Highest-ranked Week One matchup represents 17th sellout for Aflac Kickoff Game.
ATLANTA (Aug. 22, 2024) – Officials today announced the highly anticipated Aflac Kickoff Game matchup between No. 14 Clemson and No. 1 Georgia has sold out. The highest-ranked game of Week One will kick off at noon ET on Saturday, Aug. 31 in Mercedes-Benz Stadium and will be nationally televised on ABC.
With this year’s sell out, the Aflac Kickoff Game has now sold out 17 of 21 games since its creation in 2008.
“We’re set to have the best matchup of opening weekend between two of the most successful programs of the last decade,” said Gary Stokan, Peach Bowl, Inc. CEO and president. “Add in two of the most passionate fan bases in college football and it’s the perfect formula to potentially have a record-breaking crowd to kick off the season in Mercedes-Benz Stadium.”
The Clemson vs. Georgia Aflac Kickoff Game will feature two of the nation’s elite programs who have accounted for four of the last eight College Football Playoff National Championships. It also represents the only regular season matchup of the 2024 season between two head coaches who have won multiple national titles.
The Aflac Kickoff Game will mark the 66th meeting between Clemson and Georgia dating back to 1897. The Bulldogs currently lead the series with a 43-18-4 all-time record against the Tigers, including the recent 10-3 victory in their 2021 season opener.
Clemson will appear in the Aflac Kickoff Game for the fourth time in the program’s history, having won its last two appearances 41-10 over Georgia Tech in 2022 and 26-19 against Auburn in 2012.
Georgia is also making its fourth appearance in the Aflac Kickoff Game. The Bulldogs most recently defeated Oregon 49-3 to open the 2022 season and North Carolina 33-24 in Kirby Smart’s first victory as a head coach in 2016.
As the nation’s longest-running neutral-site season opener, the Aflac Kickoff Game has drawn an all-time attendance of more than 1.3 million and has averaged 65,020 fans per game, which is higher than the average attendance of 38 bowl games last year. The Aflac Kickoff Games also have a strong television viewership year-after-year, with more than 100.4 million viewers tuning in since 2008.
The teams will battle for The Old Leather Helmet Trophy, one of college football’s rivalry-style icons. Traditionally, winners of The Old Leather Helmet don the helmet on the field after the game, starting with the head coach and then rotating from player to player as the team celebrates its victory.
Peach Bowl, Inc. and Aflac are also teaming up as part of the Aflac Kickoff Game to raise a projected $400,000 for their “Kickoff for a Cause” initiative to give back to the communities they serve.
Secondary Market Tickets Through Ticketmaster
Fans interested in locating tickets in the secondary ticket market are encouraged to visit Ticketmaster.com, home to the Aflac Kickoff Game’s official resale ticket exchange. It is common for secondary market prices to exceed face value.
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About Peach Bowl, Inc.:
Peach Bowl, Inc. is a 501(c)3 organization that operates the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, the Aflac Kickoff Game, the Southern Company Peach Bowl Challenge charity golf tournament, and manages and operates The Dodd Trophy Presented by PNC Bank national coach of the year award. It is the ninth-oldest bowl game in the country and is recognized as college football’s most charitable bowl organization, having donated more than $63.3 million to organizations in need since 2002.
Peach Bowl, Inc Events:
Our Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl is one of the New Year’s Six bowls selected to host the College Football Playoff including the CFP Quarterfinal in 2025 and the CFP Semifinal in 2026. Over its 56 years, the game has drawn 3.3 million fans in attendance, a total television audience of 239.8 million viewers on ESPN, delivered $245.1 million in team payouts, and has created $889.77 million in direct economic impact and $51.85 million in tax revenue for Atlanta and Georgia.
Our Aflac Kickoff Game is the nation’s longest-running kickoff game and has reshaped the opening weekend in college football. With over 20 games since 2008, the game has regularly hosted the nation’s top teams and has drawn 1.3 million fans, 100.4 million television viewers, distributed $117.7 million in team payouts and created an additional $564.8 million in economic impact and $39.2 million in tax revenue for Atlanta and Georgia.
The Southern Company Peach Bowl Challenge is the nation’s premier charity golf tournament featuring top current and former college football coaches. Hosted at the beautiful Reynolds Lake Oconee resort outside Atlanta each spring, the event has generated $9.7 million for the various foundations and charities supported by its coaches.
The Dodd Trophy Presented by PNC Bank is college football’s most coveted national coaching award. Named for legendary Georgia Tech coach Bobby Dodd, The Dodd Trophy annually honors the FBS football coach whose program represents three pillars of success: scholarship, leadership and integrity.
ABOUT AFLAC INCORPORATED
Aflac Incorporated (NYSE: AFL), a Fortune 500 company, has helped provide financial protection and peace of mind for more than 68 years to millions of policyholders and customers through its subsidiaries in the U.S. and Japan. In the U.S., Aflac is the No. 1 provider of supplemental health insurance products.1 In Japan, Aflac Life Insurance Japan is the leading provider of cancer and medical insurance policies in terms of policies force. The company takes pride in being there for its policyholders when they need us most, as well as being included in the World’s Most Ethical Companies by Ethisphere for 18 consecutive years (2024), Fortune’s World’s Most Admired Companies for 23 years (2024) and Bloomberg’s Gender-Equality Index for the fourth consecutive year. In addition, the company became a signatory of the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) in 2021 and has been included in the Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index (2023) for 10 years. To find out how to get help with expenses health insurance doesn’t cover, get to know us at aflac.com or aflac.com/espanol. Investors may learn more about Aflac Incorporated and its commitment to corporate social responsibility and sustainability at investors.aflac.com under “Sustainability.”
