Introducing the ACC: Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Football's Calvin Johnson and basketball's Chris Bosh among Tech's recent star athletes

Calvin Johnson / Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

After more than a century as a member of the Pac-12 Conference, Cal has moved into the Atlantic Coast Conference. To introduce Cal fans to the Bears’ new conference rivals, we will profile each of the other ACC schools.  Today: Georgie Tech:

GEORGIA TECH

NICKNAME: Yellow Jackets (sometimes referred to as the Ramblin’ Wreck)

MASCOT: Buzz

LOCATION: Atlanta, GA (pop. 532,000)

MILES FROM BERKELEY: 2,465 miles

MAJOR AIRPORT: Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport

YEAR FOUNDED: 1885. Originally named Georgia School of Technology, the school was given its current formal name of Georgia Institute of Technology in 1948.

ENROLLMENT: 17,379 undergraduates

TUITION: $11,764 in-state; $32,876 out-of-state

CAMPUS LANDMARK: Tech Tower (Tech Tower was completed in 1888 and was officially renamed Lettie Pate Whitehead Evans Administration Building in 1998, although the building is still referred to as Tech Tower. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. Lighted signs spelling "TECH" hang on each of the four sides of the seven-story central tower,)

MOST POPULAR SPORTS BARS/RESTAURANTS: Culinary Dropout, Wicked Wolf, McCrary’s Tavern Midtown, STATS Brewpub

FAMOUS NON-ATHLETE ALUMNI: 39th U.S. President Jimmy Carter (attended during 1942-43 school year); comedian Jeff Foxworthy (left before graduating); actor Randolph Scott (attended but did not graduate); actor Pernell Roberts (attended but did not graduate); Waffle House CEO Joe Rogers Jr., ’68; former Panama president Juan Carlos Varela ’85; 

ATHLETIC WEBSITE: ramblingwreck.com 

Haynes King tries to elude Florida State defender. / Tom Maher/INPHO via USA TODAY Sports

FOOTBALL

COACH: Brent Key (13-10 in 2-plus seasons)

STADIUM: Bobby Dodd Stadium (55,000)

CAL ON THE SCHEDULE: Georgia Tech hosts Cal on an undetermined date in 2027. Tech visits Berkeley in 2028

2023 RECORD: 7-6, 5-3/tied 4th in the ACC

2024 RECORD: 1-0, 1-0/ACC (beat No. 10 Florida State 24-21 in Dublin, Ireland)

BEST PLAYER ON THE 2024 TEAM: Quarterback Haynes King (Passed for 146 yards and rushed for 54 in Tech’s win over Florida State. A transfer from Texas A&M two years ago, King passed for 2,842 yards and 27 TDs and rushed for 737 yards and 10 more scores in 2023)

MOST RECENT BOWL APPEARANCE: 2023 (beat UCF 30-17 in the Gasparilla Bowl)

BOWL HISTORY: 46 appearances (26-20)

MOST RECENT CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP: 2009 (Georgia Tech beat Clemson in the 2009 ACC championship game but the NCAA later vacated the win)

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS: 1990 (The Yellow Jackets went 11-0-1, including a 13-13 tie with North Carolina, a 41-38 road win over No. 1 Virginia and a 45-21 rout of Nebraska in the Citrus Bowl to finish No. 1 in the Coaches Poll. They finished No. 2 in the AP poll)

BEST ALL-TIME PLAYER: WR Calvin Johnson (Caught 731 passes for 11,619 yards and 83 touchdowns in nine NFL seasons, earning seven Pro Bowl nods. He was first-team All-Pro three times. Johnson was ACC Player of the Year, a consensus All-American and the Biletnikoff Award winner at Georgia Tech in 2006)

ALSO: Bill Curry, Pat Swilling, Billy Shaw

BEST ALL-TIME COACH: Bobby Dodd (165-64-8 from 1945-66, including 13 bowl games. His teams won the first eight of those, three of them Sugar Bowls, two Orange Bowls and one Cotton Bowl)

ALSO: William Alexander, John Heisman, Paul Johnson

ALL-TIME RECORD vs. CAL: 3-4 (Cal won 34-22 in 1978)

Chris Bosh / Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

MEN’S BASKETBALL

COACH: Damon Stoudamire (14-18 in 1 season)

ARENA: McCamish Pavilion (8,600)

2023-24 RECORD: 14-18, 7-13/tied 12th place in ACC 

BEST PLAYER ON 2024-25 TEAM: Baye Ndongo (A 6-9 sophomore forward from Senegal averaged 12.4 points and a team-best 8.2 rebounds last season, earning ACC All-Rookie honors. Scored 21 points vs. Duke)

MOST RECENT NCAA TOURNAMENT APPEARANCE: 2021 (lost to Loyola-IL 71-60 in first round)

MOST RECENT CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP: Georgia Tech won the 1996 ACC regular-season championship and the 2021 ACC tournament title

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY: Georgia Tech has twice reached the Final Four, finishing national runner-up in 2004 when it lost 82-73 to UConn in the title game

BEST ALL-TIME PLAYER: Chris Bosh (Played just one season in college, averaging 15.6 points, 9.0 rebounds and shooting 48 percent from the 3-point arc in 2002-23 before being taken No. 4 overall in the 2003 NBA draft.  In 13 NBA seasons, he averaged 19.2 points and 8.5 rebounds and was an 11-time All-Star. He helped the Miami Heat win the 2013 NBA title and in 2021 became Georgia Tech’s only played inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame)

ALSO: John Salley, Mark Price, Dennis Scott, Stephon Marbury, Rich Yunkus, Tom Hammonds

BEST ALL-TIME COACH: Bobby Cremins (Coached 19 seasons through 2000, winning a program-record 354 games and two regular-season ACC titles, earning 10 NCAA tournament bids, including a Final Four in 1990)

ALSO: Whack Hyder, Paul Hewitt

ALL-TIME RECORD vs. CAL (most recent meeting): 0-3 (Cal won 68-57 in 2012-13)

Nell Fortner / Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL 

COACH: Nell Fortner (88-64 in 5 years, including two NCAA tournament bids)

ARENA: McCamish Pavilion (8,600)

2023-24 RECORD: 17-16, 7-11/tied 10th in ACC

BEST PLAYER ON 2024-25 TEAM: Junior guard Tonie Morgan (Led the team with 15.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 1.7 steals last season to earn second-team All-ACC honors)

MOST RECENT NCAA TOURNAMENT APPEARANCE: 2022 (lost to Kansas 77-58 in the first round)

MOST RECENT CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP: None

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY: Georgia Tech has twice advanced to the NCAA regional semifinal, most recently in 2021

BEST ALL-TIME PLAYER: Tyaunna Marshall (Tech’s career scoring leader with 2,129 points from 2011-14, Marshall averaged at least 13.6 points for four straight seasons and twice was named honorable mention All-American)

ALSO: Marielle Walker, Alex Montgomery, Sasha Goodlett, Kisha Ford

BEST ALL-TIME COACH: MaChelle Joseph (Won a program-record 311 games from 2004-19, including seven NCAA tournament bids)

ALSO: Agnus Berenato

ALL-TIME RECORD VS. CAL (most recent meeting): 0-0

Angelo Taylor / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

MISCELLANEOUS

VARSITY SPORTS (17): Baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, football, men’s golf, softball, men’s and women’s swimming & diving, men’s and women’s tennis, men’s and women’s indoor and outdoor track and field, women’s volleyball

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS (2): Football (1990 voted No. 1 in coaches poll), women’s tennis (2007)

BEST ALL-TIME NON FOOTBALL/BASKETBALL ATHLETE: Golfer Bobby Jones (Earned his BS in mechanical engineering in 1922; captured the U.S. Amateur five times, the U.S. Open four times and the Open Championship three times. Founded Augusta National Golf Club and The Masters tournament, and is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame)

ALSO: Stewart Cink, Nomar Garciaparra, 

MOST FAMOUS OLYMPIAN: Angelo Taylor (Gold medalist in the 400 hurdles at the 2000 and 2008 Games)

ALSO: Antonio McKay, Derek Mills, Derrick Adkins, Ed Hamm