Tech Confirms Vanderbilt for Four-Year Head-2-Head Series

Tech and our old SEC rivals from Nashville, Vanderbilt University, have agreed to play each other each of the next four seasons in a "modified" home-and-home arrangement, where Vandy will come to Atlanta in 2006, Tech returns to Nashville for the next TWO years after that, and then Vandy comes back to Atlanta in the 2008-09 season.


This late addition to the Tech schedule is the "make-up" to the schedule for the loss of the Kansas rematch in 2005-06 that was to be held in Alexander Memorial Coliseum. Unfortunately, someone forgot until very late in the planning stages that Fall Commencement ceremonies were already scheduled for the Coliseum on the day that both schools wanted the rematch to go down. Oops. Alas, Kansas will come to Atlanta sometime during the 2006-07 season for the much-anticipated return game. Personally, I applaud Coach Hewitt and the basketball staff for not trying to squeeze the game into an already-loaded 2005-06 schedule (say, mid-ACC slate/February 2006 timeframe) or giving up our home-court advantage to play in the Georgia Dome or Philips Arena on December 17.


Lastly, and perhaps creating the most head-scratching, is the part of the Vandy-Tech announcement that says that this year's game will be at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, January 3, 2006. This is concerning because most of Tech's non-student, local Atlanta fan base will be back to work (present company included), making it difficult for them to get to the game by tip-off. Television by FSN South and Comcast was obviously a factor somewhere in this decision, but to televise a mid-week game for a 5 p.m. tip seems unusual. I realize that there may already by TV commitments for that evening making our game necessary for a 5 p.m. tip to accomodate TV . . . but is getting a Tech game on TV more important than having an full home arena? That's what were looking at with this scheduled tip time.


Also, the student body will only be arriving back to campus that same day at the earliest, with Spring term classes not starting until January 9, 2006. This will only make getting students to this game that much more difficult as well. Let's hope that word spreads to get students back to Tech to fill up their section (and more!).


Why did the GTAA decide on this time?