Neutral Site Football Games Back in Vogue?

Over the past 2-3 weeks there have been two interesting developments in football scheduling. First off, the Arkansas Razorbacks and Texas A&M Aggies look set to play a 6-8 year series in Dallas at Jerry Jones' new facility. The teams will each get $5 million per year for the game. The ARK vs. TAMU series will begin as early as 2009.

Last week, the Atlanta Sports Council announced that Alabama and Clemson will open the 2008 season at the Georgia Dome in a game to be sponsored by the Chick-Fil-A. The game appears to be part of an effort by the city to schedule a yearly season opener at the Dome between SEC and ACC opponents. Rumored payout for the Atlanta game, which will be televised by ABC or ESPN at 8:00 pm EST, is in the $2 million neighborhood.

As you know, last year FSU and Bama played in Jacksonville while Kansas and Missouri agreed to play in Kansas City for two years as part of their rivalry. Other teams considering or booking neutral site games include:

Notre Dame:
2009 vs. Washington State in San Antonio
2011 vs. TBD in Orlando
2012 vs. Baylor in Dallas (Tentative)
2014 vs. TBD in Orlando

Missouri:
2007-2010 vs. Illinois in St. Louis
2007-2008 vs. Kansas in Kansas City

FSU:
2008 vs. Colorado in Jacksonville (rumor)
2012 vs. TBD in Orlando
2014 vs. TBD in Orlando

The Cocktail Party, Red River Shootout and Colorado vs. CSU (in Denver) looked to be the dying breed of neutral site games. But other schools are finally seeing the merit to playing what amounts to an in season bowl game.

In the past, these games were very common. Georgia and Auburn played in Columbus from 1916-1958. Mississippi State and Ole Miss tangled in Jackson from 1973-1990, and Alabama played Auburn in Birmingham from 1904-1988 (well...when they were speaking to each other they played there).

I personally think that neutral site games are good for college football in general. Although, the series at the Georgia Dome is specifically bad for UGA in that it further opens the city of Atlanta up to other programs recruiting in our backyard. Something that annoys Coach Richt.

Hopefully, our athletic department will take note of the trend and keep the Florida game in Jacksonville. If Bama playing in Atlanta helps their recruiting in Georgia, then wouldn't UGA playing in Jacksonville help our recruiting in Florida?

See Also
-- GT will feel the Clemson/Bama series the most - GTP

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