UGA president Jere Morehead offered a strong statement Thursday about the options available to the SEC in the midst of a chaotic period for college athletics.
Morehead threatened that the SEC could break off from the pack, go its own way, and write and enforce its own rules if a sensible structure isn’t put in place soon for issues related to eligibility, NIL and the transfer portal. Morehead also pushed Congress to bring forth legislation that could accomplish that task, specifically citing a bipartisan bill that’s gaining steam in the Senate as a similar bill appears to be stalling out in the House.
For some, Morehead’s comments might feel like little more than additional noise at a time in which every stakeholder within college athletics seems to have an opinion and most of them feel like circular logic spoken past their intended audiences.
However, as a UGA fan, I was proud to here from Morehead. His challenge felt like an attempt at real leadership at a time when it seems to be lacking.
The atmosphere around the sports we love has never been crazier with each new proposal seemingly more unhinged than the last.
Morehead simply reminded everyone the SEC isn’t obligated to agree to any of this, and that is an idea I’d love to see gain further traction.
Check out the rest of our coverage below.
Trivia time
When is the last time Georgia baseball scored at least five runs in an SEC Tournament game?
Answer is at the bottom of the newsletter.
Georgia baseball wins first SEC Tournament game since 2021, advances to semifinals
The pressure may be off No. 1 seed Georgia in the SEC Tournament, but the Bulldogs aren’t slowing down.
With a 5-3 win vs. No. 8 seed Mississippi State in the quarterfinals Thursday, they advance to the semifinals and will play the winner of No. 5 seed Florida-No. 4 seed Alabama on Saturday in Hoover.
“I tell people, I’ve obviously been a part of a lot of teams, this one loves to practice and compete … It’s really hard to tell these guys to come off the gas pedal, which is good,” Georgia coach Wes Johnson told the SEC Network after the win. “We don’t want them to. We want to keep playing.”
Georgia, which has never won the SEC Tournament, won the SEC regular season title this season for the first time since 2008. The Bulldogs don’t have much to prove this weekend — based on their resume entering the tournament, they seem likely to finish as a top 8 national seed and host a regional for the third year in a row.
But that doesn’t mean they don’t want to win and keep things rolling.
UGA athletics weekly schedule
Thursday, May 21
- Baseball vs. Mississippi State in the SEC Tournament: won 5-3
- Softball at Tennessee in the NCAA Super Regionals: lost 3-1
Friday, May 22
- Softball at Tennessee in the NCAA Super Regionals: 3 p.m.
Saturday, May 23
- Softball at Tennessee in the NCAA Super Regionals: 11 a.m. (if needed)
- Baseball vs. Florida in the SEC Tournament: 1 p.m.
Georgia AD Josh Brooks provides update on potential neutral site game against Florida State
Georgia athletic director Josh Brooks provided an update on where things stand with the future nonconference series against Florida State.
The two sides mutually agreed to cancel a home-and-home series set for the 2027 and 2028 seasons. However, both sides have expressed a desire to play a neutral-site nonconference game.
Brooks noted that continued conversations with Florida State have been great in terms of coming to a solution.
“The reality is when you go to nine conference games and (Georgia) Tech, the adding of that many games put us in a precarious situation with the number of home and homes we had scheduled,” Brooks said at Georgia’s spring athletic board meeting Thursday. “So instead of just eliminating those games altogether, we’re trying to find a way to keep as many of those on the schedule. And the simplest way to do that would be to move to a neutral site because otherwise we could have ended up in a situation where we may have only had five home games in certain years. That’s not acceptable.
“So we’re getting creative, working very well together.”
If the Florida State series had remained on the schedule for the 2027 season, the Bulldogs would’ve had only five home games for the year.
Florida State athletic director Mike Alford previously stated that the game would be played during the 2028 season and that seven sites were being considered for the game.
The Florida State series is not the first marquee nonconference series Georgia has called off of late. The Bulldogs have previously called off games against UCLA, NC State and Louisville.
Photo of the day
Quote of the day
Brooks in playing Power Four opponents:
“We have and we still continue to play more P4 opponents than the majority of schools in college athletics,” Brooks said.
With less depth than ever, how confident should Georgia football feel in its 2026 backups?
A common talking point about Georgia entering this upcoming season is how the program is not as flush with talent as it once was.
No program is, as the combination of NIL and the transfer portal has helped redistribute talent. Georgia still has to adapt to those rules, and find ways to build out a deep and talented football team.
As we saw last season, injuries happen. The Bulldogs lost outside linebacker Gabe Harris, center Drew Bobo and defensive back Joenel Aguero late in the season because of injuries. All of those played a part in Georgia’s 39-34 loss to Ole Miss in the College Football Playoff.
Georgia enters the 2026 season as one of the most talented teams in the sport. But how do the Bulldogs stack up beyond the usual 22 starters? Some positions are obviously stronger than others, thanks to recruiting and retaining top talent.
In the link below, we look at each position and assign it a rating of 1 to 5, with the higher score showing a greater confidence in what the backups at the position bring to the table.
Trivia answer
2019
