UGA looks to increase national exposure
Athens — When Georgia’s football team travels to Arizona State this week, it’ll be the longest trip the Bulldogs have taken for a regular-season game since Dwight Eisenhower was president.
And it’ll be the first time the Dogs have left the Southeast for a regular-season game since Lyndon Johnson was in the White House.
Aside from bowls, the trip to Tempe, Ariz., will be Georgia’s longest since a 1960 excursion to Southern Cal and first outside the Southeast since 1965 and 1967 visits to Michigan and Houston, respectively.
In the decades since, no major college football team has stayed closer to home than the Bulldogs.
That changes this week.
“I always had that concern about us not getting outside our region,” Georgia athletics director Damon Evans said. “I’ve had a thought of us becoming more a nationally known program. One of the best ways to do that is to take your biggest or most recognized sport across the country.
“I want to grow our brand,” Evans added. “I think getting across this great country of ours and showing people what the Georgia Bulldogs are about will help with our brand recognition. I think it also will help with our recruiting.”
ajc.com
9/15/08
