![]() OrthoAtlanta and the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game are two proud Atlanta traditions. Given that strategic shift in long-term scheduling, the Chick-fil-A Kickoff is fortunate to already have games lined up for the next four years, including Georgia-Oregon and Georgia Tech-Clemson in 2022, Tech-Louisville in 2023, Georgia-Clemson in 2024 and South Carolina-Virginia Tech and Tennessee-Syracuse in 2025.Congratulations to 2021 Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game champs Alabama Crimson Tide and Ole Miss Rebels! As an AD, you need those people on campus for tickets, concessions, donor money and merchandise (sales).” That home season-ticket holder - I guess because of us creating these great games at the beginning of the season – wants to see great games (on campus) at the start of the season. “I think most athletic directors are looking at the revenue they need from home schedules. Not knowing what this new alliance between the ACC, Big Ten and Pac-12 will bring on, it’s certainly going to be challenging moving forward. “The amount of teams (for neutral sites) to schedule has been diminished,” Stokan said. That makes Saturday sort of the end of an era for the Chick-fil-A Kickoff, which has been defined in part by frequent appearances by Alabama. CHICK FIL A KICKOFF SERIESWhile an anticipated larger playoff field, such as the proposed 12-team format, would raise the margin of error for elite programs and make them more willing to schedule high-profile non-conference games, some programs recently have moved toward scheduling such games as home-and-home series, rather than at neutral sites.Īlabama, for example, has lined up compelling home-and-home non-conference series from 2022 through 2035 without involving neutral-site games. However, Alabama isn’t committed to return to the Chick-fil-A Kickoff beyond this year, a reflection of how broader changes in college sports will have a ripple effect on the event. And the atmosphere and environment there has always been fantastic in whatever venue that we play.” “It has been a place, a city, that has been very welcoming to us. “We always look forward to playing in Atlanta,” Saban said this week. Saturday’s game will mark Alabama’s seventh Chick-fil-A Kickoff appearance since the annual event was created in 2008, with the Crimson Tide winning the previous six. Already, it is 5-0 in Mercedes-Benz Stadium, which replaced the Georgia Dome in 2017. Asked for clarification, a Kickoff games spokesman said the roof will be open “weather permitting.”Īlabama is 15-1 in Atlanta under coach Nick Saban, including 14 consecutive wins. They won’t be required, but will be “strongly encouraged,” in other areas, including the seating bowl, concourses and suites with doors to the open air.Īlso, as at other recent sports events in the stadium, it was announced that the retractable roof will be open for the two Kickoff games, making them the first college football games played in the four-year-old stadium with the roof open. Masks will be “required” in enclosed spaces, including the clubs and merchandise store. The Chick-fil-A Kickoff this week announced coronavirus-related protocols for the games, matching those that have been in place at other Mercedes-Benz Stadium events amid the recent surge in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. He acknowledged Monday’s game isn’t “as tough a ticket.” “The Alabama-Miami game will be one of the tougher tickets we’ve ever had,” said Stokan, noting it’ll be the first meeting of those schools in football since their No. CHICK FIL A KICKOFF FULLBased on ticket sales locally and by the participating schools, Stokan predicts a full stadium for Saturday’s game, which matches quarterbacks Bryce Young of Alabama and D’Eriq King of Miami, both of whom have cashed in on marketing deals under college football’s new NIL rules. ![]()
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