Georgia

Why Georgia football moved its game against Texas in 1957 from Athens to Atlanta

Published

4 months ago

November 12, 2025

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Why Georgia football moved its game against Texas in 1957 from Athens to Atlanta

Most of the biggest brands in college football have never lined up against Georgia football inside Sanford Stadium.

Alabama, of course, is an exception, as an SEC program that first played between the hedges in 1935.

Notre Dame made its only visit to Athens in 2019 in a game deemed so big extra seating was brought in to accommodate a record crowd.

These top 10 winningest FBS programs of all-time have never been on the visitor’s sideline: Michigan, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Penn State, Nebraska and USC.

Texas is on that list, too, but won’t be after it plays Georgia for the first time in Athens on Saturday, Nov. 15.

The Longhorns were scheduled to do that on Sept. 21, 1957, but the game was moved to Georgia Tech’s Grant Field in Atlanta.

But why?

According to the Feb. 7, 1957, edition of the Red & Black student newspaper, the game was shifted to the second of a doubleheader with Georgia Tech and Kentucky playing at 2 p.m. and Georgia and Texas at 8 p.m.

“The Texas tilt was scheduled for Athens, but the Georgia student body does not return until Sept. 23, the first day of registration,” the story said.

Georgia and Georgia Tech had played a doubleheader in 1955 in Atlanta as well: Georgia-Ole Miss and Georgia Tech-Miami.

Moving the 1957 game was “financially necessary,” according to Dan Magill’s “The Georgia Bulldog” newsletter from Feb. 18, 1957, provided to the Athens Banner-Herald by Jason Hasty, a UGA athletics history specialist with the UGA’s Hargrett Rare Book & Manuscript Library. Magill was secretary of the Georgia Bulldog Club, which he founded in 1953.

That 1955 Georgia-Ole Miss game in Atlanta drew 33,400 — more than three times the average paid attendance for games in Athens in recent years, other than games against rivals Georgia Tech and Alabama, Magill wrote.

Coach Wally Butts cited conflicts with Georgia Tech home games as a “major factor,” in moving the games from Athens, according to the Red & Black.

“Whenever these conflicts exist, it hurts the gate receipts at both schools, particularly Georgia, which is located in a sparsely populated area,” Magill wrote.

The game in Atlanta — just the second against Texas after a 41-28 Orange Bowl Longhorns win on Jan. 1, 1949 — was considered a Georgia home game and students were admitted free with an ID card.

Loran Smith, a Georgia historian who has been associated with UGA athletics for more than 60 years, said Magill complained, “Tech plays the afternoon and we’re the damn sideshow.”

Smith said Georgia Tech coach Bobby Dodd convinced Butts it would be a good move to play the game in Atlanta.

The game in 1957 was the season opener and marked the debut of Texas coach of Darrell Royal, who is the namesake of Texas football’s Darrell K. Royal Texas Memorial Stadium. He took over a program coming off a 1-9 season.

Texas won 26-7 before a “sweltering short sleeved crowd of 33,000,” according to an AP report.

Georgia trailed 13-7 in the third quarter after sophomore quarterback Charley Britt threw a 5-yard touchdown to Jimmy Orr, but Texas scored 13 in the fourth quarter.

Georgia finished the season 3-7. Texas went 6-4-1 and ranked No. 11.

Georgia played Texas A&M in Athens in 1954 and went to Michigan in 1957 and 1965.

Butts was on a football rules committee with Michigan AD Fritz Crisler which led to the games in Ann Arbor, Smith said.

“Both on the road,” Smith said. “We were like one of the directional schools playing for a check.”

Saturday will be the eighth all-time meeting between the Longhorns, who are No. 5 in all-time wins with 968, and Georgia which is No. 9 with 900.

Texas was scheduled to play at Georgia on Sept. 1, 2029, as part of the second game of a home-and-home series set up in 2018, but then the Longhorns joined the SEC.

Georgia won twice last season, 30-15 in Austin and 22-19 in overtime in Atlanta in the SEC championship game.

The teams have also played in Miami, Dallas and New Orleans.

And now in Athens.

“It’s huge,” Georgia tight end Oscar Delp said. “It’s going to be super fun. I know the city is going to be rocking. Our fans are going to show up. We’re going to show up. We know what kind of game it’s going to be. It’s going to be like the last two. It’s going to be a physical game, who can run the ball, who can stop the run. We’re excited for that.”

Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said he will take a moment to soak in the atmosphere of what will be his first game in Athens, too.

“I definitely will appreciate it and I hope our players do, too,” he said. “One of the beauties of going into this conference is the opportunity to play in some of these stadiums around the Southeastern Conference. …I’d be remised if I didn’t take it in, if our players didn’t take it in because that’s when teams can get overwhelmed. You’ve got to embrace the moment, embrace the environment you’re in and then you’ve got to go fight.”

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Georgia

Georgia teacher killed in prank gone wrong: 5 teens charged

Published

49 minutes ago

March 9, 2026

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Georgia teacher killed in prank gone wrong: 5 teens charged

A tragic prank turns deadly in Gainesville, Georgia, as beloved teacher Jason Hughes is struck and killed outside his home. Five teenagers now face charges, including vehicular homicide. Students and the community mourn Hughes’ loss, leaving flowers and memories outside North Hall High School.

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Georgia

How should cities use AI? This Atlanta suburb may hold the answer.

Published

13 hours ago

March 9, 2026

Press Room

How should cities use AI? This Atlanta suburb may hold the answer.

Business

Mableton, one of Georgia’s youngest cities, is heralded as an example to follow for its artificial intelligence policies.

(Illustration: Marcie LaCerte for the AJC)

When you think about the American cities on the cutting edge of technology, which ones come to mind?

Maybe tech hubs like Austin, Texas; Boston; or San Jose, California? Maybe New York City or Los Angeles?

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Mableton Mayor Michael Owens embraces artificial intelligence, calling it an equalizer. (Courtesy)

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‘Allergic to file cabinets’

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Mableton is home to Six Flags Over Georgia. (Courtesy of Six Flags Over Georgia)

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Mableton officials cut the ribbon for the city’s first permanent office in May 2025 (Courtesy)

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Zachary Hansen, a Georgia native, covers economic development and commercial real estate for the AJC. He’s been with the newspaper since 2018 and enjoys diving into complex stories that affect people’s lives.

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Georgia

Arizona alum Damon Stoudamire out as Georgia Tech’s head coach

Published

1 day ago

March 8, 2026

Press Room

Arizona alum Damon Stoudamire out as Georgia Tech’s head coach

Former Arizona Wildcats great Damon Stoudamire is out as head coach of Georgia Tech after three seasons at school.

Georgia Tech made the decision Sunday to fire Stoudamire, one day after the Yellow Jackets finished the regular season with an 11-20 record and a 2-16 mark in the ACC. Greg Gary will serve as interim coach. Georgia Tech, which finished last in the ACC, did not qualify for the league tournament.

Georgia Tech owes Stoudamire $2.6 million over the next two years, ESPN reported.

The Yellow Jackets showed promise in Stoudamire’s first two seasons. Georgia Tech finished 14-18 in 2023-24, highlighted by a win over Duke. In 2024-25 the Yellow Jackets went 17-17 and made the first round of the NIT.

Georgia Tech was a disaster this season, however, losing its last 12 games.

Stoudamire was hired by Georgia Tech while serving as an assistant on the Boston Celtics staff. Prior to that, he spent five years as head coach at Pacific, where he went 71-77. Stoudamire previously served as an assistant at Memphis and Arizona.

He is the second ex-UA player that Georgia Tech fired as its basketball coach. Josh Pastner, now at UNLV, went 109-114 in Atlanta from 2016-23.

In 2021 Arizona interviewed Stoudamire for the Wildcats head coaching job. The UA hired Gonzaga assistant Tommy Lloyd instead.

Stoudamire played four seasons at Arizona (1991-95), taking the Wildcats to the 1993-94 Final Four and earning First-Team All-American honors the following year as a senior.

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