STAYING LEVEL
TWO TECH STUDENT-ATHLETES ARE COMPETING AT HIGH LEVELS DESPITE MANAGING DIABETES
A SEASON TO REMEMBER (OPENER)
Georgia Tech makes its Chick-fil-A Kickoff Classic debut in a showdown with an old rival in a new stadium
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FALL
FALL 2017 • VOLUME 11, NUMBER 1
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EDITOR Mike Stamus ASSOCIATE EDITORS Kevin Davis Mike Flynn Alex Keator Liz Ryan WRITERS Jon Cooper Simit Shah Adam Van Brimmer Matt Winkeljohn PHOTOGRAPHY Bryan Savage Clyde Click Danny Karnik National Football League DESIGN & LAYOUT Summit Athletic Media www.summitathletics.com ADVERTISING – IMG COLLEGE General Manager – Dave Bouteiller For information on advertising, please call (404) 733-1330
I N
T H I S
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SEASON (OPENER) TO 4 | AREMEMBER
Georgia Tech finally makes Chick-fil-A Kickoff Classic debut in showdown with old rival in new stadium
10 | STAYING LEVEL
Quarterback Matthew Jordan and volleyball player Ashley Askin both are able to compete at high levels while managing diabetes
14 | FOCUS ON THE BRAND
NFL marketing expert and former Yellow Jacket Jaime Weston assisting in efforts to enhance the Georgia Tech brand
The Buzz is published four times a year by IMG College in conjunction with the Georgia Tech Athletic Association. The price of an annual subscription is $9.95. Persons wishing to subscribe or those wishing to renew their subscription should send a check or money order (credit cards not accepted) to: THE BUZZ IMG College 540 N. Trade St. Winston-Salem, NC 27101 All material produced in this publication is the property of IMG College and shall not be reproduced in whole or in part without permission from IMG College and Georgia Tech. The appearance of advertising in this newspaper does not constitute an endorsement of the advertiser and/or the advertiser’s product or service by Georgia Tech or IMG College. The use of the name of the University or any of its identifying marks in advertisements must be approved by Georgia Tech and IMG College. Please send all address changes to the attention of Sarah Brophy to: IMG College 540 North Trade Street
18 | HOST WITH THE MOST
Georgia Tech and its athletic facilities have become the place to be for major events for the Atlanta, national sports communities
22 | NEVER TOO LATE
It took a while, but high jumper Chaunte Lowe finally will get her Olympic medal
27 | A-T FUND | DONOR PROFILE
Georgia Tech has been a multi-generational experience for the de la Guardia family
28 | A-T FUND | SCHOLARSHIP FUNDING The Alexander-Tharpe Fund strives to fund all athletic scholarships for Georgia Tech student-athletes through philanthropy.
29 | A-T FUND | SWARM WEEK IS BACK Celebrate the pride and passion of Georgia Tech Athletics while helping us grow our donor base of support.
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FOOTBALL
A SEASON (OPENER) TO REMEMBER GEORGIA TECH FINALLY MAKES CHICK-FIL-A KICKOFF CLASSIC DEBUT IN SHOWDOWN WITH OLD RIVAL IN NEW STADIUM BY ADAM VAN BRIMMER
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On Labor Day Night, Georgia Tech will have the entire nation’s attention when it takes on Tennessee for the first time since 1987 in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game.
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FOOTBALL | A SEASON (OPENER) TO REMEMBER
Mercedes-Benz Stadium will host the College Football Playoff championship game on Jan. 8.
FACT
Georgia Tech and Tennessee were longtime SEC rivals and continued to play each other annually through 1987.
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ometimes, traveling a mile takes more than minutes. Any Atlanta commuter, MARTA rider or summer runner can attest. Traffic. Train breakdowns. Heat exhaustion. But years? Nine years? Such is the journey for Georgia Tech’s football team from its midtown campus to the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Classic, staged downtown each Labor Day weekend since 2008. On foot, the distance is 1.4 miles, give or take which crosswalk you use to head south across North Avenue and which gate you access at the new home of the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons, MercedesBenz Stadium. Despite the close proximity, the Yellow Jackets will make their first appearance in the annual showcase this Labor Day night, nine years after the first Chick-fil-A Kickoff Classic. The reasons for the trek’s protracted duration are many, and not all involve on-thefield considerations (scheduling, match-ups, fan bases). The game’s organizers floated the notion of including the Yellow Jackets to their parent
league, the Atlantic Coast Conference, on a couple of occasions and had informal discussions with Tech’s leadership at other times. The debut was finalized and announced in July 2015. The wait would seem to be worth it. The game sold out in early August, with the fan bases of both teams intrigued by the historic nature of the match-up — the teams were long-time rivals when Georgia Tech played in the Southeastern Conference, and they continued to play annually through 1987 — and typical season-opening curiosity. Both finished strong and won bowl games last year, which always stokes optimism, and both return veteran rosters, albeit with questions at key positions, most notably quarterback. “There is just something special about putting two college teams on a neutral field to start the season, with the bands playing and the electricity emanating from the crowds,” says Gary Stokan, the leader of the group that puts on the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Classic along
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THERE IS JUST SOMETHING SPECIAL ABOUT PUTTING TWO COLLEGE TEAMS ON A NEUTRAL FIELD TO START THE SEASON, WITH THE BANDS PLAYING AND THE ELECTRICITY EMANATING FROM THE CROWDS.
for the Yellow Jackets with the Chick-fil-A — Virginia Tech Peach Bowl. “Local and Georgia are teams or not, the two marquee Saturday night or visitors, and both Labor Day night, games are in what you have November — are college fans the Chick-fil-A with a pent-up Kickoff Classic demand to see helps balance their teams play at the schedule a time when both and sweeten the are undefeated and —GARY STOKAN season-ticket slate. both thinking they are “We’ve seen demand going to make the College for tickets increase since we Football Playoff. started marketing the match-up “Then you put it in a new stadium, with Tennessee and the opening of the new one that every football fan in the country is stadium as part of the package,” says Mark talking about, and you just know it’s going to Rountree, Georgia Tech’s deputy athletic be an awesome experience.” director. “Mercedes-Benz Stadium has generated a ton of excitement for our fans.” AN AWESOME VENUE The Georgia Tech-Tennessee game will The public fascination with Mercedes-Benz be the fourth event at the new stadium. The Stadium, which naturally is at its strongest in Georgia and Atlanta in particular, is remarkable, Falcons will play two preseason games there in advance of the two Chick-fil-A Kickoff if ticket sales are any indication. Classic games. The facility’s other permanent Georgia Tech was allotted 30,000 tickets for tenant, Atlanta United FC of Major League the game and sold 35,000, many of those as Soccer, won’t make their home debut until the part of season-ticket packages. In a season weekend following the kickoff classics. bottom-heavy with interesting home matchups
THE PUBLIC FASCINATION WITH MERCEDES-BENZ STADIUM, WHICH NATURALLY IS AT ITS STRONGEST IN GEORGIA AND ATLANTA IN PARTICULAR, IS REMARKABLE, IF TICKET SALES ARE ANY INDICATION.
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FOOTBALL | A SEASON (OPENER) TO REMEMBER
a fifth-year senior, said he felt fortunate to be a part of Yellow Jacket teams that played openers in Dublin, Ireland, and Mercedes-Benz Stadium. “Last year, Boston College in Ireland,” Jeune said. “This year, Tennessee in the first game in a new stadium.”
A TONE-SETTING GAME
The last home game in the TechTennessee series occurred on October 25, 1986.
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The stadium will open early on game day to allow Yellow Jacket fans to take a long look at a facility sure to rival AT&T Stadium in Dallas and US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis for unique game-day experiences. Mercedes-Benz Stadium cost $1.5 billion to build, a project that began conceptually in 2010. The 2 million-square-foot, 75,000-seat venue features a 1,000-foot-long halo-style video screen circling its interior roofline and a 14-acre retractable roof that opens and closes like the aperture of a camera lens. The stadium is designed to be interactive, with Wi-Fi access, specialty apps and multiple video displays in the concourses. Georgia Tech wide receiver Ricky Jeune shared a wide smile when asked about the season opener during the Atlantic Coast Conference Kickoff media days in July. Jeune,
Once kickoff comes, however, the venue will cease to be the draw. The sellout crowd and national television audience on ESPN — the game is the only one airing on Labor Day — will focus on the play on the field. Georgia Tech returns 16 starters and is coming off a nine-win season that included victories over Virginia Tech and rival Georgia along with a TaxSlayer Bowl win against Kentucky. Tennessee returns 14 starters and also won nine games in 2016, including four of its last five, highlighted by a Music City Bowl win against Nebraska. Yet both teams will break in new quarterbacks in the season opener, with Georgia Tech losing graduate Justin Thomas and Tennessee Josh Dobbs. For Georgia Tech, the match-up is another opportunity to stare down an SEC opponent. The Yellow Jackets went 3-0 versus their former conference brethren last season, and every game against a team from the league that casts a massive shadow across the south is a big one for coach Paul Johnson, his program and the Atlantic Coast Conference. “Our guys look at it as a challenge,” Johnson says. “First and foremost, we are playing for Georgia Tech, but people from the outside will compare the leagues. We embrace that and always have.” Playing such a talented and high-profile opponent in the first game adds to the challenge. Johnson’s tenure at Georgia Tech has been marked by openers in which the Yellow Jackets were heavy favorites. The exception was last year’s game with BC in Ireland and a nationally televised, Labor Day night opener at Virginia Tech in 2012. Johnson’s boss, athletics director Todd Stansbury, didn’t schedule the Tennessee game — his predecessor, Mike Bobinski did — but likes how it “provides a great platform for you to set the tone for the rest of year. “It’s a great beacon to work toward — it won’t be difficult to get your team up and focused during the preseason,” says
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Eddie McAshan set a Tech record with five touchdown passes against Tennessee in 1972.
Stansbury, who played football for Georgia Tech in the 1980s. The Chick-fil-A Kickoff Classic is also an opportunity for Georgia Tech and Tennessee to embrace their history. The game’s organizers also sponsor the Bobby Dodd Trophy, a coaching award presented every year. The trophy is named after the legendary Dodd, who is enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame as both a player (he starred at quarterback for Tennessee) and a coach (he
won a national title at Georgia Tech). The Dodd Trophy logo will be painted on the field for the game and both teams will wear a helmet sticker honoring Dodd. The Dodd family will attend and participate in a halftime ceremony, according to Stokan. “These two teams haven’t played each other in 30 years, but anybody who knows college football history knows they have close ties,” Stokan says. “This is a big rivalry that’s going to be rekindled here.”
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ATHLETICS
STAYING LEVEL QUARTERBACK MATTHEW JORDAN AND VOLLEYBALL PLAYER ASHLEY ASKIN BOTH ARE ABLE TO COMPETE AT HIGH LEVELS WHILE MANAGING DIABETES BY MATT WINKELJOHN
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here are moments in sports you just have to see to believe, yet you might not have considered it real even if you saw quarterback Matthew Jordan stuffing his face with candy during a timeout at Virginia Tech or when Ashley Askin played volleyball with a sandwich hanging out of her mouth. It happened both times. These Georgia Tech student-athletes have Type I diabetes, and when their blood sugar levels drop
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low enough, they do what they have to in order to get right, even in the middle of competition. Imagine the surprise of football head coach Paul Johnson last Nov. 11 in Blacksburg, Va., when Jordan – in his first and only start – began feeling, “weak and sweating, [with] cold sweats.” “I started going a little low in the fourth quarter,” Jordan recalled. “I asked the trainers to bring my pack of gummies, and I started eating
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ASKIN AND JORDAN DO FINE TAKING CARE diagnosed when she OF THEMSELVES WITH was seven. “It’s not ASSISTANCE FROM DIRECTOR necessarily every OF SPORTS MEDICINE JAY year that we have student-athletes with SHOOP AND HIS STAFF, diabetes, although AS WELL AS DIETICIAN they’re usually here four or five years,” LEAH THOMAS. Thomas said. “This is my
Jordan and Askin have Type I diabetes, and when their blood sugar levels drop low enough, they do what they have to in order to get right, even in the middle of competition.
(top right) Jordan needed a sugar boost and gobbled down some gummie bears during a timeout at Virginia Tech last season, but was able to score two touchdowns and rush for 121 yards in the Jackets’ 30-20 victory.
them right there on the field [during a timeout].” The sugar rush apparently helped. Jordan, 21, rushed for 121 yards and two touchdowns and completed a pair of passes for 34 yards as the Jackets upset the No. 18/22 Hokies 30-20 on the road. Diabetes is an auto-immune disease where, in the case of Type I, the pancreas does not produce the hormone insulin, which helps the body process glucose, or blood sugar. With that, Jordan and Askin have to inject themselves with an insulin pen about six times a day to keep their blood sugar levels from spiking. Or, when their blood sugar goes the other way, they react accordingly. “I always have juice with me, and a snack,” said Askin, a senior from Louisville. “There was one match my freshman year, I think it was against Duke, where I literally had half of a peanut butter sandwich in my mouth. “Our timeouts are only so long so I’m shoving food in, and we start to play and I still have half a sandwich in my mouth. I was up getting a block with that.” Askin and Jordan do fine taking care of themselves with assistance from director of sports medicine Jay Shoop and his staff, as well as dietician Leah Thomas. Associate director of sports medicine Carla Gilson, for example, always has extra goodies packed for Askin for every practice and match, just as Shoop’s staff keeps Gummies, Powerade and insulin for Jordan. Only rarely do the student-athletes need help. Askin, who will turn 22 on Aug. 28, was
15th football season, and we’ve had a handful. “Most of them have been athletes for a long time, and they were diagnosed young enough to where when they get here, they already have that base education, and they know how their body works.” Thomas said that no special meals are required for Jordan and Askin, but they need to monitor their intake of carbohydrates, which the body – with the help of insulin – breaks down to create glucose. Eating too many carbohydrates, which produce energy and are therefore essential, pushes blood sugar levels up. The most important aspects of diabetes management are checking blood sugar levels (and taking insulin or eating sugars accordingly) and monitoring diet. Jordan, a fourth-year student-athlete from Fairford, Ala., who graduated in May with a degree in business administration but still has two seasons of eligibility remaining and is enrolled in graduate school at Tech, was diagnosed on Aug. 20, 2007. Now he diagnoses the carbohydrates in his meals and dials up an insulin dosage accordingly. “Now I take [a shot] whenever I eat. I usually take six or seven shots a day,” he said. “Depends on what clothes I have on. In the summer, I’ll just pull my shorts up [and inject a thigh]. Or my arm, maybe the stomach. I usually WWW.RAMBLINWRECK.COM
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ATHLETICS | STAYING LEVEL
Askin had to wolf down a peanut butter sandwich during a match against Duke her freshman year.
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fix my plate before, and take one unit for every 10 carbs on the plate.” Askin checks her sugar levels with a kit that allows her to prick a finger, draw blood, put it in a testing module and get a readout. Jordan wears on his lower abdomen a Dexcom CMG (Continuous Glucose Monitor), a device that looks like a key fob with a tiny wire that enters the body. “It’s Bluetooth so it goes to my phone and my watch every five minutes. I change it every seven days [with the help of Shoop and his staff],” he explained. “There’s a small piece of metal in it, and removing it would be like ripping a band-aid off.” Jordan’s flak jacket protects the device during football, and he said, “it’s never been a problem.” Askin uses a CGM during the volleyball season rather than do the finger prick. That enables her, her mother and Gilson to keep track in real time. She wears it on her lower back because, “That’s really the only spot I don’t dive,” she said. “It’s more communication between everyone who supports me. “You know you’re going low before you go, and you know you’re going high before you go high. The only part that hurts is putting it in.” While Jordan and Askin arrived at Georgia Tech with diabetes management plans, there have been occasions to adapt. “People respond differently,” said Gilson. “Ashley, for example, a new stimulus can change everything ... Carbohydrates have to be a part of a diabetic diet, but not excessively. They need a consistent carb diet, because we have to be very diligent about the intake of carbohydrates. Some of it is trial and error.” Askin’s adjustment to college required tweaking as her workload increased.
“I feel like, with guys, it might be a little easier,” she said. “All the things that go into managing diabetes, like hormones, how much sleep, how much water you drink, emotions ... for each person it’s different. “When I came to college, everything switched. My body changed with workouts and stuff. Symptoms I would have when I was going low, I started getting when I was going high. Adjusting to college in general was tough. Carla was like my mother, at every appointment and everything.” Jordan loves pizza, but rarely eats it “because it’s not real healthy for you,” and because the carbohydrate-rich dough may cause his blood sugar to spike. Generally, he does not completely avoid any specific food just because he’s diabetic, but he moderates on many items. Over the past two summers, he’s taken the lessons that he’s learned to Camp Kudzu in Rutledge, Ga., to talk to youngsters about living with diabetes. “I like speaking to them to give them hope,” Jordan said. “It’s like, ‘He’s playing college football, fulfilling his dream, and I can too.’” Even after more than a decade spent managing diabetes, there can be irregularities that prompt changes. “It depends on what’s going on,” said Askin, who every evening takes a different, longeracting form of insulin. “When I’m running sprints or whatever, I shoot up super high, which makes me so mad because it’s hard to run with high blood sugar. It feels like you’re running in sand. “Before games I usually shoot up, but that’s usually adrenaline and excitement. It’s not a bad high. About an hour after a game, I tank really low. If my teammates notice I get a little too goofy, they’ll be like, ‘check yourself.’” When their glucose levels drop, and they eat sugars for a pickup, Jordan and Askin said they generally feel results in just a few minutes. The goal, though, is to avoid those situations. “I’ll start really preparing for a game three, four hours in advance, making sure my sugar is going to be at a good level,” Jordan said. “I kind of watch what I eat before a game trying to stay with lesser carbs because carbs make your sugar rise higher so I usually steer away from carbs before a game. “Now, the night before I eat whatever I want.” Sometimes, that might even include pizza, prompting Jordan to smile and say, “Oh yeah.”
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ATHLETICS
EXCELLENCE. ON THE FIELD. IN THE CLASSROOM. IN LIFE. THAT IS THE ESSENCE OF THE GEORGIA TECH BRAND. FEW COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES IN THE WORLD COMPETE AT SUCH A HIGH LEVEL ATHLETICALLY, ACADEMICALLY AND PROFESSIONALLY.
Weston has made frequent trips to Atlanta to work with the Tech athletics staff in its branding initiatives and to also speak to the Yellow Jacket student-athletes on the first day of fall semester.
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FOCUS ON THE BRAND NFL MARKETING EXPERT AND FORMER YELLOW JACKET JAIME WESTON IS ASSISTING IN EFFORTS TO ENHANCE THE GEORGIA TECH BRAND BY ADAM VAN BRIMMER
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o anyone who has donned an athletic uniform emblazoned with an interlocking GT insignia, the logo’s meaning is clear. Excellence. On the field. In the classroom. In life. That is the essence of the Georgia Tech brand. Few colleges and universities in the world compete at such a high level athletically, academically and professionally. Georgia Tech people know this, and the message is understood in certain circles — engineering, for example — beyond The Flats. Communicating that message to a broader audience is a priority for Georgia Tech athletic director Todd Stansbury, a former Yellow Jacket student-athlete himself. To position the brand for that growth, he’s leveraging the school’s ties to an alum who epitomizes Tech excellence. Jaime Weston played volleyball for the Yellow Jackets in the late-1980s and early-1990s. Today, she leads the National Football League’s branding efforts as a senior vice president of marketing and fan strategy. She is in her 14th year with the NFL and is among those credited with elevating the league to America’s most popular. “She reflects what Georgia Tech stands for and is a great example of our brand, and it’s appropriate that she help us refine our message and what we represent,” Stansbury says. “She’s proving to be an invaluable resource.” Successful marketing is purposeful, requiring consistency in how a brand presents itself, from look to voice to feel. For example, the NFL logo, or shield, has come to convey intensity, or passion for the game; meaningfulness, in that every game matters; and unification, because the sport is a common bond among its fans. The same goes for other high-profile brands, from Coca-Cola to Apple. Even those with little
or no exposure to those company’s products understand they represent fun times with friends and user-friendly innovation, respectively. Much like those popular companies, Georgia Tech has a well-established identity. The next step is to spread the gospel, and finding the path can be difficult. “You have to set it right internally first, so that it resonates in the local market,” Weston says. “At the NFL, we call it getting championship ready, so when the opportunity to tell your story on a national stage comes, you are already running. You want to be in position to catapult your brand.”
LAUNCH POINT Stansbury is building his brand-slinging machine. He’s established an “ideation” team within the athletic department and charged the group with defining the Georgia Tech athletics brand and telling the Yellow Jackets’ story beyond the scores and win-loss records. And he’s tapped Weston as a consultant as Georgia Tech refines its brand principles and
In her 14th year working for the National Football League, Weston heads up the league’s branding efforts as a senior vice president of marketing and fan strategy.
FACT
Weston’s office works with each of the 32 NFL teams on their brand management.
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RENEWING TIES
Weston played volleyball at Tech in the late 1980s-early 1990s.
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overall approach to fan engagement across all its sports. A “brand bible” is in the works, a document that will be the backbone for how Georgia Tech presents itself from visual and messaging standpoints going forward. One branding opportunity is apparel. The school’s deal with Russell Athletic expires next summer, and Georgia Tech plans to refine its public face. “Your mark — your logo — and your uniform are the biggest expressions of your brand on a global stage, the things that identify you more than anything else, and you have to get it right,” Weston says. “It’s important to have consistency in things like colors and identifying marks because in sports we don’t have control over every aspect of our brand. We lease it out to licensees, sponsor partners, broadcast partners. “They are communicating our brand for us, and we have to make sure they don’t take any liberties with the brand.” The same goes on a micro level within Georgia Tech’s 17 athletic programs. The days of each team pushing its own message, or “singing off its own song sheet” as Stansbury puts it, is at an end. And in Weston, Georgia Tech has an expert in working with multiple organizations — her office works with each of the 32 NFL teams on their brand management — and someone who has both an intimate understanding and a tremendous passion for the school. “I’m part of the ‘we’ won and ‘we’ lost crowd, to the extreme; Georgia Tech is a part of my soul,” Weston says. “Georgia Tech is so unique amongst the college landscape, and I’m excited to help them articulate that.”
Helping turn the GT symbol into one easily identifiable nationwide wouldn’t begin to repay the debt she feels toward the school, Weston says. “I wouldn’t be where I am today without Georgia Tech,” she says. “I wouldn’t have the same drive, the same will, the same passion to succeed.” Like many students, Georgia Tech pushed Weston academically. “It also broke me, to be honest; I barely made it through,” she admits. The campus experience shaped her personality as well. She’s a Manhattanite whose father owned a popular New York supper club. She remembers the celebrities who used to dine at the restaurant, one of which was Yellow Jacket basketball coaching great Bobby Cremins, who became her first contact with the school. Growing up in New York in the 1980s also meant Weston was ill-prepared socially for Georgia Tech. It was a time in the Big Apple’s history when walking the streets required quick feet and an aversion to eye contact. Her first few months on The Flats were a culture shock, but she quickly adapted. “People were saying hello to me, and I’d keep right on walking, not saying anything back,” she says. “Somehow, I still ended up making some friends.” She also made contacts, including with a recent grad working his first job in the athletics department named Stansbury. So when an acquaintance who works at Georgia Tech contacted her earlier this year about bringing Stansbury and some athletic department staff by for a tour of the NFL offices, she was happy to play host. “It was very serendipitous,” she says. “We had known each other years ago, although not very well, and all the sudden he’s back at Georgia Tech as the athletics director, and they are in New York for the ACC basketball tournament and the NIT.” The visit covered a variety of topics, but Stansbury kept returning to one in particular: the importance of brand. Those conversations sparked a renewed relationship between Georgia Tech and Weston and led to the current initiative. And Stansbury is confident in the eventual outcome. “We are going to enhance the brand so regardless of whether you’ve been to Atlanta, Georgia, or not you see Georgia Tech and it resonates with you,” Stansbury says.
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ATHLETICS
HOST WITH THE MOST GEORGIA TECH AND ITS ATHLETIC FACILITIES HAVE BECOME THE PLACE TO BE FOR MAJOR EVENTS FOR THE ATLANTA, NATIONAL SPORTS COMMUNITIES BY JON COOPER
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n sports, as in life, there’s no place like home. For most of 2017, thanks to the Georgia Tech Athletic Association, sports teams in Atlanta and ACC country -- at all levels, actually -- have found that there’s no place like Georgia Tech’s home. Beginning in February and carrying over through spring and summer, Georgia Tech’s campus pretty much has been the epicenter for athletics. In that time, Georgia Tech opened the doors of its world-class facilities like the McAuley Aquatic Center, the George C. Griffin Track and Field Complex, the Ken Byers Tennis Complex, McCamish Pavilion and Bobby Dodd Stadium at Historic Grant Field to host events as diverse as the ACC Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships, the ACC Men’s and Women’s Track and Field Championships, an NCAA Tournament Women’s Tennis Regional, the Women’s National Invitation
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Tournament, the Georgia High School Association Basketball Championships, the WNBA and Major League Soccer. Such activity on The Flats hadn’t been seen since Tech played a key role in housing and hosting swimming, diving, synchronized swimming, water polo, modern pentathlon, boxing, and Paralympic volleyball during the 1996 Summer Olympics. This time, Georgia Tech boasted several brand-new facilities, facilities that have already received nation-wide renown. “It speaks to our facilities,” said deputy athletic director Mark Rountree. “I think that’s what gives a lot of pride to our staff here. They know we have some great facilities here. So having the ability to bring in championships and have those hosted here, we look at that as an opportunity. It was an opportunity to partner with United and with the Dream to really be a bigger part of that Atlanta sports scene. We just
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BEGINNING IN FEBRUARY AND CARRYING OVER THROUGH SPRING AND SUMMER, GEORGIA TECH’S CAMPUS PRETTY MUCH HAS BEEN THE EPICENTER FOR ATHLETICS. While Mercedes-Benz Stadium was being completed this summer, the Atlanta United made themselves at home to league-best crowds at Bobby Dodd Stadium.
saw it as a great opportunity for Georgia Tech.” “Whenever we have an opportunity to be good neighbors in the sports community I think it’s great,” agreed Derek Grice, Tech’s associate athletic director for events and facilities. “Whether it be Atlanta United, the Atlanta Dream or the GHSA, it’s great for us to do that. It gives us exposure and gives them an opportunity to come in and experience Georgia Tech, be on our campus, one, and see the campus setting we have here and, two, come in and experience the atmosphere that CAN be created at Bobby Dodd Stadium was good for us.” That atmosphere proved dynamic for Atlanta United. When the first-year franchise was forced to find another place to play home matches due to construction delays at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Bobby Dodd proved to be the perfect venue. The home opener on March 5 drew 55,297 fans, the fifth-largest crowd to see a soccer match anywhere in the WORLD that weekend. The enthusiasm grew after Week One, as the United drew an MLS-record 147,230 fans over their first three home matches and led the entire league in attendance, drawing 416,864 fans in its games at Bobby Dodd. The 46,318 per match was nearly 3,600 more fans per match more than the next closest team (the Seattle Sounders). “Bobby Dodd Stadium, it’s a gritty stadium. Our brand itself, it’s grit and it’s flash,” said Sarah Kate Noftsinger, United’s director of marketing and fan engagement. “So launching in Bobby Dodd, you have to play the cards that you’re dealt, and we were very fortunate that right down the street was Bobby Dodd Stadium.” With the help of Bobby Dodd, United not only shattered attendance marks but also myths about soccer in the U.S. “It used to be that people said, ‘You have to go to Europe to see a real soccer match and to feel it and to get it and to have those goosebumps,’” said Noftsinger. “The reality is we have that here in Atlanta now. It’s a moving experience, it’s a collaborative experience, it’s fan-driven, and that’s what makes soccer so special. It’s always a joint effort with your fans, with the venue, to unleash that passion and together we all produce a game. It’s been a gift. We started in a place that has ties to this city and the history of the city, and now we’re moving into a place that is writing the future of the city.”
McCamish Pavilion is home to the Atlanta Dream for the next two seasons. While celebrating on Bobby Dodd continued from Yellow Jackets’ football -- United went 6-2-1 on Grant Field, after the Jackets went 5-2 -- McCamish Pavilion’s magic also carried over into the summer for the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream. The Dream went into its final 10 games of the season, with a 10-14 overall record, but the team was 7-6 at McCamish. Of course, the Atlanta’s WNBA entry already knew about the magic of Georgia Tech. The team’s co-owner is Mary Brock, who with husband, John, is benefactor for Georgia Tech, having dedicated the John and Mary Brock Football Facility and endowed a women’s basketball scholarship, amongst other things. The Dream, which had played games at McCamish in the past, also was forced to find a new home for 2017, as Philips Arena is undergoing renovations -- it will be for 2018 as well. Coming to McCamish was an easy decision. “We naturally looked to Georgia Tech first,” Brock said. “It is clearly, from a size point of view, a great venue for WNBA teams. All of our visiting teams absolutely love coming here and playing the Dream. With the theater lighting, you feel like the crowd is right on top of you. So as a player on the court, it’s ideal.” McCamish also proved a perfect place for future pros, as the Georgia High School Administration (GHSA) state basketball championships were held in the new Thrillerdome the second weekend of March, with eight of the 16 championship games played there. They were the first state high school championship games played in McCamish Pavilion and the first time since 2003 that Tech hosted GHSA playoff games. Hosting the future of hoops on Tech’s campus playing in an elite facility also served as something of a non-official recruiting visit. WWW.RAMBLINWRECK.COM
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ATHLETICS | HOST WITH THE MOST
Alexander Memorial Coliseum was the home for boxing in the 1996 Olympic Games, and has also hosted the Atlanta Hawks.
FACT
Georgia Tech hosted Atlantic Coast Conference championships last year in swimming and diving and track and field.
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WE WERE REALLY EXCITED TO HAVE GHSA THIS PAST YEAR. WE HAD REALLY GOOD CROWDS, AND THE DRAW OF ATLANTA AND ALL THE THINGS THAT THEY COULD DO HERE AND TO COME TO ATLANTA WAS GOOD FOR EVERYBODY.
us achieve it.” “These young “It’s been men and women incredible,” said are going to be Brock. “Georgia choosing colleges Tech supported one day,” said this idea all the Rountree. “Just way from President getting them and ‘Bud’ Peterson their parents on down through the our campus and athletic department, getting a close look at —DEREK GRICE athletic director Georgia Tech, that’s the Todd Stansbury, to the staff. opportunity. So it’s getting Knowing Georgia Tech like we not just the athletes here but ALL do and knowing the culture there, we those students coming on the campus knew they were going to work along with us to and seeing Georgia Tech, maybe some of them try to make this successful. Clearly they’ve done for the first time, and getting that exposure.” that. We think THIS is doing something for Georgia “Any time that we can bring potential Tech as well as Georgia Tech doing something for students -- not just potential student-athletes the Dream. It’s a good partnership.” -- on our campus and to show them a worldThe future of that partnership and more like class facility like McCamish Pavilion, it’s it appears bright after this summer. Credit goes special,” said Grice. “We were really excited to to the entire GTAA. have GHSA this past year. We had really good “It takes people to pull these events off,” said crowds, and the draw of Atlanta and all the Rountree. “It’s our staff, and it’s their pride in things that they could do here and to come to providing great access, great opportunity for Atlanta was good for everybody.” our student-athletes and fans.” The Jackets staff also worked overtime across “I think that one of the hardest things that you the street from McCamish. Amongst their busiest weekends was May 5-7, when they simultaneously have to do is understand that when a group’s coming in that you’re trying to fulfill THEIR vision held the ACC Track and Field Championships, of THEIR experience for THEIR fans and that while hosting a, NCAA women’s tennis regional at you’re understanding what what THEIR vision is,” the neighboring Byers Complex. said Grice. “Georgia Tech is our first priority, but “It was extremely rewarding, and we got nothing but compliments from every track coach we’re also trying to make sure that these external groups all get the same care, and we give and everybody that came to that track meet,” them the best high-level quality service that we recalled Grice. “Honestly, when you get a group possibly can. I think our staff does a tremendous all singing your praises with no real complaints, I job of making sure that every person that comes think you’ve done something pretty special, and into our facility, whether it’s an athlete or whether our crew really did a great job.” it’s a fan, a coach, that they’re treated special, Similarly there were no complaints from the and that this is a special environment for them. women’s basketball teams that played the WNIT “We had a lot of curveballs thrown our way, but I at McCamish throughout the month of March. The Tech women also prospered, riding the homecourt couldn’t be prouder of our events and facilities staff from top to bottom, our grounds crew and edge all the way to the championship game. everyone from Georgia Tech athletics,” Grice United and the Dream also have gone out added. “We had a lot of lightning delays and of their way to express their gratitude to and weather events through Atlanta United. There were admiration for the way Georgia Tech’s staff a lot of individual moments where you sit back and went out of its way to make their teams and you watch your group and how they work as a their fans feel at home. team and overcome those types of situations to do “They were first-class,” said Noftsinger. “Any what they can to make sure that your event goes time you’re in a brand new relationship, you’re off without a hitch. There are those moments always going to stumble from time to time, but where you stand and there are 45,000 people we always knew what the end goal was, and they were outstanding to work with, supportive. standing up, cheering and you look around and go, ‘We did this.’ That really is a proud moment.” They understood the ultimate goal and helped
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TRACK & FIELD
NEVER TOO LATE IT TOOK A WHILE, BUT HIGH JUMPER CHAUNTE LOWE FINALLY WILL GET HER OLYMPIC MEDAL BY JON COOPER
C
haunte Lowe doesn’t know what giving up means. That’s why she never gave up on the dream of winning an Olympic medal in the high jump. Why would she? Over a 14-year stretch she’d worked her way up winning anything and everything at every level ... almost. She started with a bronze at the 2003 Pan Am Junior Championship, and won NCAA Indoor (2004) and indoor and outdoor (2005) championships at Georgia Tech. She’d turn pro and take home a pair of United States Indoor championships (2006, 2012), seven U.S. outdoor championships (2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2015 -- she also was runner-up in 2004 and 2005), and silver
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at 2005 World Indoor Championships and bronze at 2010 World Outdoors. But there was one thing missing -- an Olympic medal. That missing piece left a hole in her psyche. The fire still burned inside her, but reality was setting in and the dream was starting to fade. That’s understandable having competed in four Olympics (2004 in Athens, 2008 in Beijing, 2012 in London and 2016 in Rio de Janeiro), raising three children (daughters Jasmine, 10, and Aurora, 6, and son, M.J., 3), and turning 33. Still, it hurt. “To go through four and not get it, I felt like a failure. ‘I said I was going to do something that I was not able to do.’ I was very down on myself,” said Lowe, Georgia Tech’s first female track and field Olympian. “I remember I was
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CHAUNTE LOWE DOESN’T KNOW WHAT GIVING UP MEANS. THAT’S WHY SHE NEVER GAVE UP ON THE DREAM OF WINNING AN OLYMPIC MEDAL IN THE HIGH JUMP.
Georgia Tech’s first female track and field Olympian, Lowe competed in four Olympics while starting a family of three children. WWW.RAMBLINWRECK.COM
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TRACK & FIELD | NEVER TOO LATE
Lowe won seven U.S. outdoor championships and a pair of U.S. indoor titles.
BY THE NUMBERS
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Chaunte Lowe has competed in four Olympics games (2004 in Athens, 2008 in Beijing, 2012 in London and 2016 in Rio de Janeiro).
invited to go to the White House and get the opportunity to meet the President with the rest of the Olympic athletes, but I halfway didn’t want to go because I was like, ‘Man I’m going to have to see everyone else, who’s NOT a failure, which is going to make me feel like that much MORE of a failure.’” Lowe reconsidered, going to the White House to celebrate her teammates. Turns out they, in turn, were eager to reciprocate. “When I went to the White House the warmth and caring that I was able to receive from my teammates, changed my mind,” she said. “I took the time to sit back and reflect. I started thinking about the goals I set because every time I set a goal I would always set a new one. So I had to rewrite my story as a success story and understand, ‘There were a lot of things that I’ve been able to accomplish.” The cloud lifted that day and the sun would come out in July, as she received news that the International Olympic Committee had disqualified several athletes from the 2008 Beijing Olympics for testing positive for banned substances. Included were three high jumpers that had finished ahead of her, moving her up to third from sixth. She was now Olympic Medalist Chaunte Lowe. It was fitting that she would be rewarded for the 2008 Games, which were very competitive and saw her at her peak. “I remember that the prelim was actually history-making, where the most women
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ever up to that point made the Olympic final by getting the actual automatic standard to get in,” Lowe recalled. “It was raining profusely when we competed and it took a large toll on our bodies. I ended up jumping the best performance I had that year. I was disappointed to not have medaled, but I knew that I competed the very best that I possibly could.” “She had unbelievable jump sessions,” concurred Georgia Tech jumps coach Nat Page, who travelled to China with her. “She was healthy, she was fast, she was strong, she was very confident, and she was very consistent. She was primed and ready.” She wasn’t ready for the life-changing news, which arrived via Facebook and had her doing a high jump for joy in her kitchen. Her first call was to Coach Page. “She was just crying like crazy. I told her, ‘Slow down, slow down. Take a deep breath. Tell me what’s going on,’” he recalled. “She goes, ‘Coach, they awarded me a medal from 2008.’ I was very, very happy for her. Then, to be totally honest, I was thinking, ‘Somebody took a moment from her that she’ll never get back.’ I’m thinking that, but I’m happy as can be for her. She’s like every elite athlete. She doesn’t give herself a break. She trains at 100 percent every single day. It’s good to see somebody who does it the right way get rewarded.” That she’d get the news via social media didn’t matter.
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WHAT’S IMPORTANT that actually want to do a AS FAR AS THE SPORT ceremony for me -- even IS WHAT SHE HOPES IS THE my job. I think I have more people now to OVER-RIDING MESSAGE share it with.” That includes Aurora OF THE HAPPY ENDING and M.J. and her husband, TO HER STORY. triple-jumper Mario Lowe,
What did matter was that message and the ensuing flood of texts and Facebook posts she’d received but hadn’t noticed -- it’s hard to keep up with social media when you’re a mother of three, training to compete at the highest level and embarking on a rising career as a financial advisor at New York Life. “It was nice because the ones who gave me (the news) were athletes that I really respected,” she said. “One of the things that I feel like I missed out on was (Belgium’s) Tia Hellebaut, the Olympic champion, and one of my best friends, I would have loved for us to both experience our first Olympic medal together. That was the hard part.” While nothing can soften the hurt from that lost moment, Page feels that the Olympic medal officially cements Lowe’s legacy within the sport -- a legacy he felt already should have been secure. “The medal does put a stamp on it because you could have looked at it as, ‘Hey, she competed so well, why didn’t she have a medal?’” he said. “But here it is. She’s an indoor world champ, outdoor world champ silver medalist and now an Olympic bronze medalist. But even without it people knew what she did for women’s high jumping in this country and worldwide. “Her name will always be recognized as one of the best, the second-best American high jumper of all time, along with (1988 Seoul Olympics gold medalist) Louise Ritter,” he added. “She helped keep U.S. high jumping on the map. She connected with the public and the kids. Folks will know in regard to how she got her medal that, ‘Hey, you can do it clean. You can do it the right way.’” Chaunte has not yet received the medal -one of the athletes stripped of her medal has appealed -- but has been assured that she will still have her day in the sun, and on the medal stand. “I just have to wait. I know that the USOC and the IOC are trying to find ways to honor those athletes that didn’t get the opportunity to stand on the podium,” she said. “I’ve gotten so much support from Atlanta and Georgia Tech and people that love and care about me
who has been her rock and training partner. “He’s taken a large majority of the hardships of parenting. He has definitely laid down what he wanted to do, even his athletic career to make sure that I was able to achieve my dream,” she said. “We’ve been working together as a team. The best part about it is that I always have a training partner, even if we have to do a 4 a.m. training session. It’s been great to have him with me the ENTIRE TIME.” Her time isn’t over. She has her sights set on the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo and is contemplating changing events to the Heptathlon (100 meters, high jump, shot put, 200 meters, long jump, javelin, 800 meters), the long jump and maybe a sprint. “I still feel great, I still feel strong and I still feel able,” she said. “I don’t know. So I’m kind of debating.” What’s not up for debate are her priorities. “I have to prioritize what must be done, what would be nice to be and what’s not-soimportant to be done,” she said. “I must take care of my kids. I must play with them and give them attention and teach them but then also I must train. Then everything else isn’t as important.” What’s important as far as the sport is what she hopes is the over-riding message of the happy ending to her story. “I want to be that shining light for those people that feel like, ‘Man, we’re getting the short end of the stick by playing fair,’” Chaunte said. “I feel like the truth always comes to light and if anything my story can be that beacon of hope for those people that maybe are feeling weary with doing the right thing or feel like giving up. Having competed in four Olympics, that represents 16 years of my life of training and dedication and at the END of that, is when the light was actually shown on the situation and proved that I had been doing the right thing all along. So have perseverance and just know that you shouldn’t get weary with doing the right thing.” WWW.RAMBLINWRECK.COM
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COLLEGE FOOTBALL’S MOST COVETED COACHING AWARD
Scholarship, Leadership & Integrity Named for legendary Georgia Tech® coach Bobby Dodd, The Dodd Trophy was established in 1976 to honor the FBS football coach whose program represents three pillars of success: Scholarship, Leadership and Integrity. The award honors the coach of a team with a successful season on the field and equally as important, stresses the importance of academic excellence and desire to give back to the community.
“No one else in the country could coach like Dodd.” – PAUL “BEAR” BRYANT
ONLINE >
The Dodd Trophy
@ DoddTrophy
@ DoddTrophy
TheDoddTrophy.com
CELEBRATING OUR GOLDEN SEASON This year, the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl celebrates its Golden Season – our history, traditions, and successes as the nation’s 9th-oldest bowl organization. The Bowl has come a long way over the last 50 years, and we’re proud that the journey started in 1968 with our very first game here at Georgia Tech®, and has led us to become one of the top Bowl games in the country. On Jan. 1, 2018, the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl will play its 50th Anniversary game in Atlanta’s new, state-of-the-art Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and will feature an elite matchup of two of the country’s top ranked teams.
Visit CFAPB.com and join the celebration!
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ALEXANDER-THARPE FUND
ALL IN THE FAMILY
GEORGIA TECH HAS BEEN A MULTI-GENERATIONAL EXPERIENCE FOR THE DE LA GUARDIA FAMILY BY SIMIT SHAH
It’s 745 miles from Havana, Cuba to North Avenue. When Mario de la Guardia, Sr. made that trek in 1949 to study chemical engineering, little did he know that it was the beginning of a multigenerational devotion to Georgia Tech. “My father has a great passion for Georgia Tech, which is an understatement,” explained Mario Junior. “He shared that with me, my brother, my son, and now he’s hard at work on my 10-year-old nephew.” A chemical engineering major, the elder de la Guardia joined the swimming team, coached by Fred Lanoue and later Herb McAuley. As part of the HavAtlanta games, he got an opportunity to swim for Cuba in summer meets that alternated annually between Atlanta and Havana while at Georgia Tech. Following his graduation in 1953, de la Guardia returned to Cuba. In 1962, he moved his family to Savannah when Mario Junior was just a year old. The younger de la Guardia attended Benedictine Military School while his father carved out a successful career in the hair care products industry. When it came time to pick a college, Mario Junior knew there was only one choice. “I looked a few other places that would have given me a scholarship to play football, but in the end I decided that I’d rather walk-on at Georgia Tech and get a great education,” he said. In his first camp in 1979, the fullback met a fellow freshman from Canada. The two bonded during grueling practices and became lifelong friends. His name: Todd Stansbury. “We met during that very painful summer before our first football season,” de la Guardia remembered. “Those two-a-days are difficult, and it takes a physical toll. That’s how we got to know each other. On the field, de la Guardia played special teams as the program underwent a coaching change and entry into the ACC in the early 1980s.
“Playing football was an interesting experience,” he noted. “We played for Pepper Rodgers as freshmen, and then Bill Curry came in a year later. That was very different, to say the least.” Majoring in industrial management, de la Guardia noticed a fellow classmate. “Deannie and I had gone to many classes together,” he recalled. “I had asked her out on a date, but low and behold I hurt my knee that week. She is thinking that I’m not calling her back, so it took another year before we actually went out. We dated our senior year and got married a few years later.” The younger de la Guardia followed in his father’s footstep in the hair care industry, and they eventually started their own company, Strength of Nature, based in Savannah. His brother Richard, a Georgia Tech chemical engineering graduate, also works for the company. Throughout his career, Mario Junior has benefitted from his experiences at Georgia Tech.
“Georgia Tech teaches you persistence and the ability to overcome obstacles,” he explained. “At the end of the day, you can learn math, English, chemistry and physics, but it’s the challenge everyday of moving an idea forward. Tech brings a lot of confidence in your ability to solve problems and confront obstacles.” Son Michael became a third generation de la Guardia Yellow Jacket, earning his economics degree in 2015. He actually lived directly below his grandfather’s dorm room in Glenn Residence Hall. In 2012, Mario Junior endowed a swimming scholarship in his father’s name. “Swimming is a passion for both my father and me,” he said. “We felt this would be a great way to give young men and women a chance to swim at Georgia Tech. I think Georgia Tech, of all the opportunities over the years, prepared myself and many in my family to really excel in this great country.” WWW.RAMBLINWRECK.COM
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ALEXANDER-THARPE FUND
SCHOLARSHIP FUNDING The Alexander-Tharpe Fund strives to fund all athletic scholarships for Georgia Tech student-athletes through philanthropy. To accomplish this goal, funding will come
through a combination of two sources: annual giving through the Athletic Scholarship Fund and investment distributions through endowed scholarship funds.
$9M SCHOLARSHIP COSTS $4.8M remaining to raise $2.7M Endowment Distributions $1.5M athletic scholarship fund ATHLETIC SCHOLARSHIP FUND The top priority for annual gifts, the Athletic Scholarship Fund provides direct support for student-athlete scholarships and helps bridge the gap between endowment distributions and the $9 million incurred annually for scholarship costs. In the 2017 giving year, donors contributed $1.5 million to the Athletic Scholarship Fund.
ENDOWMENT An endowed scholarship to Georgia Tech Athletics provides the perpetual financial resources necessary to attract and retain talented student-athletes to The Flats. Our long-term goal is to fully endow all athletic scholarships. In the 2017 giving year, the distributions from endowed scholarships produced $2.7 million.
MAKE YOUR IMPACT AND LEAVE YOUR LEGACY Philanthropy through the Athletic Scholarship Fund and through endowments offer donors the chance to directly impact the life of a student-athlete and the opportunity to meet, mentor and nurture a personal relationship with the scholarship recipient.
ESTABLISHING AN ENDOWMENT
New named endowments can be created for as little as $25,000. Endowed funds may be established through a one-time gift, a commitment over 5 years or through a bequest provision.
NEW FOR 2018: EVERYDAY CHAMPIONS SCHOLARSHIPS
The annual gift to fully fund an in-state scholarship is now more than $30,000. New starting July 1, 2017, donors who commit $125,000 over 4 years will receive a named Everyday Champions scholarship recipient.
GIFTS & COMMITMENTS NEW GIFTS AND COMMITMENTS OF $25,000 OR MORE RECORDED FROM MAY 1, 2017, THROUGH JULY 31, 2017 R. LARRY WHIDBY, Friend, a $30,000 commitment designated for the Athletic Scholarship Fund MICHAEL R. MOYE, IMGT 1979, a $25,000 commitment designated for the Athletic Scholarship Fund JAMES H. SALTER, EE 1981, a $350,000 commitment designated for the James H. Salter Athletic Scholarship Endowment Fund JOSEPH BRUCELLA, IE 1972, a $1,000,000 commitment designated to establish the Joe Brucella Athletic Scholarship Endowment and for the Annual Track Scholarship Fund JOY L. AND F. WOODY SNELL III, MS MGT 1986, MS MGT 1986, a $105,000 commitment designated for the Athletic Scholarship Fund ALETHIA B. THOMPSON, IMGT 1977, a $148,770 bequest provision designated to establish the Alethia Bigbie Thompson Athletic Expendable Unrestricted Fund MR. & MRS. THOMAS P. SAPITOWICZ, JR., EE 1982, a $25,000 gift designated for the intercollegiate athletics women’s basketball program
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DONNA AND LARRY BROWN, Friends, a $25,000 gift designated for the intercollegiate athletics women’s basketball program PETER S. KEZIOS, Friend, a total of $41,542 in gifts designated to establish the Agnes M. and Stothe P. Kezios Athletic Scholarship Endowment TIMOTHY A. HEILIG, IE 1975, a $25,000 commitment designated for the Athletic Scholarship Fund ANSLEY WILLIAMS, MGT 1972, a $125,000 commitment designated for the Athletic Director’s Initiative Fund CHRISTOPHER AND JESSICA REICHART, CMPE 2002, PUBP 2005, a $30,000 commitment designated for the Athletic Scholarship Fund JUDY AND MEL HALL, IE 1967, a $125,000 commitment designated for the Athletic Scholarship Fund ROBERT W. GIBELING JR., BMGT 1972, a $50,000 bequest provision designated for the Robert W. and Naomi B. Gibeling Family Golf Endowment Fund KATHY T. BETTY, Honorary Alum, a $25,000 gift designated for the intercollegiate athletics women’s basketball program
STEPHEN & MARJORIE SHELLEY, MSCI 1978, MSCI 1978, MS IMGT 1978, a $2,250,000 bequest provision designated to establish the Marjorie J. and Stephen O. Shelley Athletic Scholarship Endowment ROBERT L. SHAW, IMGT 1974, a $60,000 commitment designated for the intercollegiate athletics men’s track & field/cross country program and the Athletic Director’s Initiative Fund VINCENT J. FERRARO III, IE 1981, a $125,000 commitment designated for the Athletic Director’s Initiative Fund CARL E. HOFSTADTER, SR., CE 1977, a $50,000 commitment designated for the Athletic Scholarship Fund JOHN KOTANIDES JR., ME 1983, a $25,000 bequest provision designated to establish the John Kotanides, Jr. Athletic Scholarship Endowment BARRY E. COX, CHE 1982, a $100,000 commitment designated for the Ken Byers Tennis Complex
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HAPPY HOUR equals HALF PRICED APPETIZERS Monday thru Friday from 4pm - 6pm and Late Night from 10pm - Close
THE PAUL JOHNSON RADIO SHOW Mondays 7-8 PM live at Three Dollar Café in West Midtown. Come be a part of the live audience and enjoy great food and drink.
1000 Northside Drive NW, Atlanta, Georgia 30318
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COMPLIANCE CORNER
BY LANCE MARKOS, ASSISTANT ATHLETIC DIRECTOR FOR COMPLIANCE
TAKE A QUIZ WITH SOME OF THE MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS WE GET. As we begin the 2017-18 year, we wanted to provide answers to some of our most frequently asked questions. What is a prospective student-athlete? The NCAA defines a prospective student-athlete as any individual who has started classes for the ninth grade. I’ve identified some talented prospective student-athletes in my LANCE MARKOS area, can I help Georgia Tech recruit? No. However, you may contact our ASSISTANT ATHLETIC DIRECTOR FOR COMPLIANCE coaches and pass along information regarding prospective student-athletes. You may not actively recruit on behalf of Georgia Tech – this includes contact with (e.g., in-person conversations, telephone calls, electronic messages, etc.) prospective student-athletes, their parents or any other individual associated with them due to their athletics participation. May prospective student-athletes that have been admitted to Georgia Tech be invited and attend my local Georgia Tech booster group when we host an event for all admitted students? Yes. If a benefit is available to all admitted prospective Georgia Tech students, prospective student-athletes who have signed and are admitted may also participate. Groups may not host events specific to prospective student-athletes.
No. Provision of any gift, including a gift of nominal value, is considered an extra benefit under NCAA rules. Receipt of any such benefits will jeopardize the eligibility of the student-athlete.
May I provide an internship or job for a currently enrolled Georgia Tech student-athlete? Yes. It is permissible for individuals to employ student-athletes as long as they are paid the going rate, are getting paid for the work that is actually being performed, and their athletics reputation is not used to promote the business or products associated with the business. Please contact the Georgia Tech Athletics Compliance Office prior to hiring a student-athlete for approval.
May a booster host a meal for current student-athletes? Yes. A booster may host a meal on an occasional basis for any number of current student-athletes provided the meal is approved by the Georgia Tech Athletics Compliance Office prior to occurring. Meals may only be hosted in the booster’s home or in a Georgia Tech athletics facility regularly used for team meals.
May a booster provide a student-athlete with a nominal gift for a special event (e.g. birthday, religious holiday, weddings, finals week, graduation)?
If you have any questions about recruiting, current studentathletes, or any other matter please do not hesitate to contact any member of the compliance office staff.
Shoshanna Engel Associate Director of Athletics for Compliance sengel@athletics.gatech.edu (404)894-8792
Lance Markos Assistant Director of Athletics for Compliance lmarkos@athletics.gatech.edu (404) 894-5507
Bret Cowley Director of Compliance bcowley@athletics.gtaa.edu (404)385-0611
Shardonay Blueford Associate Director of Compliance sblueford@athletics.gatech.edu (404)894-0416
Amanda Chastain Compliance Assistant achastain@athletics.gatech.edu
Compliance Office Phone Number: (404) 894-5055
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WE’RE YOUR BIGGEST FAN Whether you’re tackling the flu or planning for specialized care, our staff is cheering for you. Learn more about what we do at wellstar.org HOSPITAL S • OUTPATIENT CARE • PRIMARY CARE • SPECIALT Y MEDICINE • URGENT CARE
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