Kirby Smart Still Wants Georgia-Florida Game Moved; Why?
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Since taking over as the head coach of his alma mater, Kirby Smart, he has been adamant about one thing; he believes the annual Georgia-Florida game needs to be moved to a home-and-home series between the two historic rivals.
Dating back to 1933, the city of Jacksonville, Florida, has hosted the rivalry game; on all but two occasions, the game has not been held in Jacksonville. In 1994 and 1995, games were held in a home-and-home format before being moved back to Jacksonville in 1996.
Coming off his speech at the podium in Atlanta, Ga., as part of the SEC Media Days, Smart was a part of the SEC Now coverage of the event, where he sparred with former Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow about the location of the game.
So why does Smart want to break tradition and move the rivalry game? "I'm competing against guys all across the SEC who host kids at their biggest game," Smart said on the SEC Network.
"When Auburn plays Alabama, guess where the recruits are. They're at Auburn. When LSU and Alabama play, guess where the biggest recruits want to go. It's an opportunity for us to bring these kids who fly in from all over the country. What game do they want to see? They'd like to see Georgia play Florida but they can't do that."
Smart's take on moving to a home-and-home series like they carried out briefly in '94 and '95 all dates back to feeling like both programs are at a disadvantage due to the neutral status of the game. The Georgia head coach, who's not only coached in the rivalry but also played in the game in his own right at Georgia, doesn't look at the neutral site game as a historical tradition; rather, he sees the game as a loss of a home game.
“It’s very important. Recruiting is very important. … I just can’t get a Florida coach to agree with me,”
Jacksonville signed a contract with both schools that will expire in 2023 but will have an option of another two years (2025) if both sides agree to take up the two-year option.
With the current eight-game conference schedule, Georgia only gets three conference games yearly, one less than everyone less. As the national championship-winning head coach stated, recruits want to see Georgia play Florida, just like those same recruits want to see Alabama play Auburn and LSU; both games are home-and-home formats.
An opinion has yet to be given on the status of the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party by first-year Florida head coach Billy Napier; Napier told the media on Wednesday, “I want to experience the game first."
Ultimately the decision on where the game will be played is up to the administration of both schools, who have to agree at the end of the day. Though as Smart said, all it's going to take is the opposing coach to agree. Once that happens, Smart will get his way. It's inevitable.
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