National Signing Day

Have you seen where young athletes have a signing ceremony and don the hat of their college pick? Keep that in mind as I discuss a statistical anomaly, I guess, but my wife and I had eight kids go to college and each one went somewhere unique, even counting transfers. I don’t know how frequently that happens, but eight? 

Lauren went to GC&SW and then graduated from Georgia State University (GSU). Her MBA was also from GSU. 

Maryl graduated from Lagrange College. 

Kelsy went to ABAC and graduated from Georgia Southwestern. 

Anthony went to Middle Georgia and graduated from Georgia Tech (GT). 

Torri graduated from Valdosta State (VSU). 

Elena graduated from the University of Tennessee (UT). 

Grant went to Mercer and graduated from Kennesaw State (KSU). 

Alden graduated from UGA.

So here’s the challenge: 

1. Name the nickname from each school from which a child graduated.  

2. Select the school by distance from Warner Robins.

3. Select the schools by 2025 student enrollment. You’ll miss this one badly. 

Okay, got your answers ready?

1. GSU Panthers, LaGrange Panthers, GSW Hurricanes, GT Yellow Jackets, VSU Blazers, UT Volunteers, KSU Owls, and UGA Bulldogs. Okay, that was easy.

2. Miles from WR: UT 315, VSU 141, KSU 126, UGA 113, Lagrange 105, GT 104, GSU 102, and GSW 62. Pretty difficult, but maybe you got it. 

3. Now, 2025 enrollment (2024 if 2025 not reported yet). LaGrange 814, GSW 3,028, VSU 11,270, UT 40,000, UGA 43,146, KSU 47,845, GSU 52,400, and GT 53,067.

GT’s undergrad is roughly 13,000. Graduate is 33,000. Online is 7,000. Tech’s enrollment surged 11.4% in the past year. Over time I hope that the bigger enrollment will translate to a bigger local fan base. Tech grads are all over the world, but that doesn’t fill up the stadium. Time will tell.  

Go Jackets! THWg.

Kelly Burke was born in Knoxville where he spent his younger years, followed by high school years in Atlanta where he graduated from Georgia Tech, and then graduated from Mercer Law School. He has been in private practice, a magistrate judge, and an elected district attorney. He writes about the law, politics, music, and Ireland. He and his wife enjoy gardening, playing with their Lagotto Ramanolo named George Harrison, and spending time with their grandchildren. To see this column or Kelly’s archives, visit www.kellyrburke.com. You can email Kelly at dakellyburke@gmail.com.