Athletic Association Records (UA300)

Abstract

The Athletic Association is an independent, non-profit organization that manages Georgia Tech's sports programs. Materials present in this collection include coaching contracts, correspondence between university Presidents on the subject of college athletics, souvenir programs (primarily of University of Georgia and Georgia Tech football games), and newspaper clippings.

Administrative History of the Georgia Tech Athletic Association

The Georgia Tech Athletic Association is a non-profit corporation responsible for overseeing the university’s participation in intercollegiate sports. It is governed by a Board of Trustees made of three alumni, three students, seven faculty members, with the head of the institution presiding over the group. The Athletic Association was started in January of 1901 to raise money for the university’s fledgling sports program. Its first goal was to reinstate the Georgia Tech football team, which had been disbanded the previous year after a winless 1900 season. When the group was incorporated in 1902, its first fundraising activity was to sell 400 shares of five dollar stock. Since then, the Athletic Association has been responsible for raising funds for all of Georgia Tech’s athletic teams and provides and maintains the facilities for its athletic programs.

Description

The administrative files in this collection contain documents created by the Athletic Association for the purpose of arranging athletic competitions between Georgia Tech and other educational institutions. These materials include the Annual Director's reports, proceedings from Board of Trustee meetings, and correspondence. The contracts include contracts between Georgia Tech and its coaching staff from 1904 to 1927; of particular interest are the contracts of John W. Heisman, for whom the Heisman trophy is named. The hearings contain the proceedings of the 1908 Southeastern Intercollegiate Athletic Association's investigation into Georgia Tech's recruitment policies. The charges, which were brought by University of Georgia alumni, were eventually determined to be groundless. A group of materials on individual sports consists of manuscripts relating to Georgia Tech's football program as well as materials about athletic teams other than football. Also included in this collection are a series of programs for unique sporting events and for regularly scheduled games, particularly between the University of Georgia and Georgia Tech. The last series contains larger items from other series in the collection, including large souvenir programs and oversized contract forms. Also included in this series is a single blueprint of a 1927 planned remodelling of the west stands in Grant Field.