Georgia Tech Athletic Association "I'm a Ramblin'Wreck from Georgia Tech and a helluva engineer. A helluva, helluva, helluva, helluva, hell of an engineer." Those words from one of America's most famous fight songs typify the spirit of athletics at Georgia Tech, a school with one of the most storied and honored traditions in college athletics. Ever since 1892, when the first football team was organized on The Flats, Georgia Tech teams in all sports have represented the Institute in outstanding fashion while producing some of the best known names in athletics. Dan Radakovich, the current Director of Athletics, oversees teams in 17 sports, and also the following departments: a Total Person Program, compliance, business, development, finance, accounting, ticketing, marketing, sports information and sports medicine. The most important function of Georgia Tech athletics, however, is academic support. The Georgia Tech Athletic Association is a non-profit organization responsible for maintaining the intercollegiate athletic program at Tech. The Athletic Association is overseen by the Georgia Tech Athletic Board, chaired by the president of the Institute, Dr. Wayne Clough, and composed of seven faculty members, three alumni members, and three student members. Radakovich follows in the footsteps of some of the most honored men in college athletics: John Heisman, for whom football's Heisman Trophy is named, William Alexander, Bobby Dodd, Dr. Homer Rice and Dave Braine. Over the past 100 years, Tech has had only 11 head football coaches: John Heisman, Bill Alexander, Bobby Dodd, Bud Carson, Bill Fulcher, Pepper Rodgers, Bill Curry, Bobby Ross, Bill Lewis, George O'Leary, and the present coach, Chan Gailey Tech has won four National Championships in football in the years 1917, 1928, 1952, and 1990. The Yellow Jacket football teams have the nation's best record in bowl games at 22-11. Other major highlights in sports have been two Final Four appearances by the Tech men's basketball team in 1990 and 2004, when the Yellow Jackets reached the NCAA title game, a NWIT women's basketball title in 1992 and a pair of College World Series berths in baseball. Some of the most prominent names in Georgia Tech athletic history have been Grand Slam Champion Bobby Jones, former Masters champion Larry Mize, British Open champion David Duval and Stewart Cink in golf, Billy Lothridge, George Morris, Robert Lavette, Maxie Baughan, Marco Coleman, Shawn Jones and Joe Hamilton, runner-up in the 1999 Heisman Trophy race, in football. Also, four Olympic gold medal winners in track, Antonio McKay, Derek Mills, Derrick Adkins, and Angelo Taylor, as well as three-time NCAA high jump champion and 2004 U.S. Olympian Chaunte Howard in women's track, current Major League stars Mark Texeira, Nomar Garciaparra, Jason Varitek and Kevin Brown in baseball, and Roger Kaiser, Rich Yunkus, Mark Price, John Salley, Kenny Anderson, Stephon Marbury, Matt Harpring and Jarrett Jack in men's basketball. Tech's athletic facilities rank among the finest in college athletics and improvements are on the drawing board. Bobby Dodd Stadium at Grant Field, one of America's oldest and most recognized football facilities, was recently renovated and expanded to 55,000 seats. A $9.7 million reconstruction of Russ Chandler Baseball Stadium was completed in less than nine months and opened for the 2002 season. The Georgia Tech Aquatic Center, site of the 1996 Olympic Games, was recently enclosed to provide the Yellow Jackets with one of the nation's top swimming and diving facilities. The facility will host the 2006 NCAA Championships. The hub of Georgia Tech athletics is the Arthur Edge Athletics Center, which houses administrative and coaching staffs, a dining hall, locker rooms,training and weight facilities and the Andrew Hearn Academic Center. The Homer Rice Center for Sports Performance is the home of the Total Person Program, the best of its kind in the United States. The Center is comprised of seven sports performance and wellness clinics. Georgia Tech teams participate in the Atlantic Coast Conference, generally regarded as one of the finest collegiate conferences in the country. The primary purpose of the Athletic Association is to help each student-athlete grow as a person, develop as an athlete, earn a meaningful degree and become a good citizen.
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