There have been rumors all day that Georgia will move, or cancel, its scheduled 2011 opener against Louisville in favor of a matchup with Boise State in the Chick-fil-A Classic in Atlanta. Here's what we know:
- Georgia head coach Mark Richt repeatedly (but playfully) declined to comment after Thursday's practice when asked about playing Boise State again, or scheduling changes, or anything pertaining to the issue.
"I'll tell you Monday," Richt said, perhaps tipping off when an announcement might be made.
- Louisville associate A.D. Kenny Klein said earlier this afternoon that he'd "heard rumblings" of changes, but as of now there was nothing to report and it was still scheduled to play at Georgia in September of 2011.
Later, another source at Louisville confirmed that Georgia has reached out to that school in an effort to move or cancel the series. Georgia was set to return the visit to Louisville in 2012.
The contract for the series stipulates that the cost of cancellation, unless it's done by mutual consent, would be $600,000 per game. So Georgia would appear to owe Louisville $1.2 million unless it negotiates a lower figure, or reads the contract differently.
However, Georgia would probably make up the money easily: This year's Chick-fil-A Classic in Atlanta paid each team, North Carolina and LSU, $2.3 million each.
- Georgia athletics director Greg McGarity could not be reached for comments. Nor could officials with the Chick-fil-A Bowl, which sponsor the game.
- Mississippi, which was scheduled to face Boise State, was set to make a major scheduling announcement on Thursday, according to athletics director Pete Boone. But Boone tweeted later in the day that there were "a lot of moving parts" and apologized for a delay in the announcement.
Those moving parts are a reason that this doesn't appear to be a done deal.
ESPN is a driving force in this, and if it does shift things around, it has to find matchups involving BYU, Ole Miss and Louisville. That's assuming that Boise State and Georgia are being matched in Atlanta, which at this point, as I said, may not be a done deal.
Or it could be, and the announcement is being delayed until those other teams find matchups. I guess we'll find out Monday, if Richt is right.
- Georgia head coach Mark Richt repeatedly (but playfully) declined to comment after Thursday's practice when asked about playing Boise State again, or scheduling changes, or anything pertaining to the issue.
"I'll tell you Monday," Richt said, perhaps tipping off when an announcement might be made.
- Louisville associate A.D. Kenny Klein said earlier this afternoon that he'd "heard rumblings" of changes, but as of now there was nothing to report and it was still scheduled to play at Georgia in September of 2011.
Later, another source at Louisville confirmed that Georgia has reached out to that school in an effort to move or cancel the series. Georgia was set to return the visit to Louisville in 2012.
The contract for the series stipulates that the cost of cancellation, unless it's done by mutual consent, would be $600,000 per game. So Georgia would appear to owe Louisville $1.2 million unless it negotiates a lower figure, or reads the contract differently.
However, Georgia would probably make up the money easily: This year's Chick-fil-A Classic in Atlanta paid each team, North Carolina and LSU, $2.3 million each.
- Georgia athletics director Greg McGarity could not be reached for comments. Nor could officials with the Chick-fil-A Bowl, which sponsor the game.
- Mississippi, which was scheduled to face Boise State, was set to make a major scheduling announcement on Thursday, according to athletics director Pete Boone. But Boone tweeted later in the day that there were "a lot of moving parts" and apologized for a delay in the announcement.
Those moving parts are a reason that this doesn't appear to be a done deal.
ESPN is a driving force in this, and if it does shift things around, it has to find matchups involving BYU, Ole Miss and Louisville. That's assuming that Boise State and Georgia are being matched in Atlanta, which at this point, as I said, may not be a done deal.
Or it could be, and the announcement is being delayed until those other teams find matchups. I guess we'll find out Monday, if Richt is right.
