Georgia and Florida released a joint statement regarding the future of their annual game in Jacksonville.
The current contract between the two school and the city run through 2023, with an option to extend it to 2024 and 2025.
However, according to Monday’s statement, both schools will take their time before a decision is made.
“The annual game between our two universities is an important tradition. At this time, both programs are focused on our current seasons. Typically, both schools begin conversations regarding future games in the series as the last contracted game nears. We anticipate following that timeline. When those discussions take place, we will consider a multitude of factors including tradition, finances, future SEC scheduling models with the addition of Texas and Oklahoma, and what is best for both schools’ football programs overall.”
Bulldog head coach Kirby Smart has stated that he prefers the game to be home-and-home to help with recruiting.
Smart spoke about his feelings last week.
“There's really quality benefits to both. I get it, you want to make a story, you need a story, everyone wants to talk about it,” Smart said. “It's really not a big debate for me. It's been made really big by the media, because they've made it out to be a really big deal. I enjoy the pageantry of going down there and playing. I enjoyed playing there as a player, I enjoy tradition. I enjoy all those things.”
However, Smart also expects both programs to take a long look at the situation before deciding to agree to a new deal or not.
“When it comes down to it, there's a very, very basic element of everything that comes back to, number one money and number two, recruiting and getting good players. I firmly believe that we'll be able to sign better players by having it as a home-and-home because we'll have more opportunities to get them to campus,” Smart said. “But I also think there's a financial factor that factors into that, with having the game there, and being able to make more money for the university, possibly, there. You have to weigh both those and make really good decisions.”
Monday’s announcement backed up what Smart had to say, although Georgia's head coach is more concerned about Saturday's 3:30 game.
“I promise you, I have not thought about that one second since the start of the season. And I'm not going to think about it for one second, because I got to worry about coaching our team, and I'm not fighting the fight in the public forum. I'm not fighting the fight for anything. I'm worried about our team and us playing well and how we block and tackle what plays we call it how we play special teams. That's just not a priority for me, where that game is right now.”
