Oct. 18, 2007

TO: Fans, Friends, and Supporters of Georgia Tech Athletics

FROM: Dan Radakovich, Georgia Tech Director of Athletics

What a special opportunity we have here at Georgia Tech to participate in a two-year home-and-home football series with the United States Military Academy. This Saturday we welcome Army to Bobby Dodd Stadium for what promises to be a Homecoming weekend to remember. Our ever-present friends from the world of television have dictated a 12 noon kickoff for us, making an engineering degree almost a prerequisite to fit in all the activities.

I want you all to pay special attention to the traffic advisories that are being posted in the next 24 hours which speak of changes in our normal ingress patterns on the morning of the game. The Homecoming parade and other activities on campus will create some road closures for a period of time that may require you to look for alternative routes. I will give you my patented AD's admonitions: Come early, be patient and enjoy the atmosphere of a great college football Saturday.

As exciting as this weekend should be, I can't help but look forward to next year when we will have the opportunity to visit West Point for the return game in the series. Mark your calendars for October 11, 2008 for what is clearly a lifetime opportunity to see a game at the Academy.  From the crisp October weather and the fall foliage in New York, to the pageantry of football at Army, it should be a trip to remember.

I would be remiss in not making you all aware that we have reached deeply into the military family in and around the state of Georgia for this weekend's game. My notes that will follow in today's Good Word will list a few avenues in which we have tried to include veterans, active military as well as wounded Americans who have given so much to protect our freedoms.

And now here are a few facts and information that may interest you and even assist you in the weekend ahead:

Welcoming The Troops

Georgia Tech donated 250 tickets to the USO for Saturday's Homecoming game against Army. The USO will use 100 of those tickets for Wounded Warriors from the various military hospitals in Georgia. The remainder of the tickets will go to soldiers from Fort Benning, Fort McPherson and Fort Gillem.  It's really an honor to have the United States Military Academy on campus and we are quite proud to work  with the USO.

Georgia-based military will be well-represented Saturday. In addition to the 250 tickets donated by Geogia Tech, Fort Benning is sending some 200 trainees and another 44 Airborne troops to the game. Thirty-three disabled veterans from the Veterans Hospital in August (Ga.) will attend the game.

Homecoming Calendar

FRIDAY

6:00 p.m. -- Alumni Baseball Game (Russ Chandler Stadium)

7:00 p.m. -- Volleyball vs. Maryland (O'Keefe Gymnasium)

7:30-10:30 -- Buzz Bash 007 - Goldstinger (Festival area, Bobby Dodd Stadium)

SATURDAY

8:00 a.m. -- Ramblin' Wreck Parade (Fowler Street)

9:30 a.m. -- Homecoming Tailgate Party (Tech Tower lawn)

9:30 a.m. -- Yellow Jacket Alley (Brittain Drive)

9:30 a.m. -- Wreckfest (Fowler Street and Bobby Dodd Way)

12:00 noon -- Georgia Tech vs. Army (Bobby Dodd Stadium)

Pregame -- SilverWings Parachuters (Bobby Dodd Stadium)

2nd Quarter -- Recognition of Troops (Bobby Dodd Stadium)

4:00-7:00 -- Hoopfest (Alexander Memorial Coliseum)

7:00 p.m. -- Volleyball vs. Boston College (O'Keefe Gymnasium)

Tickets: 1-888-TECH-TIX

Recycling

Georgia Tech will be initiating a "Game-Day" recycling program beginning Saturday. GTAA has been working closely with numerous campus stakeholders and its vendors to initiate this program. For this initial

roll-out, we will be focusing on the most populated tailgate areas. Student volunteers will be handing out blue recycling bags to tailgaters entering several of our parking areas. Please assist our student volunteers by using these blue bags for your aluminum, plastic and glass containers. Please do  not place other waste in these bags. Your participation in expanding our  campus-wide recycling program and keeping our campus beautiful is greatly  appreciated.

Hoopsfest Celebration Set for Saturday

The men's and women's basketball teams will hold their annual Hoopsfest celebration, with scrimmages and autograph sessions, Saturday at Alexander Memorial Coliseum following the football game. Tech's women, with four starters back from a 21-12 campaign and a trip to the NCAA Tournament, will scrimmage on the main floor from 4 - 4:20 p.m. The men, with three starters returning from a team that went 20-12 and also made the NCAA Tournament, will scrimmage from 4:30 - 5:30 p.m. 

Both teams will sign autographs, and team posters will be available, until 7 p.m., when the Jackets' volleyball team take the court against Boston College at 7 p.m.

Admission to Hoopsfest is free. It will be the only public appearance for either team before Nov. 1, when the women play the Premier Players in an exhibition game, and Nov. 2, when the men play an exhibition game against Carson-Newman.

Gailey Speaking Monday At FSG

Head coach Chan Gailey will speak to the Touchdown Club of Atlanta Monday at 12 noon and Yellow Jacket fans are invited. Fox Sports Grill in Atlantic Station will host the event. Tickets can be purchased at the door ($35 for non-members).  The Touchdown Club of Atlanta, which honors football coaches and players on every level, meets every Monday at Fox Sports Grill. Some of the speakers this fall include Gailey, Jim Donnan, Bill Curry, our own Wes Durham and several other prominent figures associated with football in the area.