STUDENT RELATED INFORMATION

ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION

"I'm a Ramblin' Wreck from Georgia Tech and a helluva engineer, A helluva, helluva, helluva, helluva, hell of an engineer."

Those words from one of America's most famous fight songs typify the spirit of athletics at Georgia Tech, a school with a tradition of integrity and success that is second to none. Ever since 1892, when the first football team was organized on The Flats, Georgia Tech teams in all sports have represented the Institute in outstanding fashion while producing some of the best-known names in athletics.

Dan Radakovich, the current Director of Athletics, oversees teams in 17 sports, and also the following departments: a Total Person program, compliance, business, development, finance, accounting, ticketing, marketing, sports information and sports medicine. The most important function of Georgia Tech athletics, however, is academic support.

The Georgia Tech Athletic Association is a non-profit organization responsible for maintaining the intercollegiate athletic program at Tech. The Athletic Association is overseen by the Georgia Tech Athletic Board, chaired by the president of the Institute and composed of nine faculty members, three alumni members, and three student members.

Radakovich follows in the footsteps of some of the most honored men in college athletics: John Heisman, for whom football's Heisman Trophy is named, William Alexander, Bobby Dodd, Dr. Homer Rice and Dave Braine.

Over the past 100 years, Tech has had only 12 head football coaches: John Heisman, Bill Alexander, Bobby Dodd, Bud Carson, Bill Fulcher, Pepper Rodgers, Bill Curry, Bobby Ross, Bill Lewis, George O'Leary, Chan Gailey, and our new head coach, Paul Johnson.

Tech has won four National Championships in football in the years 1917, 1928, 1952, and 1990. The Yellow Jacket football teams have one of the nation's best record in bowl games at 22-15. Other major highlights in sports have been two Final Four appearances by the Tech men's basketball team in 1990 and 2004, when the Yellow Jackets reached the NCAA title game, a NWIT women's basketball title in 1992 and a pair of College World Series berths in baseball. The GT Women's Tennis team captured the 2007 NCAA Championship, the first title ever won in an NCAA team championship. In 2008 Amanda McDowell became the first Yellow Jacket tennis player to earn an individual national championship by winning the NCAA Singles title.

Some of the most prominent names in Georgia Tech athletic history have been Grand Slam Champion Bobby Jones, former Masters champion Larry Mize, British Open champion David Duval and Stewart Cink in golf, Billy Lothridge, George Morris, Robert Lavette, Maxie Baughan, Marco Coleman, Shawn Jones, Calvin Johnson, and Joe Hamilton, runner-up in the 1999 Heisman Trophy race, in football.

Also, four Olympic gold medal winners in track, Antonio McKay, Derek Mills, Derrick Adkins, and Angelo Taylor, as well as three-time NCAA high jump champion and 2004 U.S. Olympian Chaunte Howard in women's track, current Major League stars Mark Texeira, Nomar Garciaparra, Jason Varitek and Kevin Brown in baseball, and Roger Kaiser, Rich Yunkus, Mark Price, John Salley, Kenny Anderson, Stephon Marbury, Matt Harpring, Jarrett Jack and Chris Bosh in men's basketball.

The hub of Georgia Tech athletics is the Arthur Edge Athletics Center, which houses administrative and coaching staffs, a dining hall, locker rooms, training and weight facilities and the Andrew Hearn Academic Center.

Georgia Tech teams participate in the Atlantic Coast Conference, generally regarded as one of the finest collegiate conferences in the country. The primary purpose of the Athletic Association is to help each student-athlete grow as a person, develop as an athlete, earn a meaningful degree and become a good citizen.

Source: Office of the Director, Athletic Association