GREENSBORO — Georgia Athletic Director Greg McGarity apologized to the athletic association’s board of directors on Thursday for the “embarrassment” of the Ludacris deal to perform during the G-Day Game last month.
“I do want to take this opportunity to apologize to our board for mistakes we made with certain aspects of the details of an entertainment agreement,” McGarity said during the AD’s report to the board. “Few things in my professional life have bothered me more than this situation. There are no reruns in life so we need to turn the page, learn from our mistakes and do everything we can to make sure errors of this nature do not reoccur.”
Luducris was paid $65,000 by UGA to provide pregame entertainment before the April 16th game at Sanford Stadium. Afterward, documents revealed that alcohol and a huge box of condoms was among the items requested by Ludacris’ management, and UGA provided them.
After the news circulated, McGarity and the university encountered a lot of criticism and scorn and had to respond to complaints from alumni and donors.
“Some more than others,” McGarity said after the hour-long meeting. “It varied as far as different age groups and all different types (of people). It was all over a map.”
Asked why he felt the mistakes were made, McGarity said: “There were a lot of things that came into play. We didn’t pay attention to details as well as we should have. We set out from day one to do everything we could to maximize the ability to draw 93,000 and that was part of it.
“We just didn’t pay enough attention to the details, and that’s my job regardless of who signs it.”
“Riders” are special requests that artists make in their contracts to perform. Among the 42 demands made by Ludacris’ management team were dinner (seasoned grilled chicken breast, plus sides), or $40 cash for 10 people, a dozen clean white towels, a loaf of whole grain bread, batteries, bottles of red and white wine, a bar of soap and a box of condoms (Trojan magnum brand).