Why did we drop our SEC rivals?

JoltinJacket

JoltinJacket

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Does anyone remember why we stopped playing Auburn, Alabama, and Tennessee virtually all at the same time in the mid-80s? Was it something Bobby Ross decided to do when he became HC?

If the NCAA decides to keep this 12 game schedule (which I think they should), we should find a way to keep at least one on the schedule every year. We've already restarted the Auburn rivalry, now let's go after Bama and EwwTee (or maybe some others like Ole Miss, South Carolina, etc.).
 
I think it was the expansion of the SEC and them adding SC and Ark and those teams have to play a certain amount within their conference. Somebody correct me here if I didn't get this right.
 
The reason was to become more ACC centered. We'd hung onto AU and UT (regular series) for a few years after taking up with the ACC and basically played out the contract ending around '87. Alabama we hadn't played regularly since the 60s and only picked them up for a few games in the 80s about like we're doing with Awbun now. Oddly enough Ole Miss never was a regular opponent even though we were in the same conf for forever.

Series totals with SEC opps -

Al 21-28-3
Au 39-47-4
Fl 24-9-6
Ky 11-7-1
LSU 12-6-0
Miss 2-1-0
Miss St 2-0-0
Tenn 17-24-2
Tulane 35-13-0 (traditional SEC rival)
Vandy 17-15-3
 
gnats is correct, but don't leave out the fact that AU and UT was also attempting to add OOC patsys to their schedules..
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Actually those two needed to add at least one more SEC game with expansion, if I recall correctly.

I remember back in Pepper/Curry days we often played more SEC schools than Georgia did, with Notre Dame thrown in...
 
Tech did not want to play Ole Miss or MSU in some small one horse town in Mississippi, due to smaller stadium capacities and low gate receipts. Tech wanted all games to be in Atlanta, and for some odd reason those schools refused. This is the same reason we had only home games in Atlanta with Clemson and Auburn for maybe 50 years. Of course, Auburn and Clemson have stadiums almost twice the size of BDS@HGF, but that is one reason they expanded. Many of those western SEC schools remember Tech's attitude from those glory years, and it is a prime reason Tech did not rejoin the SEC when we inquired, just before agreeing to join the ACC. Ole Miss, MSU and LSU didn't want us and our upity ways. It is still a suprise that Clemson did.
 
Originally posted by gnats 67:
The reason was to become more ACC centered. We'd hung onto AU and UT (regular series) for a few years after taking up with the ACC and basically played out the contract ending around '87. Alabama we hadn't played regularly since the 60s and only picked them up for a few games in the 80s about like we're doing with Awbun now. Oddly enough Ole Miss never was a regular opponent even though we were in the same conf for forever.

Series totals with SEC opps -

Al 21-28-3
Au 39-47-4
Fl 24-9-6
Ky 11-7-1
LSU 12-6-0
Miss 2-1-0
Miss St 2-0-0
Tenn 17-24-2
Tulane 35-13-0 (traditional SEC rival)
Vandy 17-15-3
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<font size="2" face="Arial, Verdana, Sans-Serif">You forgot one...

Ugag 36-53-5
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Tech dropped Alabama the year after the Chick Graning - Darwin Holt incident in 1962, Namath's last year. Coach Dodd told the Bear that if he did not kick Holt off the team he (Dodd) would not renew the contract after it ran out the next year. The next year Tech won the game by 1 point 14-13. Sideline - Tickets were going for $100 each if you could find one. At that time Grant Field would seat ove 60,000.
 
Originally posted by Editorjacket:
Tech dropped Alabama the year after the Chick Graning - Darwin Holt incident in 1962, Namath's last year. Coach Dodd told the Bear that if he did not kick Holt off the team he (Dodd) would not renew the contract after it ran out the next year. The next year Tech won the game by 1 point 14-13. Sideline - Tickets were going for $100 each if you could find one. At that time Grant Field would seat ove 60,000.
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<font size="2" face="Arial, Verdana, Sans-Serif">That's the story I was told as a small child. I was 6 years old in '62. I remember learning as a wee lad (yard ape) there were three "bad men." One was the ole devil, another was W.T. Sherman and the other was Bear Bryant.
 
Originally posted by gnats 67:
The reason was to become more ACC centered. We'd hung onto AU and UT (regular series) for a few years after taking up with the ACC and basically played out the contract ending around '87. ...
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<font size="2" face="Arial, Verdana, Sans-Serif">GT picked up Maryland and South Carolina in place of AU & UT. Even though GT joined the ACC in 1981, we never played Maryland until 1988. It was believed S. Carolina would rejoin the ACC as it was indepedent at the time.

"More ACC centered" was the reason given for dropping Auburn & Tennessee, but I think it was more of a surrender to these two teams. Auburn had just beaten Tech for the 9th time in a row, and UT was winning 2 of 3 against us for many years. In 1987, not only were most of the ACC teams patsies, but our OOC schedule was comprised of Div. 1AA schools like UT-Chattanooga, Western Carolina, Furman and VMI. So it really does look like Tech gave up on beating AU & UT in 1988.
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The 2nd biggest blunder in GT Football history was dropping Auburn and Tennessee from the schedule in 1988.

 
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