Georgia Tech, UGA Rivalry Hits the Ice

Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate hits the ice Sunday as the Georgia Tech Hockey Club takes on the Georgia Bulldogs. When the puck drops at 11:30 a.m. inside Gas South Arena, the rival clubs will compete for in-state bragging rights, but beyond that, the leaders of the Yellow Jackets see an opportunity to grow. 

With the absence of NCAA Division I competition in the region, club teams fill the void on campuses across the South. Teams are often student-run, and Colin Chambless, the current secretary and incoming team president, believes that Sunday’s matchup is about something more than just a rivalry.  

"We might hate these guys on the ice, but at the end of the day, hockey is such a small community that we share a mutual respect for one another,” the second-year aerospace engineering student said. “So, I can always say, 'To hell with Georgia,' but it's so cool that we’re able to spread the wealth in terms of hockey enjoyment, and our main goal is to grow the game.”   

From booking late-night ice time for practices to social media engagement to executing on gamedays, the club's daily operation can admittedly "be a grind" for Chambless and the other members of the executive board. However, the early mornings and long nights are worthwhile for him as a Massachusetts native sharing his lifelong passion with a new audience.  

"I have friends here who are new to hockey and have come out to see our games and walked away in awe of the sport saying, 'This is the greatest thing I've ever seen.’ We all love hockey, not only because we get to keep that competitive and fun experience that we had growing up but because of all it has to offer. It's rewarding to see the smiles on people's faces when they experience it along with us,” he said.  

When he moved from Minnesota to Georgia before high school, public relations chair Andy Hildrum, a first-year business administration student, was skeptical of club hockey, but from his time in travel leagues and now as a Yellow Jacket, he wants fans to realize that hockey isn't a typical extracurricular activity.  

"It's more competitive than people realize, especially in the South and out West where there isn't NCAA hockey. These clubs are made up of talented players who grew up playing competitive hockey but chose to go to school outside of the traditional hockey hotbeds. All of our members are students, but they're also athletes, and even though they didn't pursue athletics as their full-time career, they still want to continue playing at a high level," Hildrum said. 

The Yellow Jackets compete in the Amateur Athletic Union's College Hockey South Conference but will move to the American Collegiate Hockey Association for the 2025-26 season as a member of the Atlantic Coast Collegiate Hockey League.  

The team practices and plays most of their home games at the Atlanta IceForum — the former practice home of the Atlanta Thrashers. Atlanta has seen two National Hockey League teams depart the city since the Jackets’ club was established in the early 1970s, and Hildrum hopes they can fill that void.   

"That presence can have a big effect on youth hockey, so we're focused on expanding our reach, not only here at Georgia Tech but also throughout the metro area, to help kids of all ages get into hockey or to get new fans interested in the game," he said.  

This season, the club has made enhancements to the gameday experience, including Georgia Tech Marching Band members playing in the stands, bringing the Ramblin’ Wreck on the ice, and inviting special guests to drop the puck at the beginning of games. Fans unable to attend games can watch livestreams on the team's YouTube channel, where play-by-play voice and team manager Sterling Kalogeras works to replicate a television broadcast with replays, in-game interviews, and intermission reports.    

On the ice, the club graduated many of its senior members before the 2024-25 season, and Chambliss sees a young team finding their form as they prepare for Sunday and the upcoming AAU National Tournament in Jacksonville, Florida, March 18 – 25.