Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game
| Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game | |
|---|---|
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| Stadium | Mercedes-Benz Stadium |
| Location | Atlanta, Georgia |
| Previous stadiums | Georgia Dome |
| Operated | 2008–present |
| Payout | US$1,900,000 per team |
| Sponsors | |
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Chick-fil-A (2008–present)
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| 2017 matchup | |
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Alabama Crimson Tide vs. Florida State Seminoles (Sept 2) Tennessee Volunteers vs. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (Sept 4) |
|
| 2018 matchup | |
| Auburn vs. Washington (September 2) | |
The Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game is an annual college football game played on the opening weekend (Labor Day weekend) of the college football season in Atlanta, Georgia. From its inception in 2008 until 2016, the game was held in the Georgia Dome. The Dome's replacement, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, will host the game starting in 2017.
Organizers intend for the game to become a national spotlight game, on par with the Kickoff Classic, held in the Meadowlands from 1983–2002, and the Disneyland Pigskin Classic in the 1990s. In 2008, ESPN's College Gameday broadcast from downtown Atlanta, while ESPN corporate sponsors and local Atlanta-based companies featured prominent displays at Fanzones in Atlanta's Centennial Olympic Park.
The first game, known that year as the Chick-fil-A College Kickoff, was played on August 30, 2008, the opening Saturday of the 2008 season. Alabama would defeat Clemson 34–10.
Alabama returned to the Chick-fil-A Kickoff for the 2009 game, defeating Virginia Tech to start the 2009 season which later ended with Alabama being undefeated and winning the 2009 BCS National Championship.
Auburn and UCLA were contacted about playing in the Georgia Dome in 2010, but Auburn backed out of the offer. ABC then attempted to substitute Georgia Tech for the Tigers, but UCLA opted out because the game would essentially be a home game for the Atlanta-based Yellow Jackets, with no return trip to Los Angeles. Finally, an agreement was reached with North Carolina and LSU to face off in the 2010 game. The 2010 game also saw the introduction of a trophy awarded to the winner, the Old Leather Helmet.
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