Dear Rude,
Love all of your shows on 680. I wanted to provide some insight on Mike Bobinski and Georgia Tech. It’s easy to throw in negative things about someone as they are headed out the door and I appreciate 680 giving the positive side as well.
I am not a personal friend with Mike Bobinski, but have had multiple interactions with him. I have always found him to be very engaged and as a person trying his best with the resources he had. I have not heard anyone “in the know” who has said anything negative about Mike and I have appreciated all of his hard work.
Just last week I was emailing with Mike back and forth discussing a topic to improve the athletic program, so I know he was working for Georgia Tech up until he made his decision to leave.
I know it’s hard for people to understand why Georgia Tech does not have the same resources as other Power Five Football schools, but if you look at the numbers and some other things it’s becomes more clear.
There are approximately 125,000 living Georgia Tech alumni many of which move out of state. The student population is only 15,000 (the highest it’s ever been). In addition, due to the type of students that attend Georgia Tech, the interest in athletics is not as high as it is at other schools. All of this leads to less support and funding for athletics.
Conversely, the current student population at the University of Georgia is 36,000. I estimate that the current number of living UGA alumni is 300,000 with the majority still living in close proximity to Georgia and a much higher percentage caring about athletics, football in particular. In addition, Georgia residents that are not alumni of either school are typically University of Georgia football fans. These things tend to provide more support and funding for athletics.
Duke has a similar student body make up to Georgia Tech and the football team has performed much better recently under the current coaching staff. However, it’s fan support for football is not anything close to what Georgia Tech receives.
My bottom line is that Georgia Tech doesn’t have as many football fans as a lot of the Power Five schools, but the fans we have are very passionate and supportive. Thanks to Mike Bobinski for the hard work he put in at Georgia Tech and we wish him well.
Tech Fan
