GREENSBORO — Georgia held its spring board meetings this week, putting a cap on the 2023-24 year while turning the page to the 2024-25 year.
Georgia approved a budget of $192.7 million, an increase from the $175.2 million budget for the 2024 fiscal year.
Following the board meeting, Georgia president Jere Morehead and athletic director Josh Brooks spoke with reporters over two days on a number of topics, be it the progress of various facilities to the future of the Georgia-Florida series in Jacksonville.
Below is a full transcript of what both Morehead and Brooks had to say.
On where UGA went to get ideas for the video board...
Brooks: “Yeah, it’s really just a look at the national landscape of different opportunities, and really there’s so many different ways people are doing this now, but it just felt so natural with that great wall space we had to put that to use. Really, it just kind of came together that way. Just really felt like it was just a natural fit for a use of that space.”
On where UGA went to get ideas for the video board...
Brooks: “Yeah, it’s really just a look at the national landscape of different opportunities, and really there’s so many different ways people are doing this now, but it just felt so natural with that great wall space we had to put that to use. Really, it just kind of came together that way. Just really felt like it was just a natural fit for a use of that space.”
Morehead on what the 32-minute executive session was about …
Morehead: “It’s about the landscape in college athletics and what you all have been reporting about. So, I wanted to give the board an update on that topic since we ultimately will be affected by those developments.”
Fontenot case not being attached to the rest …
Morehead: “I’m not sure how that really impacts what we’re doing but I’ll get a briefing on it by our commissioner I’m sure today. But I don’t think that will have a direct impact on us.”
How might settlement affect how UGA athletics operates?
Morehead: “Well, we’ve got to be a little cautious because nothing’s been settled yet. We’re still going through a very detailed and slow process that is likely to go on for several mpnths. I think I’m going to defer to Commissioner Sankey on making any public statements related to these settlement negotiations. I don’t when he’ll comment but I’d rather him comment on the litigation.”
How did college athletics and the NCAA get here?
Morehead: “The challenge that we’ve had is we have not been successful in litigation, particularly in front of this particular judge in California. I trust the collective judgment of individiuals like Commissioner Sankey and (NCAA) president Charlie Baker at the NCAA and others that have been guiding us on where we need to go at this point.”
On other ways to increase revenue aside from ticket sales...
Brooks: “You’ve got to pull every lever, right? It’s just like you with your own personal finances. We’re going to try to find ways to grow revenue, whether it’s through our multimedia rights partner, whether it’s some future revenue gains through TV contracts with the CFP. I think looking at opportunities with ticket prices are a way, but also we’ve got to be good stewards of our money, right? So we’ve got to find efficiencies and make sure we operate in the most efficient manner possible. That’s incumbent upon us. You can’t always just think the answer to everything is just generate more revenue. You’ve got to look at yourself and say, ‘Where can we be more efficient while still providing a first-class experience for our student-athletes?’ That may be cuts to how staff operates or things like that as well.”
On if Josh anticipates asking for a possible ticket price increase in the fall...
Brooks: “Potentially, but there’s still more work to be done right now. I want to make sure before we do anything — if you’ve noticed the way we operate, we operate as we don’t like to just do things on a whim. We like to be very studied and measured before we do it. We’ve still got some work to do to measure that, and we’ll make sure we have the right plan that we think is fair and equitable.”
On the facility arm’s race likely slowing down in this new era...
Brooks: “Yeah, I think that’s been a very common statement from a lot of athletic departments that the days of building, building, building are going to slow down. I do anticipate that as revenues get shifted. That’s a very good possibility. That’s why I’m glad we were able to get so much done these last few years and now to get us caught up to where we’re in a great position facility-wise. But I do anticipate that the era of building will slow down.”
On the video board...
Brooks: “It wasn’t just about making it the biggest. That organically happened. It was really about using and utilizing that space. We would like to have started earlier but the video board is going to require some HVAC components, some cooling. So we had to take a little bit more time to plan it. So the construction of that will begin next year, next spring.”
Jere: “And there’s still some planning to be done.”
If there is a funding request for the video board...
Brooks: “Yeah, that’s in the works right now.”
Morehead: “Because we haven’t finalized everything.”
On an update on the UCLA series...
Brooks: “Not yet. We’re still working through it. I would hope to have an update on that soon.”
On the Mike White and making the NCAA Tournament...
Brooks: “Everyone has a different approach and how they focus each day. I like to focus on just getting better each day. You’ve always got goals. I’ve got goals to win championships in every sport but you’ve got to be realistic in thinking about what you can control today. Today, on this day let’s get better today and then the results will come. So I do like that process of just focusing on getting better each day.”
On possibly honoring student-athletes with statues...
Brooks: “That is not really on the front burner right now for me. Got so many other things we’re focused on. I get it. I understand it and appreciate you for that, it’s just not on the front burner for me right now.”
On how he would assess how Mike White has done...
Brooks: “I think he’s done a tremendous job of building. You have to think where we were when he got here. You can look at all the data from KenPom, to NET rankings to where we were when he got here, where we were after last year, where we were after this year. We just want to see continued growth. I think we’re all very excited with the additions from the portal, with the additions from high school kids. I feel we have a very talented roster and now it’s just time to go to work and get ready for next year.”
On Stegeman Coliseum, its standing...
Brooks: “First of all, I love Stegeman. I think it’s got a lot of good parts to it. The cost of building a new arena in today’s dollars would be astronomical. It wouldn’t be a good use of funding. For a lot less, a fraction, we can keep doing what we’ve been doing with renovation. The amount we’ve put into it is nowhere near what it could take to build a new arena of that size. Look, I’ve talked to peers and coaches and ADs who come into Stegeman and go, ‘This place looks amazing.’ I think this next evolution with the video board and the lights and the sound is going to make it one of the premier facilities in the country. I think it’s a smart use of funds. I love the location. I’m really excited about the future of Stegeman.”
On corporate naming for venues as way to raise revenue...
Brooks: “I think the Weiszer... we can get you an LLC. It doesn’t have to be corporate.. We’ll even let you and Chip go in on it together. The Chip-Marc, Marc-Chip.”
Morehead: “If you’ve got a prospect, please let us know.”
On hosting a regional in year one of Wes Johnson...
Brooks: “I’m an optimistic person and always have those goals, but you want to be realistic when your coach is in your first year. Really it’s a testament to the work he and his staff have done to transform the roster and get the young men to believe. The development they’ve done this year, this is exciting to be in this conversation. We haven’t hosted a regional since 2019, so to be in that situation where we’re debating we’re a top 8 seed or not is a fun place to be. I’m excited to see how it plays out and excited to be hosting regionals next weekend.”
On the NCAA statement, his response...
Morehead: “Well, you saw the statement that was put out by the NCAA president and the commissioners of the power conferences. I really don’t have anything to add to that except that we’ll certainly be in discussions about all those issues next week at the SEC meetings.”
On rainy-day reserves, if this is this the rainy day...
Jere: “You may have heard Ryan (Nesbit) point it out, some of our bond requirements require us to keep ‘rainy day funds.’ We’re always going to be in compliance with those bond requirements, we’re not going to violate those. But I think we’re in good shape. We’ll manage it.”
Josh: “I feel good about the future of where we’re headed. Don’t forget, that money in reserves, the draw off of that helps our operating budget. In some degrees, it’s always raining, but we’re ready for it. Ready, like I said yesterday, to focus on growing revenues and being more efficient in the way we operate.”
On the House v. NCAA settlement...
Brooks: “I think there are a ton of issues we have to work through and that’s going to be something that get worked out over the next few months. A lot of topics and we’re going to try to take this and make the best of it. We know where we are at with this piece and now the details of what’s moving forward is what we are going to spend a lot of time working.
On how much talk of a 9-game schedule...
Brooks: “I don’t know. I don’t know how much time we’ll have. That will be interesting to see if we do.”
Morehead: “I suspect this topic (House v. NCAA) will dominate the meetings.”
On if he’s contemplated how he’ll distribute the settlement payout...
Josh: “I tell them don’t read anything you see in the media. Wait ‘til you hear it from us. Because there’s going to be a lot of speculation. I’m sure you’ve seen a ton of speculation. These things are all going to be worked out. So don’t get ahead of yourself, don’t worry, one way or another, there’s a lot of work to be done.
On the possibility of scholarship restrictions...
Brooks: “I feel that is something we’ll know more details about. The potential of not having scholarship limits, of putting in roster caps. These are all the many, many details that will be worked out over the next few months. To speculate on how any of that is going to... it’s too early to get into the weeds of any of that.”
On how the Jaguars’ stadium construction impact the future of Georgia-Florida...
Brooks: “Well, for the immediate we’ve got to look at other options, whether that’s home-and-home, whether it’s neutral sites. So we’re looking. We’re working with Florida to look at the options for those two years and then beyond that excited, once that construction’s complete, we’re excited to go back there and see the potential and opportunities to make it a really special game with what they’re talking about doing there [with the stadium]. It looks like it’s going to be an amazing project.”
On fundraising and if the upcoming direct payment to athletes was part of pitches to donors...
Brooks: “No, it’s just standard operating procedure. And like we said yesterday in the meeting, a lot of that was due to leveraging a new premium space and the excitement around that is where a lot of that drive came from. And then the bottom line is Ford [Williams] and his staff do a phenomenal job of stewarding donors to where they’re wanting to renew being in it. So as those five-year cycles in McGill come up, people renew them because they’re having a great experience. It wasn’t born out of that. It was born out of our normal operating procedure.”
If Jacksonville is involved in the conversations with Georgia and Florida during the two years where construction is going on...
Brooks: “Uh, no. This is something that Florida and Georgia, we lead that on our own. We’ll talk to them about what’s available, but it’s something where we drive that ship.”
On how far along UGA is with engaging with neutral sites between Georgia and Florida...
Josh: “You’ll find out soon enough
