Playing to Win
By: By Scott Steinberg, Mgt 94, Photographs: Georgia Tech Athletics/Danny Karnik | Categories: Featured Stories
For the first time in six decades, Georgia Tech’s football team started 8-0. The Yellow Jackets are set to deliver another game-changing year. That’s no small feat, considering that the team averaged 47,694 in attendance at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field in 2025, connected with over 34 million viewers, and generated roughly $200 million just in advertising value. (They reached an audience equivalent to 45 billion, or roughly five times the Earth’s population, through earned media appearances alone.) That’s just the beginning for the Yellow Jackets and for one of college sports’ hottest brands, says Director of Athletics Ryan Alpert.
“The movement we’re seeing is bigger than athletics…it’s about continuing to drive awareness, interest, and recognition for the school, which continues to go from strength to strength,” Alpert says. “It all comes down to the support of our students and alumni, who’ve turned out in record numbers to show their support and help drive engagement. Our team practices and puts blood, sweat, and tears into the program year-round…coupled with the atmosphere, energy, and enthusiasm of our fans, it’s the difference that gives us an edge all season long.”
Check out these numbers to get a sense of just how much momentum continues to build at Tech.
Record Fan Attendance:
A whopping 286,161 fans attended Georgia Tech football’s six games at Bobby Dodd Stadium last season.
Sold-Out Games: The school also sold out back-to-back games at Bobby Dodd (Oct. 25 vs. Syracuse and Nov. 22 vs. Pitt) for the first time since 2015.
School Record for Student Attendance: Student attendance additionally hit an all-time high in 2025, with all 7,000 student season tickets sold, a jump of roughly 14% over the year before. What’s more, over 12,000 students attended the Homecoming game, setting a school record for single-game student attendance.
A standing-room-only crowd of 73,729 crowded into Mercedes-Benz Stadium to watch the home game against the University of Georgia. These types of figures all come down to the fans, who continue to show their support for the team with record turnouts, Director of Athletics Ryan Alpert says.
“I don’t think there’s anything more important in college sports and football than student engagement, which we continue to build on and have prioritized from day one,” he says. “I remember the Gardner-Webb game from the second week of last season. We had a rain delay, but 30 minutes later, when we got the go-ahead signal, 7,000 students piled back into the stadium in a thunderous show of excitement. And every week after that, they just continued to show up and lend their support. It creates a palpable sense of energy that the team feeds on and uses to build a winning edge.”
2026 Season Forecasts
Expect even more momentum and energy to build as the 2026 season prepares to start, Director of Athletics Ryan Alpert says. “When Coach Key originally took the job, both he and Georgia Tech were an unproven commodity,” he says. “Now, coming off three Bowl appearances and a record-breaking season, we’re delivering our fans real return on their investments of time, faith, and support. What the NFL does a great job of is having a 365-day brand campaign for their programs and teams. We want to do the same with our football team and comprehensive sports portfolio.”
Alpert observes that he and Tech leadership as a whole are looking to continue expanding public interest in Georgia Tech’s teams and brand on a national scale, and building on the school’s proven track record of success going forward. “This year, we’re really reestablishing and showing the country who Georgia Tech is, and who we can be.”
That said, the school and athletics program plan to keep social media outreach, alumni support, and fan engagement paramount in planning efforts.
“We love seeing alumni and community members continue to engage with us and cheer the team on. It’s one of the biggest drivers behind the team’s continuing advancement.”
