Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Infobox college athletics
name = Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

university = Georgia Institute of Technology
conference = ACC
division = Division I
director = Dan Radakovich
city = Atlanta
state = Georgia (U.S. state)
stateabb = GA
teams = 17
stadium = Bobby Dodd Stadium at Historic Grant Field
arena = Alexander Memorial Coliseum
mascot = Buzz & Ramblin' Wreck
nickname = Yellow Jackets, Ramblin' Wreck
fightsong = 'Ramblin' Wreck from Georgia Tech' and 'Up With the White and Gold
color1 = White
color2 = Old Gold
hex1 = ffffff
hex2 = CFB53B
pageurl = http://ramblinwreck.cstv.com/
pagename = www.RamblinWreck.com

The Yellow Jackets is the name used for all of the intercollegiate athletic teams that play for the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia. The teams have also been nicknamed the Ramblin' Wreck, Engineers, Blacksmiths, and Golden Tornado. There are 8 men's and 7 women's teams that compete in the NCAA Division I athletics and Division I-A football. Georgia Tech is a member of the Coastal Division in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

The official school colors for Georgia Tech are old gold and white. Navy blue is often used as a secondary color and for alternate jerseys while black has been used on rare occasion. The traditional rival in all sports is in-state University of Georgia. This rivalry is often referred to as Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate. There are also rivalries with out-of-state Auburn and conference foe Clemson.

The athletic department is run by the Georgia Tech Athletic Association, a private organization located on campus. The department dedicates about $53 million per year to its sports teams and facilities. Since 2005, the athletic director of Georgia Tech has been Dan Radakovich. [cite pressrelease|url=http://www.gatech.edu/news-room/release.php?id=874|title=Dan Radakovich is Tech’s New Athletics Director|publisher=Georgia Institute of Technology|date=2006-02-22|accessdate=2007-05-16] Most athletic teams have on-campus facilities for competition, including Bobby Dodd Stadium at Historic Grant Field for football, the Alexander Memorial Coliseum at Cremins' Court for men’s and women’s basketball, and Russ Chandler Stadium for baseball.

Georgia Tech was a founding member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association in 1895. Georgia Tech was one of the 14 schools that split to found the Southern Conference in 1921. Thirteen schools including Georgia Tech split in 1932 to form the Southeastern Conference. [cite web|url=http://www.soconsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4000&KEY=&ATCLID=177772|title="History of the Southern Conference"|accessdate=2007-11-25] The Yellow Jackets left the SEC in 1964 and remained independent until becoming a founding member of the Metro-6 Conference in 1975. [cite web|url=http://www.irp.gatech.edu/apps/factbook/?page=18|title=Highlights of Georgia Tech History|publisher=Georgia Institute of Technology|date=2007|accessdate=2008-04-19] Georgia Tech moved to the ACC in 1978. [cite web|url=http://www.irp.gatech.edu/apps/factbook/?page=18|title=Highlights of Georgia Tech History|publisher=Georgia Institute of Technology|date=2007|accessdate=2008-04-19]

Football

:main|Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football:seealso|2007 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team|2008 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football teamThe football team is traditionally the most popular at the Institute. The games are played at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Historic Grant Field or simply "The Flats", which is the oldest on-campus stadium in division I-A football. The stadium was expanded in recent years, increasing the maximum capacity to 55,000.

Georgia Tech plays an Atlantic Coast Conference Coastal Division schedule in addition to yearly cross divisional games against Clemson [cite news|first=Neil|last=Paine|url=http://nique.net/issues/2005-10-28/sports/4|title=Clemson rivalry adds to homecoming fun|work=The Technique|date=2005-10-28|accessdate=2007-05-16] and two other Atlantic Division teams. In addition, the team has a yearly out-of-conference meeting with Georgia at the end of the season known as Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate.

The football team is in the top 20 winningest Division I-A programs and was the first team to win all four of the historical big four bowls - the Orange (1940), Sugar (1944), Cotton (1955) and Rose (1929). Georgia Tech has won four national titles in the years 1917 going 9-0 under John Heisman outscoring opponents 419-17, 1928 going 10-0 under William Alexander outscoring opponents 221-47, 1952 going 12-0 under Bobby Dodd outscoring opponents 325-59, and 1990 going 11-0-1 under Bobby Ross outscoring opponents 379-186.cite news|first=Michael|last=Clarke|url=http://nique.net/issues/2005-09-16/sports/5|title=Football program builds on strong history|work=The Technique|date=2005-09-16|accessdate=2007-05-16]

The Yellow Jackets have won a total of 15 conference titles. They won 5 SIAA titles in '16, '17, '18, '20, and '21; 3 Southern Conference titles in '22, '27, and '28; 5 SEC titles in '39, '43, '44, '51, '52, and the 1990 and 1998 ACC championships along with the 2006 ACC Coastal Division Championship. The team has played in 35 bowl games, posting a record of 22-13. The resulting win percentage of 0.629 is currently the second-highest among teams with over 20 bowl appearances.

The most recent head coach is former Dallas Cowboys head coach Chan Gailey. In five seasons, Chan Gailey posted a 37-27 record, 5 straight bowl berths, and a 2-3 record in bowl games.old fact Chan's 5 straight bowl appearances have the Jackets at 10 in a row overall, an active streak tied for 5th longest in the nation. [cite news|first=Clark|last=Nelson|url=http://nique.net/issues/2004-09-03/sports/7|title=Beyond the White and Gold: College football has tradition unlike any other|work=The Technique|date=2004-09-03|accessdate=2007-05-17] old fact Chan Gailey was fired on Monday, November 26, 2007. A nation-wide search for a new head coach then began, which was ended when highly-regarded Navy coach Paul Johnson was hired on December 9, 2007. [cite news|url=http://ramblinwreck.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/112607aag.html|title=Gailey Relieved Of Duties As Georgia Tech Head Coach|work=RamblinWreck.com|publisher=Georgia Tech Athletic Association|date=2007-11-26|accessdate=2007-11-26]

Three Jacket players were named to the ACC 50th Anniversary Team in 2002: Marco Coleman, OLB; Joe Hamilton, QB; and Ken Swilling, DB. Some notable and more recent Georgia Tech football players are three-time All-American Calvin Johnson, Keith Brooking, Joe Burns, Marco Coleman, Joe Hamilton, Tony Hollings, Dorsey Levens, and Arizona Cardinals head coach Ken Whisenhunt.

Men's basketball

The Georgia Tech men's basketball team plays its home games in Alexander Memorial Coliseum, also known as the Thrillerdome. The program saw its most sustained success under the tenure of Bobby Cremins. Bobby Cremins led his team to the first ACC tournament victory in school history in 1985, and in 1990 he took Georgia Tech to the school's first Final Four appearance ever. Cremins retired from Georgia Tech in 2000 with the school's best coaching win percentage.

Paul Hewitt is the current head coach for Georgia Tech. Helping revitalize a stagnant program in 2004, he led Georgia Tech to a Cinderella season as the school earned its second berth in a NCAA national title game in any sport. That team won the Pre-Season NIT, ended Duke's 41 game home winning streak, and finished its season losing by 9 points in the national title game to Connecticut.

Some notable and more recent Georgia Tech basketball players are Javaris Crittenton, Thaddeus Young, Stephon Marbury, Kenny Anderson, Travis Best, Chris Bosh, Jarrett Jack, Mark Price, and John Salley.:seealso|2006-07 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets men's basketball team

Baseball

Baseball is a very successful sport at Georgia Tech. The baseball team makes its home at Russ Chandler Stadium and is one of the premier baseball teams in the NCAA. Georgia Tech baseball is notable for its high-scoring offenses and stout defenses.

The team's success is guided by head coach Danny Hall. Danny Hall has coached Tech for 13 seasons and has posted 579 wins over that span. He has led Georgia Tech to 12 years of NCAA regional play and its only three College World Series appearances in 1994, 2002, and 2006.

The baseball team, under Hall, has become an annual contender for the ACC regular season and tournament titles winning each four and three times respectively.

Some notable and more recent Georgia Tech baseball players are Kevin Brown, Nomar Garciaparra, Matt Murton, Jay Payton, Mark Teixeira, and Jason Varitek. [cite news|first=Carroll|last=Rogers|url=http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/braves/stories/2007/08/04/mlbinsider_0803.html|title=Teixeira's glow shines on Jackets too|work=Atlanta Journal-Constitution|date=2007-08-05|accessdate=2007-08-09] Jason Varitek's number 33 is the only number retired at Georgia Tech.

Golf

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets men's golf team is one of the most consistent Yellow Jacket teams. The men's golf team has made the NCAA Championship round nine straight years under twelfth-year head coach Bruce Heppler. In 2005, the program was rated by Golf Magazine as the #1 collegiate golf program in the country.

Some notable and more recent Georgia Tech golfers are David Duval and Stewart Cink. The most famous alumnus of the golf program however remains legendary amateur Bobby Jones, winner of the Grand Slam in 1930 and the founder of Augusta National.

Volleyball

Georgia Tech Women's Volleyball is one of the newer additions to Georgia Tech's athletic department, having only been started in the past twenty years. Despite the program's youth, it has been a dominant force in the ACC.

Bond Shymansky, in four seasons, has shaped Georgia Tech volleyball into a powerful, perennial ACC title contender and NCAA tournament qualifier. Tech has been in the NCAA tournament three out of the past four years and has set several school records for victories in a season, consecutive ACC victories, and consecutive victories.

Tennis

Georgia Tech has both men's and women's tennis teams. The women's tennis team became the first NCAA National Champion in Georgia Tech team sports history by winning 4-2 over UCLA in Athens, Georgia on May 22, 2007.cite news|url=http://www.cstv.com/sports/w-tennis/stories/052207aax.html|title=Georgia Tech Wins NCAA Women's Tennis Title|work=RamblinWreck.com|publisher=Georgia Tech Athletic Association|date=2007-05-22|accessdate=2007-05-23] [cite news|url=http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/news/story?id=2879724|title=Georgia Tech captures first NCAA women's tennis title|work=ESPNU|publisher=ESPN.com|date=2007-05-23|accessdate=2007-05-23] The 2007 National Championship team was coached by Bryan Shelton. Women's tennis has won the last three consecutive ACC titles as well.

The men's team has won six conference titles since 1918 (one in the SIAA, two in the SoConn, and three in the SEC). The men's tennis team is currently coached by Kenny Thorne. [cite news|url=http://ramblinwreck.cstv.com/sports/m-tennis/mtt/geot-m-tennis-mtt.html|title=Georgia Tech Men's Tennis Roster|work=ramblinwreck.com|publisher=Georgia Tech Athletic Association|date=|accessdate=2007-05-24]

Other sports

Georgia Tech also fields women's basketball, softball, men and women's track & field,cite news|first=Kyle|last=Thomason|url=http://nique.net/issues/2004-08-27/sports/4|title=Beyond the White and Gold: Olympic spotlights quickly dimmed after Games|work=The Technique|date=2004-08-27|accessdate=2007-05-17] men and women's swimming & diving, men and women's cross country, and assorted club sports.

The non-NCAA sanctioned club sports include but are not limited to crew, cricket, cycling, equestrian, fencing, field hockey, gymnastics, ice hockey, kayaking, lacrosse, paintball, roller hockey, rowing, rugby, sailing, skydiving, triathlon, ultimate, water polo, and wrestling.

Traditions

Mascots

"'. Buzz enters the football games at the sound of swarming yellow jackets and proceeds to do a flip on the fifty yard line GT logo. He then bull rushes the goal post and has been known to knock it out of alignment before football games. Buzz is also notorious for crowd surfing and general light-hearted trickery amongst Tech and rival fans.

The Ramblin' Wreck was the first official mascot of Georgia Tech. It is a 1930 Ford Model A Sports Coupe. The Wreck has led the football team onto the field every home game since 1961. The Wreck features a gold and white paint job, two gold flags emblazoned with the words "To Hell With Georgia" and "Give 'Em Hell Tech", and a white soft top. The Wreck is maintained by the Ramblin' Reck Club, a selective student leadership organization on campus.

Spirit organizations

The Ramblin' Reck Club is charged with upholding all school traditions and creating new traditions such as the SWARM. The SWARM is a 900 member strong spirit group seated along the north end zone or on the court at basketball games. This is the group that typically features body painting, organized chants, and general fanaticism.

The marching band that performs at halftime and after big plays during the football season is clad in all white and sits next to SWARM at football games providing a dichotomy of white and gold in the North End Zone. The band is also the primary student organization on campus that upholds the tradition of RAT caps, wherein band freshman wear the traditional yellow cap at all band events.

Fight songs and chants

The band plays the fight songs "Ramblin' Wreck from Georgia Tech" and "Up With the White and Gold" after every football score and between every basketball period. At the end of a rendition of either fight song, there is a series of drum beats followed by the cheer "Go Jackets" three times (each time followed by a second cheer of "bust their ass"), then a different drum beat and the cheer "Fight, Win, Drink, Get Naked!" The official cheer only includes "Fight, Win" but all present other than the band and cheerleaders will yell the extended version.

It is also tradition for the band to play the "When You Say Budweiser" after the third quarter of football and during the second-to-last official timeout of every basketball game. During the "Budweiser Song", all of the fans in the stadium alternate bending their knees and standing up straight. Other notable band songs are Michael Jackson's "Thriller" for half-time at the Thrillerdome, Ludacris' "Move Bitch" for large gains in football,Outkast's "Hey Ya!" during television timeouts and occasionally Zombie Nation's "Kernkraft 400".

Another popular chant is called the Good Word and it begins with asking, "What's the Good Word?" The response from all Tech faithful is, "To Hell With Georgia." The same question is asked three times and then the followup is asked, "How 'bout them dogs?" And everyone yells, "Piss on 'em."

See also

*See List of Prominent current and former athletes
*1916 Cumberland vs. Georgia Tech football game - The most lopsided college football game of all time
*Ramblin' Wreck from Georgia Tech - The fight song

References

External links

* [http://www.gatech.edu Official school website]
* [http://www.ramblinwreck.com Official athletics website]
* [http://www.gtband.net/mambo Official website of the Georgia Tech Bands]