Athletics and Popular Extracurriculars at Georgia Tech
Any college student will tell you that attending college is about much more than just classes and majors.
Any college student will tell you that attending college is about much more than just classes and majors.
While academic, the college lifestyle is also very social and provides an opportunity for students to meet peers from diverse backgrounds with different interests. Many students find that these interactions are as beneficial as their coursework in understanding the world better.
College athletics and student organizations provide some of the best opportunities for social involvement outside the classroom. For new and returning Georgia Institute of Technology students interested in learning more about Georgia Tech sports, social organizations, and clubs on campus, check out our overview below of athletics and popular extracurriculars at Georgia Tech.
Football is the most popular sport at Georgia Tech.
It has been over 30 years since the Yellow Jackets football team last won a national championship. Still, the team remains competitive in their conference and division, having most recently played in division championships in 2012 and 2014. The men’s basketball team is also famous at Georgia Tech and is arguably more competitive than the football team on the national stage. The Yellow Jackets basketball team made it to the NCAA men’s basketball tournament in 2021 but fell to Loyola-Chicago in the first round of competition.
Georgia Tech offers eight intercollegiate men’s athletic programs, including:
The intercollegiate athletic programs for women include:
All of Georgia Tech’s athletic programs are sponsored by the NCAA, and the school has one national championship to its name, which came in women’s tennis in 2007.
Yes, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets are a Division I athletics program through the NCAA and a participating member of the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) for football.
Georgia Tech is one of 15 schools in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), which it joined in 1979. Over the years, the ACC has grown to include schools outside of the Atlantic state and now includes schools throughout the south, northeast, and midwestern United States.
The 15 schools in the Atlantic Coastal Conference are:
Georgia Tech’s football team has several rivalries with schools within the ACC and other private universities in the south.
Their biggest rival is the Clemson University Tigers, with whom the Yellow Jackets have played 88 times since their first competition in 1989. Although both schools are in the ACC, they are in different divisions, with Georgia Tech competing in the Coastal Division and Clemson playing in the Atlantic Division. As such, they have become cross-division rivals within the ACC. Throughout their rivalry, the Yellow Jackets have won 50 games to the Tiger’s 35, with another two ending in a tie.
Georgia Tech’s football team also has rivalries with Auburn, Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech, and their home state football powerhouse, the University of Georgia.
There are more than 400 Registered Student Organizations (RSOs) at Georgia Tech.
These clubs and organizations are managed by the Center for Student Engagement, which is comprised of student clubs in four specific areas of student life:
Groups under the civic engagement umbrella include volunteer organizations and those promoting student learning and global awareness through engagement with communities outside the Georgia Tech campus. Fraternity & sorority life includes all of the greek organizations on campus. Student media includes the on-campus radio station, WREK 91.1, the campus newspaper, the Technique, and other Georgia Tech publications. The final category, student organizations, is the most diverse and ranges from organizations focused on political or social causes to those in the performing arts.
RSOs submit applications annually to remain recognized by the university and the Center for Student Engagement, ensuring that the groups remain active on-campus and maintain their membership for recognition. Some professional and academic clubs on campus are not RSOs since they are affiliated with academic programs and majors.
The most popular clubs at Georgia Tech are club sports, academic groups, and cultural groups.
Club spots provide an athletic outlet for former high school athletes without the commitment and competitiveness of an intercollegiate sport. At the same time, academic groups and cultural organizations allow students to pursue their interests in a less formal setting outside the classroom.
Greek life is also prevalent at Georgia Tech, with over 50 Greek organizations for undergraduates. Check out our past posts about fraternity and sorority life for more information about the Greek scene at Georgia Tech.
Regardless of your status as a student-athlete or the organizations you find yourself in during your time at Georgia Tech, there’s a place for everyone at Georgia Tech.
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