Game Day Enhancements
By Danny Bishop
FOOTBALL
In an effort to upgrade the in-game experience for fans attending games at Sanford Stadium, the UGA Athletic Association will provide enhanced video coverage and interactive capabilities with spectators during the 2012 football season.
The stadium’s 36-foot by 73-foot scoreboard in the West end zone will be utilized to provide expanded replay capabilities, with more angles including plays that are being officially reviewed. The changes are part of a Southeastern Conference-wide decision that was approved by the league’s Athletics Directors earlier this month following a recommendation prepared by the conference’s Working Group on Fan Experience.
During official reviews, the video board will be able to show multiple replays from the television network that is broadcasting the game. In previous years, the SEC had a standard one real-time replay policy for all plays in a game for all sports.
“The change in policy will allow our fans to see more of the action, including great plays and close calls,” SEC Commissioner Mike Slive said. “Fans in the stadium now can see many of the same views of a play seen by fans watching on television. This should add to the overall game experience for fans inside our stadiums.”
The scoreboard also will feature a “split screen” option during timeouts to show other games live or highlights from other contests.
From an interactive perspective, polls will be conducted via Twitter with real time updates, and selected tweets from spectators will be displayed on the video board.
“It is our goal to create the best possible in-game experience and game day experience for our loyal fans,” said Alan Thomas, UGA’s Associate Athletic Director for External Operations. “We will continue work towards that goal in both a game-by-game and season-long basis.”
Another alteration to enhance the atmosphere outside Sanford Stadium is the moving of the Tailgate Show radio broadcast from under the Sanford Drive bridge to the Tate Student Center Plaza adjacent to the UGA Bookstore. The Tailgate show airs three hours prior to kickoff on the Georgia Dawg Sports Network from IMG, which features more than 50 radio stations in Georgia, Florida and South Carolina.
“This space is a great gathering area and a highly visible location,” Thomas said.
The complete rundown of the radio network’s football-related broadcasts, including a new location for the pre- and post-game Game Day Live show for home games, is outlined below.
Dawgs Game Day with hosts Jeff Dantzler and Charlie McAlexander airs from the Georgia Center for Continuing Education for an hour, beginning four hours prior to kickoff. The show will air at the same time from Fuzzy’s Taco Shop in downtown Athens prior to road games.
AT&T Tailgate Show with hosts Neil Williamson, Eric Zeier, Loran Smith and Scott Howard airs from Tate Center Plaza for two and a half hours, starting three hours prior to kickoff. The show originates from the visiting team stadium for road games.
Countdown to Kickoff with hosts Scott Howard and Eric Zeier airs from the press box for the 30 minutes prior to kickoff.
Regions Bank Locker Room Report with host Chuck Dowdle in the Georgia locker room with head coach Mark Richt and Neil Williamson in the press box broadcast booth airs immediately following the game.
BB&T Dawg Talk with hosts Jeff Dantzler and Kevin Butler airs from the Georgia Center for Continuing Education for 1:45 beginning 30 minutes after the game concludes. The show will air at the same time from Fuzzy’s Taco Shop in downtown Athens following road games.
Dawg Brunch with hosts Jeff Dantzler airs live from the Hilltop Grille in Athens Sunday mornings from 10-noon.
AT&T Dawg Hotline with host Scott Howard and coach Mark Richt airs from 8-9 p.m. every Monday during the football season.
Hondo and the Dawg All Stars with host Neil “Hondo” Williamson and former lettermen Kevin Butler, Jeff Lewis and DJ Jones airs from 9-10 p.m. every Monday during the football season.