Georgia Institute of Technology

Sports

Not many schools of Tech's relatively small size (around 16,000) and high academic standing (top 5 among engineering schools, top 10 among public schools, top 40 among all schools) do as well or better in the "big three" traditional American sports. Eliminating schools which are not state-supported, there are only a handful.

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The school's sports teams are variously called the Yellow Jackets, the Ramblin' Wreck, and the Engineers, but the official nickname is Yellow Jackets. They participate in NCAA Division I-A, in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The school mascot is Buzz. The school's traditional football rival is UGA; the rivalry was, at one time, considered one of the fiercest in college football. The rivalry is commonly referred to as Clean Old Fashioned Hate.

Related Topics:
NCAA - Atlantic Coast Conference - Buzz - Football - UGA

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Tech's fight song "I'm a Ramblin' Wreck from Georgia Tech" is known worldwide. It was adapted from an old drinking song ("Son of a Gambolier"), and embellished with trumpet flourishes by Frank Roman. In 1959, then VP Richard Nixon and Nikita Khrushchev sang it together when they had their famous cold war confrontation in Moscow, to reduce the tension. Nixon didn't know any Russian songs, but Khrushchev knew that one American one. It was sung on the Ed Sullivan show. It was played in space. Gregory Peck sang it while strumming a ukulele in Man in a Grey Flannel Suit. John Wayne whistled it in The High and the Mighty. It is played after every GT score in a football game. If GT is winning big, the opponent fans get sick of hearing it. The Edwin H. Morris & Company (later acquired by Paul McCartney's company, MPL) obtained a copyright in 1931.

Related Topics:
Richard Nixon - Nikita Khrushchev - Ed Sullivan - Gregory Peck - Man in a Grey Flannel Suit - John Wayne - The High and the Mighty

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There are multiple explanations for where how the term "Ramblin' Wrecks" became associated with Georgia Tech. The most plausible is that many GT engineering grads found jobs in the jungles of South America in the early 1900s, where they concocted mechanical contraptions to tame the jungle and get around. The first Ramblin' Wreck of record was a 1914 Ford Model T owned by Floyd Field, Tech's first dean of men. In 1961, a gold and white Model A, known as the Ramblin' Wreck, led the team onto the field for the first time, and it has done so at home games ever since.{{ref|wreck}} The annual "Ramblin' Wreck" parade at Homecoming displays some really strange contraptions, judged for ingenuity.

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Tech has seventeen varsity sports. In men's sports, in addition to football, basketball, and baseball, there's golf, tennis, swimming & driving, track & field, and cross country. For women, there's basketball, softball, volleyball, tennis, swimming & diving, track & field, and cross-country. Fourteen of these sports finished in the top 25 during the 2004-5 school year.

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Football

Georgia Tech's football team plays at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Historic Grant Field, the oldest on campus stadium among Division I-A teams. Georgia Tech claims 4 national championships in football: 1917 under the legendary coach John Heisman; 1928 under William Alexander; 1952 under the famous Bobby Dodd; and, 1990 under Bobby Ross. The team is currently coached by Chan Gailey, who is best known for his stints with the Dallas Cowboys and the Pittsburgh Steelers. As of the end of the 2004 season, Tech is one of only eight Div. I-A teams which have played in at least eight straight bowl games. Only 5 schools have longer bowl streaks. Georgia Tech's winning percentage of .667 in bowl games is the best in college football among teams with 20 bowl appearances. The Yellow Jackets are 22-11 in bowl games as of 2004. During the Dodd glory years of the early 50s, Tech won six bowls in six years, back when there were few bowls. In 1955, it was the first school to win what were then considered the four major bowls: Rose, Orange, Sugar, and Cotton.

Related Topics:
Bobby Dodd Stadium - 1917 - John Heisman - 1928 - William Alexander - 1952 - Bobby Dodd - 1990 - Chan Gailey - Dallas Cowboys - Pittsburgh Steelers - Rose - Orange - Sugar - Cotton

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Basketball

Georgia Tech's men's basketball team plays at Alexander Memorial Coliseum. The team is currently coached by Paul Hewitt. The Yellow Jackets advanced to their first NCAA finals in 2004, losing to UConn. In 2005, the Jackets lost to the University of Louisville in the 2nd round of the NCAA Tournament. Tech has been a perennial top 25 team since the 1983-84 season.

Related Topics:
Alexander Memorial Coliseum - Paul Hewitt - 2004 - UConn - 2005 - University of Louisville - NCAA Tournament

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The 2005-2006 team, after losing rising senior Jarrett Jack to the NBA, features two upperclassmen and nationally ranked sophomore and freshmen recruiting classes.

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Bobby Cremins, the previous coach, led Georgia Tech to several NCAA basketball tournaments and finished with a 354-237 record. The Yellow Jackets reached the NCAA Final Four in 1990 under Cremins with his "Lethal Weapon 3" team featuring Brian Oliver, Dennis Scott, and Kenny Anderson. The basketball court at Georgia Tech was later named Cremins Court for Cremins' accomplishments.

Related Topics:
Bobby Cremins - Final Four

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Baseball

Georgia Tech's baseball team is currently coached by Danny Hall. The Yellow Jackets are frequently ranked in the Top 10 at the beginning of the season, and almost always finish in the Top 20. Tech has advanced to the NCAA playoffs in 19 of the past 20 years. Tech has been to the College World Series twice, in 1994 (when it lost the Championship game) and 2002. GT is second only to Stanford in players named to the USA Baseball National Team over the years. In 2005, Tech won the ACC Championship (regular season & tournament) and its regional, but lost it super-regional to the University of Tennessee. A new 3500-seat baseball stadium was built in 2002. The name of the old stadium, Russ Chandler Stadium, was retained, and it's still affectionately referred to as "the Rusty." There are always a number of Tech alum in "the bigs." Two of them were among the starters in the 2005 "All Star Game."

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Golf

Georgia Tech is consistently ranked near the top in golf. The success of several alumni on the pro circuit is testimony to the quality of GT players.

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Women's Sports

Tech's softball, volleyball, and tennis teams have improved dramatically in recent years. Individuals have excelled in track & field and swimming & diving.

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