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Post Scheduling from the Florida perspective

Wednesday April 25, 2012

Substitute Clemson for Miami, and this primer on Florida’s scheduling philosophy could serve very well to explain the factors that go into creating Georgia’s schedule.

I appreciate the credit given to some of Georgia’s scheduling initiatives, but the departure of Damon Evans might have signaled the end of a more aggressive scheduling approach. (Not that I disagree.) Georgia would prefer seven home games much more often than not, and Mark Richt was not thrilled by some of those treks across the Mississippi.

Year2 touches on the bottom line: Florida has used this scheduling philosophy en route to building some of the nation’s most successful and profitable football and athletics programs of the past two decades. If that’s not the purpose of a schedule, what is? There isn’t, as we heard our former director say of Georgia, a “branding” issue as the result of a hyper-regional football schedule; football and basketball national titles along with some dynamic players and coaches have more than taken care of that. A different approach to scheduling at Florida would be a fix for a problem that doesn’t exist.

One Response to 'Scheduling from the Florida perspective'

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  • Groo, the problem with the current scheduling philosophy is that it’s not compelling for students and fans alike. While I didn’t like the loss to Boise last September, we found out where we stood rather than beating up on a team like Buffalo. I understand we need as many home games as possible to fill the AA’s coffers to pay for equestrian and other sports. I also understand that the Athens business community relies heavily on the home football schedule. I have a feeling that we aren’t going to play Clemson again after the next home-and-home unless in a Chick-fil-a Bowl. That’s a shame for both sides. We’re going to get a steady diet of C-USA, lower tier Big (L)East, Sun Belt, and I-AA schools from this point forward.