JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The video attached to this story is from a previous, unrelated report.
This story was originally reported by the Florida Times-Union.
The University of Florida and the University of Georgia issued a joint statement on Monday that indicated the issue of whether their annual football game will be played in Jacksonville beyond the current contracted cycle.
The game will be played at TIAA Bank Field on Saturday (3:30 p.m., CBS) and in 2023, with an option for two more years. Each team is paid $3.3 million per year and Georgia receives travel assistance from the city of Jacksonville.
Negotiations for the next contract were due to begin in 2023.
"The annual game between our two universities is an important tradition," the statement began. "At this time, both programs are focused on our current seasons. Typically both schools begin conversations regarding future games in the series as the last contracted game nears. We anticipate following that timeline [for 2023]."
However, the statement then went on to lay out other possibilities that took into account conference expansion and the debate on whether to increase the number of SEC games from eight per year to nine.
"When those discussions take place, we will consider a multitude of factors, including tradition, finances, future SEC scheduling models with the addition of Texas and Oklahoma, and what is best for both schools' football programs overall."
This story was originally reported by the Florida Times-Union.
The Times-Union requested comments from Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin and Georgia athletic director Josh Brooks through those schools' athletic communications departments to elaborate on the statement.
Both school communications departments said there would be no additional comments beyond the joint statement.
Brooks, at a recent UGA athletic board meeting, said a conference schedule for 16 teams needs to get resolved before other issues.
The school's media relations emailed Brooks' comments to the Times-Union.
“One of the key dominoes in this whole equation is getting our conference schedule set. Then we can look at [Georgia-Florida]," Brooks said at the board meeting. "We still have time, so we’ll weigh it out. We’re not in a rush on it right now; we’re locked in through 2023 anyway. But we want to see where we wind up with the conference schedule before we really dig in and see where we’re headed there.”
A comment from Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry also has been requested.
The deadline to pick up the two-year option had been May 15 but it was extended to June of 2023.
The future of the game in Jacksonville has been debated since Georgia coach Kirby Smart began complaining at SEC Media Days in 2021 that it's a disadvantage because the two teams lose a home game every other year to entertain recruits.
Georgia-Florida is the only SEC game played at a neutral site.
Smart softened his stance last week and admitted the $3.3 million annually in ticket revenue split between the two teams, plus a $1.25 million guarantee (Georgia and Florida realize about $2.5 million for sold-out home SEC games, but make no money on away games) was an important factor.
The two teams will get nearly $3 million each this year and next year.
“When it comes down to it, there’s a very, very basic element of everything comes back to, number one money and number two, recruiting and getting good players,” Smart said. “I firmly believe that we’ll be able to sign better players by having it as a home-and-home because we’ll have more opportunities to get them to campus."
But he said he's put the issue out of his mind.
“I’m not fighting the fight for anything,” Smart said. “I’m worried about our team and us playing well and how we block and tackle of what plays we call it how we play special teams. That’s just not a priority for me, where that game is right now.”
This story was originally reported by the Florida Times-Union.