Georgia-Florida to stay in Jacksonville two more years

The Georgia Bulldogs and Florida Gators football teams announced the programs have exercised the option to play their annual rivalry game at TIAA Bank Field during the 2024 and 2025 seasons.

“We are pleased with the decision to exercise the option that will keep the game in Jacksonville for 2024 and 2025,” J. Reid Parker Director of Athletics, University of Georgia, Josh Brooks said in a statement. “We look forward to discussions that I’m sure will continue over the next couple years exploring all the options for 2026 and beyond.

“We continue to be appreciative of the working relationship we have with the University of Florida and the city of Jacksonville.”

Florida Athletics Director Scott Stricklin added: “The city of Jacksonville has been an historic host for one of the great rivalry games in all of college football. We are excited to have the game in Jacksonville for another two seasons.”

The most recent agreement between the schools, which secured the matchup in Jacksonville through the 2023 season, included an option to extend the stay of “The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party” through the following two seasons as long as the schools notified the city of Jacksonville prior to June 30, 2023.

A staple October tradition, the Georgia-Florida game has been played in Jacksonville since 1933 with the exception of the 1994 and 1995 seasons during the construction of TIAA Bank Field.

The rivalry game turns the Golden Isles into a hotspot of activity during the week leading up to the game. More than 6,000 Georgia students and alumni flocked to Coast Guard Beach on St. Simons — also known as “Frat Beach” — this past October.

Before the option was exercised, there had been rumors of ditching Jacksonville as the location of the annual game. Schools are unable to host football recruits at off-campus games, which leaves both Georgia and Florida with one fewer home game to bring in recruits.

The Bulldogs and Gators will meet for the 102nd time on Oct. 28 in Jacksonville.