Figure 1 Georgia Tech plays at the highest level of college football - Source: Unsplash
It is fair to say that Emory is not known for its sports teams. Although there are a number of athletic programs for both male and female students, there has never been a football team representing the school. There are a number of reasons for this, but Emory has always considered sports in a more “Olympian” way.
It has been famously said that Emory wants to be brilliant at everything it does – and that might be an explanation for the lack of a football team. But that is not to say that Emory does not involve itself in the college football system. You might not have to learn the best college football strategies at Emory, but you might play a very important part in the welfare of some of the finest athletes in the country.
Emory Healthcare has a number of partnerships with professional Atlanta teams, such as the Braves, the Falcons, the Dream, the Hawks, and Atlanta United. But there is also a very healthy relationship with nearby school, Georgia Tech. That partnership extends far beyond the sports field, but the support that Emory provides the Yellow Jackets football program is invaluable to Georgia Tech.
Claiming four national championships, stretching as far back as 1917, the Yellow Jackets have been one of the most prominent football schools in the region for well over a century now and have been playing their home games in the center of Atlanta – at the Bobby Dodd Stadium – for almost as long. After a short period of losing seasons, the Yellow Jackets have played bowl games in each of the last two years and are looking good once again in 2025.
Georgia Tech has always ensured that the health and wellbeing of its students – including its athletics program representatives – is of the highest priority, and Emory University plays a crucial role in that. The entire Yellow Jackets athletics program receives tremendous support from Emory Healthcare, and that includes the football team, competing at the FBS level of the NCAA.
Emory helps Georgia Tech with services such as sports medicine physicians, orthopedic surgeons, and athletic trainers, as well as specialists in neurology, primary care, cardiology, and rehabilitation. In fact, there isn’t really a healthcare and medical area of the sports world that the Yellow Jackets don’t rely on Emory for. Our university has always been nationally and internationally renowned for its academic and research prowess, and now the talent and skills present at the institution are helping student athletes reach their own goals.
The Yellow Jackets have been improving ever since the current head coach, Brent Key, took over in 2022. The team had suffered an embarrassing 3-9 record the year before, and the previous man in charge, Geoff Collins, was unable to turn things around. Key was initially brought in on an interim basis, but the immediate upturn in results saw the Georgia Tech football alum earn a full-time contract – one that has recently been extended once again.
Although Georgia Tech continues to improve, it finds itself in an extremely competitive ACC at the moment. As well as Miami, Virginia, and SMU, there is also a Pitt team that the Yellow Jackets recently surprisingly lost to. That score effectively ended Georgia Tech’s chances of challenging for an ACC Championship this year, but there is still a lot to be confident about for the years ahead.
There was a hope that the Yellow Jackets might be in line for the playoffs this year, but that loss to Pittsburgh ended that dream. It would have been quite the turnaround from just two or three years ago, but there is still a lot for the team to play for. It now seems likely that Georgia Tech will be playing in the Holiday Bowl, potentially against last year’s losing team, Washington State of the Pac-12 Conference. Although that might be regarded by some fans as a disappointment after the flying 8-0 start Georgia Tech made to the season, the team should still really be applauded for making a third successful bowl game after enduring a four-year run of not having any.
Figure 2 Emory provides complete health support for the Yellow Jackets - Source: Pixabay
Throughout the rest of the season – whatever happens – Emory will be involved in Georgia Tech’s progress. Player safety and wellbeing have become some of the most important aspects of football – in both the pro and college games – in recent years, and Emory is proud to play its part in using the latest technology and know-how to ensure that Georgia Tech’s student athletes are provided with the best possible care. Yellow Jackets athletes are able to access some of the finest healthcare facilities in the country, and can concentrate on their football, safe in the knowledge that Emory Healthcare will be making sure that they are able to perform to their best ability when required.
At a time when there seems to be a win-at-all-cost attitude to sports – and life in general – across the world, it is good to know that Emory remains in a position of doing what it does best. This university has never claimed to have the best athletics programs, even though the student athletes involved across all sports give everything they have on the courts and fields and show their pride in every game. But Emory University should also be proud of the role it plays in the advancement of healthcare, especially within college sports. The Eagles may never win a college football championship, but students from Emory could well end up being a major part of future sports success for hundreds of student athletes.
