Dawgs-Tech Get Earlier Tip-Off in 2010

When Mark Fox was in Macon two weeks ago, he said he felt confident that Georgia and Georgia Tech could reach an agreement to move their annual rivalry game up on the schedule so that it could be played when students were still on campus rather than the early January dates of recent years.

"We're going to move it to before the kids leave campus, sometime in late November, early December," Fox said. "And I think Tech is in agreement with that."

While no contract has officially been signed, it sounds like the agreement has been made, and the two teams will face off this year on Dec. 7, according to Tech head coach Paul Hewitt.

"We’ve been sitting on that date for the last couple of months now," Hewitt said. "That just happens to be the date that works this year. Sometimes we’re both in different preseason tournaments or TV deals might come in the way."

Hewitt said he was hoping to settle on Dec. 8, which would have given Tech an additional off day after an ACC/Big Ten challenge date and a Legends Tournament appearance, but that idea was scrapped because it conflicted with the first reading day of finals for Georgia.

Hewitt and Fox both said their goal is to make the Georgia-Georgia Tech game a permanent fixture of the fall semester, and Georgia associate athletics director Arthur Johnson confirmed that the two schools are still in negotiations to settle on an in-semester date for the next three seasons at least.

Tech lost in Athens last year on Jan. 5 -- the same day as its football team played in the Orange Bowl. The two teams have played in January each year since 2005.

One theory kicked around among some fans has been playing the basketball game the Friday before the football game. On the upside, it would create an entertaining rivalry weekend, with both campuses hosting one event. The problems, however, would involve scheduling -- this weekend generally conflicts with an off-campus tournament for both teams -- and students would still be away from school for Thanksgiving weekend.

So, what say you? Will the earlier date drive a bit more enthusiasm for you to potentially attend future games? What would be your ideal date to see the game played?

(*The Telegraph's Coley Harvey contributed to this report.)