Alumni Committee Chair – Financial Advisor, Edward Jones; Statesboro, Georgia
Raegan Tuff (PHD ’09), Affinity Committee Chair – Public Health Analyst, CDC; Lilburn, Georgia

The UGA Alumni Association Board of Directors works closely with UGA’s alumni relations staff to promote, support, and advance the programs and services that are offered to more than 355,000 living alumni around the world.

Board members who concluded their terms on the board on June 30 included:

Robert Watts (AB ’10), Atlanta, Georgia
Brian Dill (AB ’94, MBA ’19), Carrollton, Georgia
Jon Howell (BBA ’99, MBA ’17), Jefferson, Georgia
Eric Cohen (BSA ’00), Whigham, Georgia
Truitt Eavenson (BSAE ’83), Savannah, Georgia
Steve Horton (ABJ ’71, MED ’85), Athens, Georgia
Shondeana Morris (ABJ ’82), Atlanta, Georgia

View the full list of UGA Alumni Association Board of Directors.

Travon Walker’s TW Foundation Donates To UGA Athletics

July 25, 2023/by Clarke Schwabe

This story was originally published on the UGA Athletics site on July 24, 2023.

Former Georgia Bulldog Travon Walker, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, has donated $44,000 to UGA Athletic Association via the Travon Walker Foundation.

“The University of Georgia has made a major impact on my career in many ways,” Walker said. “Without the University of Georgia, to be honest, I really don’t know where I would be at this point. I’m truly grateful that I went to the University of Georgia, which helped instill me with leadership, integrity and discipline. One of the main things that made me contribute and give back to the University of Georgia was just the simple fact that the university poured so much into me. UGA helped provide me with the opportunity to continue my journey and do things that I like to do, which are to play football and go to school to get a great education. Those factors played a major role in my decision to attend the University of Georgia, and I’m extremely thankful about that decision.”

Walker’s gift is part of the Foundation’s #BlessUp44 campaign. The initiative will annually donate $4,400 44 times, synonymous with the jersey No. 44 Walker has worn throughout his football career. The donation to UGA represents 10 of those offerings for 2023.

The Walker Foundation’s donation has been specifically ear-marked for UGA Athletics’ Sports Medicine program and the purchase of specific equipment to assist in both rehab and training.

“We greatly appreciate Travon’s generous donation through the Travon Walker Foundation,” said Ron Courson, the UGA Athletic Association’s Executive Association Athletic Director for Sports Medicine. “Travon represented the University of Georgia extremely well both on and off the field and continues to make positive impacts now through his play in the NFL with the Jacksonville Jaguars and in the community through his foundation. The funds will be used to purchase a Kineo Intelligent Load system. Kineo is a new generation robotic machine from Italy designed for both rehabilitation and training. It offers a wide variety of testing and training capabilities and is the first unit that can test with both open chain and closed chain. This gives us outstanding functional training capabilities and will greatly benefit our student-athletes.”

Walker was a standout at Upson-Lee High School in Thomaston, Ga., where he was named first-team all-state in football and second-team all-state in basketball as a senior. He was ranked among the nation’s top-10 defensive line prospects in the Class of 2019 by every major recruiting services.

Walker blossomed at Georgia and started at defensive tackle in all 15 games during the Bulldogs’ 2021 College Football Playoff National Championship season. As a junior, he tallied 37 tackles, 6.0 sacks, 7.5 tackles for loss and a team-high 36 quarterback pressures, closing out his Georgia tenure with a career-best seven pressures in the national title win over Alabama. Walker was named SEC All-Freshman in balloting of league coaches in 2019 after recording 15 tackles, with 2.5 sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss. He helped clinch the SEC East title with a fourth-down sack at Auburn.

Walker became the fifth Georgia player to be selected first overall in the NFL Draft when he was chosen by the Jacksonville Jaguars. With the pick, Georgia tied Notre Dame, Oklahoma, and USC for the most first-overall picks by one institution at five. In his rookie season, Walker started 14 of 15 games played and recorded 49 tackles, 3.5 sacks, one interception, two passes defended and one forced fumble while helping the Jaguars reach the Playoffs for the first time since 2017.

About the Travon Walker Foundation
The Travon Walker Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization committed to helping the youth of today be where their feet are. We show young people how to use their strengths to identify, plan, and pursue their passions. The Travon Walker Foundation aims to inspire the next generation of leaders, entrepreneurs, and community builders. The foundation’s focus areas include job creation in Thomaston, Ga., (Travon’s hometown); business and financial literacy for youth; youth sports facility & equipment improvements; and community development in Thomaston.

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Rhodes to Success

July 20, 2023/by Clarke Schwabe

Stories like Natalie Navarrete’s would not be possible without the generous support of donors. The Foundation Fellowship—and the role it played in Natalie’s journey—is just one example of how private giving sets students on a path to prosper.

This story, written by Erica Techo, was originally published on UGA Today on July 20, 2023.

Natalie Navarrete didn’t know Russian when she came to the University of Georgia. Now, she has studied it around the globe.

Natalie Navarette stands on top of Baiterek in Almaty, Kazakhstan. This is a symbol of Kazakhstan’s independence and Kazakhstan’s first president placed his hand on that podium which now has his handprint. (Photo courtesy of Natalie Navarette)

Navarrete graduated in spring 2023 with several new stamps in her passport, as well as bachelor’s degrees in international affairs, Russian and Spanish, and a minor in Latin American and Caribbean studies. She capped off her academic career at UGA as a 2023 Rhodes Scholar, receiving the oldest and most celebrated international fellowship in the world. She was one of only three public university students, in addition to the nation’s service academies, to receive the honor this year.

“Coming to UGA and learning Russian without knowing a single letter in the alphabet was incredibly difficult, but also very rewarding,” said Navarrete, who studied in the university’s Russian Flagship Program, a federally funded languages initiative housed in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. “Going from absolute zero to now having a business proficiency has been a really interesting and honestly exciting experience.”

And Navarrete was up to the academic challenge.

She received the Foundation Fellowship, the university’s top academic scholarship which has supported students for the last 50 years. The fellowship is available through the Jere W. Morehead Honors College and provides travel stipends, grants for research and conferences and additional funding. She is also a Stamps Scholar, a prestigious distinction only given to five Foundation Fellows each year.

“I can’t say enough good things about the Foundation Fellowship and the support that UGA provides its students in general,” Navarrete said. “I’ve learned so much by being around amazing, curious and passionate people all the time. It also helped make UGA a lot smaller and less intimidating in its first year. The Foundation Fellowship provides support for its students in a way that stands out from other universities.”

The fellowship helped Navarrete build a community, and other campus groups continued to strengthen it.

“For Natalie to accomplish so much in her four years at UGA is a testament to both her incredible drive for learning and the strength of our university’s academic programs,” said Meg Amstutz, dean of the Morehead Honors College. “From her immersion in the Russian Flagship Program to her engagement in the Foundation Fellowship, she has been an incredible example of UGA as an academic powerhouse. We are so proud of her.”

In the spring semester of her freshman year, Navarrete joined the Richard B. Russell Security Leadership Program and solidified her academic path forward.

“It was in the Security Leadership Program that I started learning about nuclear policy and nuclear strategy within the field of international affairs,” Navarrete said. “I did my first research connecting how Russian investments in media and education influence the way Latin American countries vote on security issues in the United Nations Security Council. From there, everything sort of snowballed.”

Natalie Navarette and her classmates stand in front of the grand mosque in Astana, Kazakhstan, which is the biggest mosque in Central Asia and one of the biggest in the world. She stands with Sydney Drake (UGA) and Molly Burhans (IU), who were also students in the Russian Flagship program. (Photo courtesy of Natalie Navarette).

She seized the chance to study abroad. She improved her language proficiency, built a strong professional network and explored additional research opportunities.

“I don’t know how it all worked out, but my study away experiences perfectly built on each other,” Navarrete said.

These experiences started close to home, with opportunities in Athens and on campus, but they soon expanded worldwide.

From Middlebury, Vermont, and Honolulu, Hawaii, to Oxford, U.K., and Cortona, Italy, it all culminated in a yearlong study abroad in Altmaty, Kazakhstan. There were some disruptions due to the COVID pandemic—moving a program to Honolulu instead of Latvia, for example—but the strength of UGA’s Russian Flagship Program eased those transitions.

“Our flagship was extremely creative and managed to come up with lots of solutions,” she said. “I got to study Russian in Hawaii with two of the best Russian professors in the world, who have written dozens of textbooks on learning Russian. It was an incredible experience. And we were all very excited to go to the beach.”

The Russian Flagship Program also connected her to other students passionate about immersing themselves in a language. Daily language classes and intensive study provided their challenges, but on-campus resources offered encouragement.

All flagship students receive a one-on-one tutor and participate in intensive summer programs that help develop fluency. In September 2022, Navarrete had her capstone year at Al-Farabi Kazakh National University in Kazakstan, a program that included eight-hour days of Russian language and studies, but also opportunities to explore her interests on a new level.

Meg Amstutz, dean of the Morehead Honors College, and Rhodes Scholar Natalie Navarrete talk outside of Moore College. (Photo by Peter Frey/ UGA).

“I took a course on the history of Central Asian Identity and Kazakh identity, and then I was able to apply that during a spring internship,” Navarrete said. “I worked with Altair Academy, a children’s literature group that promotes children’s literacy and reading in Kazakhstan. It was interesting to see how the Kazakh identity was manifested in children’s fairy tales.”

After her year abroad, Navarrete will enjoy a few weeks back in the United States before traveling to South Korea for a five-week conference. There, she will continue her research in nuclear nonproliferation before beginning her master’s program at the University of Oxford.

But first, she made a quick return to campus.

Navarrete lived in a residence hall for three of her four years as a student, even though she spent a large amount of time away from Athens. But any return to campus, she said, serves as a reminder of the university’s dedication to its students.

“You can tell in the way that campus is laid out and the programs that are available that UGA is here to support your everyday life. It really cares about its students,” she said. “And then it goes even further when you see the effort that professors put in to get students interested in different opportunities, to explore their interests and to make the most of their time here.”

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