Georgia

Georgia, SEC schools look to trim athletic department spending to make way for revenue share

Published

1 year ago

May 29, 2025

Georgia, SEC schools look to trim athletic department spending to make way for revenue share

MIRAMAR BEACH, Fla. — Most Georgia Bulldogs fans probably don’t know the names behind the scenes in the Butts-Mehre building that crunch the numbers and spent months making decisions when putting together an athletic budget.

People like Stephanie Ransom, Scott Hallberg and Derek Hammock.

“They’re not the most popular people in the athletic department right now,” Georgia athletic director Josh Brooks said.

On a fourth-floor conference room in Brooks’ AD suite, the senior administrators who oversee the finances and business operations of an athletic department that supports 21 teams have held meetings with every sport and department.

“I can walk into those meetings and play good cop, bad cop depending on what mood I’m in that day and help them out,” Brooks said. “It’s been a lot of work to really refine the budget.”

Brooks said crafting the $223 million fiscal year 2026 budget is more “complex” in the first year of expected direct player payments of about $20.5 million — including $2.5 million of new scholarships — as part of the House Settlement which is awaiting final approval.

Brooks said he approached it wanting minimal impact on the experience of the Georgia athletes.

He asked programs to rank their priorities to find areas that Georgia could be more efficient in, like team travel.

He’s got plenty of company at athletic departments across the country, including colleagues in the SEC who are holding their spring meetings this week at the Sandestin Hilton.

“Every school I’ve talked to has tightened the belt and cut expenses and tried to continue to be good stewards of those dollars,” said Auburn executive deputy athletic director Jared Benko, the former Georgia Southern athletic director. “From a revenue standpoint, you’re always looking to grow in revenue.”

At Georgia, softball is expected to produce $127,500 in ticket revenue after the school began charging for tickets this past season. That’s a far cry from the $43,008,842 projected for football ticket revenue in the next fiscal year which includes a ticket price increase to $80 for all games.

If the SEC goes to nine conference games, more money is expected to flow in through its TV contract with Disney.

“That $20.5 million, that comes from somewhere,” South Carolina football coach Shane Beamer said. “We have to come up with it. All of us as coaches are certainly cognizant of that.”

On the expense side, Georgia athletics has cut its annual payment to university programs to the university from $4 million to $2 million.

Spread out throughout Georgia’s budget numbers is the phrase “reassessment of needs and spending efficiencies,” with cuts to travel, supplies and other areas. Georgia cut its “outsourced meals” from $1.4 million to $834,921 as it prioritized in-house meals over catered meals. Costs for pregame basketball, softball, soccer, gymnastics, tennis and volleyball meals were trimmed.

Georgia projects $1.25 million in revenue for a new, non-athletic related events.

Brooks said the school is eyeing a spring Sanford Stadium concert, but has brought in Top Golf in the stadium in the past.

“We have to look at potentially other things we can bring to Stegeman,” he said. “Now that we have turf on the baseball field, maybe there’s opportunities for maybe a small concert there.”

Oklahoma is cutting 5% of its athletic employees, athletic director Joe Castiglione confirmed this week.

“It’s a massive reimagination of the structure that we need for college athletics, the ecosystem for it and obviously the economics behind it,” he said. “I would say it’s a strategic re-org, streamlining.”

At Auburn, Benko said: “We’re looking under every single rock and tightening the belt.”

A year ago, Texas A&M athletic director Trev Alberts said here: “We don’t have a revenue problem in college athletics, we have an expense problem.”

A year later, here’s how he’s addressed that in College Station.

“We’ve just tried to look at how do we find a way to eliminate redundancy of expenses, how to do a better job of running our business like a business,” said Alberts, noting that student services and academic support make the business of college athletics unique.

Alberts said Texas A&M won’t add additional debt service on facility upgrades so those must be fully funded. That includes a project that would add baseball suites and club seats.

Benko said Auburn is “making things as efficient as possible but still being in position for championships…We’ve put controls in place so every dollar is justified.”

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Georgia

Georgia cops’ alleged misuse of Flock license plate tracking data fuels privacy concerns

Published

8 hours ago

July 10, 2026

Press Room

Georgia cops’ alleged misuse of Flock license plate tracking data fuels privacy concerns

Georgia Flock cameras spark widespread misuse fears

ATLANTA – At least ten police officers across Georgia have been arrested and charged with misusing the Flock camera database for personal reasons, adding to growing privacy concerns about the technology.

The cameras, usually mounted to a black pole, record license plates and other data of whoever passes them.

Georgia police database tracking

What we know:

A series of recent arrests has exposed the misuse of Flock license-plate-reading cameras by police officers throughout the state.

In Greene County, Deputy Quin’sha Goss was fired on Tuesday and charged with misusing the system.

The recent arrests include five police officers in Albany, who were also charged earlier this week.

That’s alongside a lieutenant, a sergeant and a deputy in Cherokee County charged last month with violating their oath.

System audits flag searches

What they’re saying:

Flock Co-founder Paige Todd stated that many recent arrests resulted from departments utilizing a new audit assistance tool that automatically flags unusual searches.

“In this case where misuse happened, the technology itself was not creating the misuse. It was it was human beings,” Todd told FOX 5’s Rob DiRienzo.

Todd argued that the public safety benefits of the technology heavily outweigh individual instances of human misconduct.

Todd explained, “best way to prevent misuse is now, every member of law enforcement out there knows that this audit exists,”

Todd added that the system has successfully helped track down thousands of individuals across the country.

“We, I believe, solve about a million crimes with our technology,” she said. “10,000 missing people have gone home because of it. This feels like pretty small in comparison.”

Privacy concerns trigger pushback

The other side:

The ACLU of Georgia called the incidents a critical wakeup call regarding constitutional protections and tracking limits. Christopher Bruce of the ACLU of Georgia said, “Jeopardizing your civil rights and civil liberties is never just an unfortunate event. You have constitutional rights, especially a right to privacy. And the question is who polices the police?”

Information security analyst Peter Tran noted that the network relies heavily on automated data collection.

“It uses AI,” Tran said.

Tran said many are uneased by the logging searchable personal data into a nationwide database.

“It becomes a privacy and security issue. So, you’re whereabouts where you shopped, your name, your address,” he said.

SEE ALSO: Dunwoody sets ‘guardrails’ for Flock surveillance cameras use

The blowback has prompted dozens of U.S. communities to end their contracts.

Videos have circulated on social media instructing people how to tear them down or disable them.

In Barrow County, the sheriff said three Flock cameras were recently damaged there.

The sheriff said damage to the devices could be considered a felony.

The Source: The information in this story is based on original reporting by FOX 5’s Rob DiRienzo, who interviewed Flock co-founder Paige Todd, ACLU of Georgia representative Christopher Bruce, and security analyst Peter Tran, as well as tracking data from local sheriff offices.

GeorgiaCrime and Public SafetyTechnologyCherokee CountyNews

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Georgia

West Nile infections starting to raise concerns in Georgia

Published

18 hours ago

July 9, 2026

Press Room

West Nile infections starting to raise concerns in Georgia

ATLANTA, Ga. — Positive mosquito samples for West Nile virus have been found in Fulton County, according to the Board of Health.

Officials say the samples came from the Grant Park area and that infected mosquitoes are suspected to be present in the city of Atlanta.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report this year’s West Nile infections are the highest since 2004. The disease has been transmitted by mosquitoes, with reported cases in 23 states. Most of the reported cases are considered severe.

Health officials suggest using an insect repellent registered with the EPA. Wearing long, loose-fitting clothing is also recommended.

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Georgia

Travel and Leisure listed unique experiences in each state, including GA

Published

1 day ago

July 9, 2026

Press Room

Travel and Leisure listed unique experiences in each state, including GA

It can be hard to find a truly unique experience for your next vacation. That’s where Travel + Leisure comes in.

Back in May, members of the publication’s team created a list in celebration of America’s 250th Fourth of July, highlighting a unique experience in each state “from hidden gems to iconic highlights and editor-approved favorites.”

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Most unique experience in Georgia

The Georgia spot highlighted was the World of Quercus. Here’s what writer Lydia Mansel said about it:

“The 3,800-acre property, dotted with pecan groves and cabins, isn’t your run-of-the-mill retreat. Guests are encouraged to roam the land by golf cart or on foot, visit the biodynamic vegetable garden, fish the Flint River, and connect with the ranch’s horses. Owned by Chiara Visconti di Modrone and her husband Angelos Pervanas, Quercus is a place where relaxation comes in many forms—and you can design your experience to fit your pace and preferences.”