Why is Florida State vs Georgia Tech in Ireland? Game part of Aer Lingus College Football Classic

On Saturday, Florida State will kick off its much-anticipated 2024 football season.

Over the years, the Seminoles have started their season in a number of different locations. Usually, it’s at home, inside the sunny and steamy confines of Doak Campbell Stadium in late August or early September. In other instances, like against LSU each of the previous two seasons, it was at some sort of neutral site in the United States.

This year, Florida State will have to travel just a little farther to play its first game of the season.

REQUIRED READING: What FSU football QB coach Tony Tokarz said about the ‘continued growth’ of DJ Uiagalelei

Nearly nine full months after winning the ACC and being snubbed by the College Football Playoff, the Seminoles will take on Georgia Tech in Dublin in what will be the first FBS college football game of the 2024 season.

Though the benefits of such a game are evident, particularly for players and fans, the arrangement isn’t without some questions — namely, why is a game between a pair of conference foes whose campuses are separated by a 4.5-hour drive being played 4,000 miles away?

Here’s what you need to know about the Seminoles’ Week 0 game against Georgia Tech, and why it’s taking place in Dublin:

Florida State vs Georgia Tech location

• Stadium: Aviva Stadium
• Location: Dublin

Florida State and Georgia Tech will be playing in Dublin at Aviva Stadium, the home of Ireland’s national rugby and soccer teams. The venue seats 49,000 for American football games.

The matchup between the Seminoles and Yellow Jackets will be the third college football game in as many years at Aviva Stadium, coming on the heels of Northwestern-Nebraska in 2022 and Notre Dame-Navy in 2023.

Why is Florida State vs Georgia Tech in Ireland?

it may seem odd to travel thousands of miles across an ocean for a game between two teams that have played 25 of their 27 all-time meetings on campus. Still, there are reasons for Florida State and Georgia Tech’s matchup taking place in Dublin.

Saturday’s contest is part of the Aer Lingus College Football Classic, with naming rights belonging to Ireland’s most prominent airline. The series was first announced in June 2015 and had its first game in 2016, when Georgia Tech beat Boston College 17-14.

For fans, it’s an opportunity to watch their beloved team play in person while using that game as an opportunity to travel to and explore a country they’ve perhaps never visited. For players and coaches, it’s a chance to immerse themselves in the culture of another nation.

“I am so excited for our student-athletes, coaches, staff, administration and fans for this opportunity,” Seminoles coach Mike Norvell said in a statement when the game was announced. “When this idea was first presented to me, I was immediately intrigued by a once-in-a-lifetime experience for the people in our program. The way the 2024 season lays out with a third open date, the trip made sense from a football perspective as well. Very few people have the chance to travel to a different continent and experience another culture, much less take an entire team, so I am appreciative of everyone’s hard work and support to make this game happen.”

For the university and its athletic department, there are self-interested reasons to make the trip across the Atlantic Ocean. The game is a valuable opportunity for exposure, particularly with it being a standalone matchup that kicks off the 2024 season for a football-starved audience.

“Florida State is a global brand, and this game further enforces that,” Florida State athletic director Michael Alford said in a statement in March 2023. “This game allows us to provide an unmatched athletic and cultural experience for our student-athletes while representing Florida State on a global stage. I am looking forward to seeing our fans in Dublin while also making new fans across the Atlantic. We are appreciative of all the efforts that have already gone into the planning of this game and are excited for what is to come over the next year and a half.”

It’s the second trip to Ireland for Georgia Tech, which played against Boston College in the aforementioned 2016 Aer Lingus Classic. The Yellow Jackets had more than 12,000 fans make the trip that year, according to the university’s athletic department.

REQUIRED READING: ‘We will rise’: Marching Chiefs rehearse twice a day for FSU football opener in Dublin

What time is the Florida State game in Ireland?

• Date: Saturday, Aug. 24
• Time: Noon ET

The Seminoles and Yellow Jackets will kick off from Aviva Stadium in Dublin at noon ET on Saturday.

History of college football games in Ireland

Dublin — and Aviva Stadium, specifically — has become a fixture of the first week of college football in recent years.

Saturday’s game between Florida State and Georgia Tech will be the sixth in Dublin since 2012, with five of those taking place at Aviva Stadium. There are several more contests on the horizon, too, with Iowa State and Kansas State set to play there next year and Pitt and Wisconsin squaring off two years after that.

Though the past 15 years have represented a resurgence, a college football game being played in Ireland isn’t a particularly new concept. There were three games in Ireland between 1988-96, beginning with Boston College’s 38-24 win against Army in 1988.

Here’s a look at the history of college football games in Ireland, along with games scheduled for the ensuing years:

• 1988: Boston College 38, Army 24
• 1989: No. 24 Pitt 46, Rutgers 29
• 1996: No. 19 Notre Dame 54, Navy 27
• 2012: Notre Dame 50, Navy 10
• 2014: Penn State 26, UCF 24
• 2016: Georgia Tech 17, Boston College 14
• 2022: Northwestern 31, Nebraska 28
• 2023: No. 13 Notre Dame 42, Navy 3
• 2024: No. 10 Florida State vs. Georgia Tech
• 2025: Kansas State vs. Iowa State
• 2027: Pitt vs. Wisconsin