ATHENS — Georgia’s football game with Georgia Tech in 2021 will remain as scheduled to be held in Atlanta even with the teams not playing in Athens this year, Bulldogs athletic director Greg McGarity said.
The in-state rivals will not go up against each other this season for the first time since 1924 after the SEC decided to play a conference-only schedule due to the pandemic. The ACC allowed for one nonconference game played in the school’s home state.
“I think if the shoe were on the other foot, it’s not that you push the game back a year, but it would take both schools to agree to do that and obviously Tech has no interest in doing that,” McGarity said. “We’ll just basically be in Atlanta in 2021. It’s unfortunate but it’s just where things stand.”
The Georgia men’s basketball game at Georgia Tech for this season may not be played after the NCAA set a new start date of Nov. 25. If it doesn’t go off, the game in the 2021-22 season would remain as scheduled for Athens, according to UGA assistant athletic director John Bateman.
“We are communicating with the Georgia Tech staff as needed to see if we can work something out for this year since the original game was scheduled prior to the Nov. 25 date,” Bateman said. “Like with the football, if we can’t work something out for this current schedule then we’re also in agreement it would come back to Athens.”
The teams were to play Nov. 19 in Atlanta.
Georgia and Georgia Tech have played every season going back to the 1920-21 season.
Georgia has played football road games against rivals Auburn and Georgia Tech in 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2019 and would again in 2021, although the Auburn game was moved this year from November to October.
The SEC moved to a 10-game league-only schedule this year.
“We’ve managed that over the past few years and I’m sure it will be that way down the road unless the SEC changes the schedule,” McGarity said. “You just never know. I would never say never. … Whether this will expand into next year, who knows?”
One of Georgia’s most high-profile nonconference basketball games that was scheduled for this season is not expected to now be played.
The Bulldogs were to play at SMU on Nov. 25 as part of a multi-team event run by Global Sports Invitational. Georgia’s games with Wofford and Charleston Southern that were part of that MTE also won’t be played.
“We are trying to find an MTE now if we can make the dates work,” Bateman said.
Georgia will play either a 25- or 27-team schedule this season instead of 31.