Georgia football hosted its annual spring game on April 17 after missing last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Sanford Stadium capacity was reduced down to 20%, and there wasn’t tailgating around town. Still, after a year full of unknowns and countless hurdles, the Bulldogs took the field for the heralded spring scrimmage.

 Why It’s Newsworthy: It’s been two years since Georgia’s last G-Day spring game. While there are still COVID-19 restrictions in place, Athens celebrated the birth of a new football season with a team that’s giving back to the local community on and off the field.  

 

The game was a success in more ways than one. Yes, Georgia fans got a football Saturday in Athens, but what Georgia football did off the field made the real impact. As the latest social justice project within the team’s Dawgs for Pups initiative, UGA football donated $100,000 of G-Day proceeds to the Downtown Academy, an Athens-Clarke County school. 

To give you a taste of what the game means for the community, coaches and players, we have put together a special G-Day podcast. The show features stories from some of the most influential Dawgs in UGA history, including former star quarterback Aaron Murray and former SEC champion coach Mark Richt.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/0EeUZi5N5RYnnz40eW72GE?si=Ct9wJ24LREuOXc-TwYx76Q

J.C. Shelton is a senior majoring in journalism and a member of the Carmical Sports Media Institute in the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia.