The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets announced yesterday that the team would be cancelling their home-and-home series against the Georgia State Panthers, as the Panthers traveled to Bobby Dodd Stadium last season, but since the Yellow Jackets cancelled their scheduled road trip in the series. The cost for the Yellow Jackets to cancel the game was 1,000,000 dollars. However, I think that the cost of the cancellation was well worth it for the athletic program.
For one, the Yellow Jackets now have a scheduled home-and-home series with the Tennessee Volunteers for the 2026 and 2027 seasons. With that series secured, it means that the Yellow Jackets now have an out of conference game against a formidable opponent. They now have one of the hardest out of conference schedules in the country for both of those years when you also account for the annual in-state rival game with the Georgia Bulldogs.
This series could also be a huge opportunity to help the Yellow Jackets in the eyes of the average fan, as more eyes will be on a Georgia Tech-Tennessee matchup than a Georgia Tech-Georgia State matchup. With the Yellow Jackets projected to be one of the biggest rising programs in the country, having an opponent, especially close by like the Volunteers, means that the team can play high level teams year in and year out.
While the addition of the Tennessee series means a tougher out of conference schedule, it makes up for what is sure to be a softer conference schedule in the ACC.