Aer Lingus College Football Classic organizer: 'We Wanted Florida State'
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Florida State held a press conference on Tuesday morning in the Champions Club to provide more information on the program's upcoming matchup in Ireland with Georgia Tech in 2024. The game will be part of the Aer Lingus College Football Classic, which has facilitated multiple international matchups in recent years, including Northwestern vs. Nebraska last season.
The game between the Wildcats and Cornhuskers occurred during week zero, providing a unique opportunity for a national audience to view the sold-out contest in Dublin at Aviva Stadium. The contest averaged 4.42 million viewers on FOX, per Sports Media Watch.
According to the organizer of the Aer Lingus College Football Classic, John Anthony, there has been a ton of interest from teams across the country to facilitate a game in Ireland. Anthony was contacted by at least one SEC program and two commissioners during the game in 2022.
"This year's game when Nebraska and Northwestern were playing was really an inflection point. During the game, I received texts from an SEC head coach, an SEC athletic director, two commissioners, and untold others while they were watching the game," Anthony remarked on Tuesday. "Again, how often on a Saturday during the fall are you sitting around watching a game? That's another value of week zero. Everybody watching the game and seeing the atmosphere that was alluded to here. Our interest is extremely high. This month we'll be signing contracts for our 2027 game, for instance."
The opportunity to go global was too much to pass up. After all, Florida State will play in a sold-out atmosphere that is expected to feature ticket buyers from 20+ different countries. The game will be broadcast nationally and is anticipated to garner more than four million TV viewers.
The Seminoles represent a brand that Anthony and the Aer Lingus College Football Classic wanted to bring to Ireland. That meant passing up a couple of other parties who were also interested.
"This one came about because of your brand and these two gentlemen right here [Mike Norvell and Michael Alford]," Anthony said. "The two of us and chairman Collins were at an event this fall. Relationships and conversations start. There were a lot of people reaching out, we had a couple that I was slow-playing the best we could."
"We wanted Florida State, so that's how this happened."
Florida State's fanbase is already making a dent on ticket sales. Anthony noted that the Seminoles have already compiled the highest sales by any school in the first week since the game has been announced. That includes more interest than a school such as Notre Dame, which has played in Ireland twice since 1996 and has a third game scheduled for August 26, 2023, against Navy.
Anthony expects over 20,000 Americans to be in attendance for Florida State's contest against Georgia Tech in 2024. Fans can learn more about the travel packages by clicking HERE.
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