In addition to the hundreds of changes in today’s landscape of college athletics, it has become a common occurrence for sports to be moved to off-campus locations.
There are even cases of games being played in different countries, such as an annual college football game played in Ireland. There is also one college basketball tournament hosted in Mexico and two in the Bahamas.
College football has seen an increase in the number of off-campus games. One of the reasons for that is that they generate significant revenue. According to a Forbes article from 2022, the Chick-fil-A Kickoff, which is a series of college football games played in Atlanta during the opening weekend of the season, pays an average $5.9 million out to teams per game.
Florida and Georgia are moving their annual rivalry football game in 2026 and 2027 to Atlanta and Tampa. Reuters reported that both schools would receive $7.5 million in 2026. These games often come with corporate sponsorships, television deals and ticket sales. This benefits both the schools and the hosting cities.
In addition to the significant revenue opportunities available, neutral site and off-campus games allow for the growth of sports in non-traditional settings. In some cities and most countries, the times college teams participate in these events are the only times for people in those places to see that particular sport live.
This may sound good on the surface, but it contradicts what college sports have always been about. Tradition.
Tradition is deeply embedded in college sports. Long-established game day traditions like running through the smoke at a Miami football game and Florida State’s tradition of Chief Osceola planting the spear at midfield are what make college sports unique.
Another charm of college sports is the school’s connection to its students. Passionate student sections across the country are an integral part of the game-day atmosphere. Moving games off-campus eliminates that and creates a disconnect because students are less likely to attend.
It’s no secret that college sports are a business. Off-campus events bring in lots of revenue for the schools that participate. They make sense from a financial standpoint, but once the novelty begins to fade, they take away from the tailgates, traditions and student sections that act as the heart and soul of college sports.
