The 1996 Summer Olympics were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. These were the fourth Summer Olympics to be hosted by the United States, making it the first country to have three different cities host the Summer Olympics. It also marked the 100th anniversary of the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens, the inaugural edition of the modern Olympic Games. These were also the first Summer Olympics to be held in a different year than the Winter Olympics since the Winter Olympics commenced in 1924, as part of a new IOC practice implemented in 1994 to hold the Summer and Winter Games in alternating, even-numbered years. The 1996 Games were the first of the two consecutive Summer Olympics to be held in a predominantly English-speaking country, preceding the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. These were also the last Summer Olympics to be held in North America until 2028, when Los Angeles will host the games for the third time.
The University of Georgia is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is one of the oldest public universities in the United States. It is the flagship school of the University System of Georgia.
Dooley Field at Sanford Stadium is the on-campus playing venue for football at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, United States. The 93,033-seat stadium is the ninth-largest football stadium in the NCAA, and the 17th-largest such stadium in the world. Games played there are said to be played "between the hedges" due to the field being surrounded by privet hedges, which have been a part of the design of the stadium since it opened in 1929. The current generation of hedges were planted in 2023 after the originals were taken out to accommodate the football tournaments for the 1996 Summer Olympics. The stadium is often considered one of college football's "best, loudest, and most intimidating atmospheres".
Oliver C. Dawson Stadium is a 22,000-seat multi-purpose stadium in Orangeburg, South Carolina. It opened in 1955, with major renovations in 1994. It is home to the South Carolina State Bulldogs college football team and the women's college soccer team.
The Georgia Bulldogs are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Georgia. The Bulldogs compete in NCAA Division I and are members of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The official mascot is an English Bulldog named Uga,, while the costumed character version of Uga is Hairy Dawg. Most of the school's athletic teams are known as the Bulldogs, with the exception of the women's basketball team, known as the "Lady Bulldogs", and the women's gymnastics team, known as the "GymDogs".
Spec Towns Track is the track and field facility and stadium for the University of Georgia (UGA) in Athens, Georgia. The track was originally built in 1964 and the stadium grandstand was added in 1987 to accommodate 1,000 spectators. In 2011, the Bulldogs hosted their first Southeastern Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships since 1999 at the Spec Towns Track. Following the 2017 track season, the track was upgraded to a 400-meter, 8-lane Mondo Sportflex Super X720 surface, replacing the old polyurethane track.
Gabrielsen Natatorium is a swimming and diving facility at the University of Georgia (UGA) in Athens, Georgia, U.S.A. The natatorium is home to the university's varsity swimming and diving programs and seats almost 2,000 spectators.
The Stone Mountain Tennis Center was a tennis venue at Stone Mountain Park in Stone Mountain, Georgia, USA.
Woodruff Hall was a 3,000 seat multi-purpose arena on the University of Georgia campus in Athens, Georgia. It opened in 1923, and was located on North Campus in the area bounded by Baldwin Street, Sanford Drive, and Hooper Street now occupied by the Psychology-Journalism Complex. The building was named for George Cecil Woodruff and his brother Harry, both of whom were football players, with the former becoming coach in the mid-1920s. The building featured a gabled wood roof, many windows, and wrap around bleachers and a balcony. It was home to the University of Georgia Bulldogs' basketball team until it was replaced when Georgia Coliseum opened in 1964. The Hall was one of the buildings that was used for the training of servicemen in the Second World War.
W. Dennie Spry Soccer Stadium is a soccer-specific stadium located on the campus of Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina where it is home to the Wake Forest Demon Deacons' men's and women's soccer teams.
Herty Field, also known as Alumni Athletic Field, was the original on-campus playing venue for football and baseball at the University of Georgia (UGA) in Athens, Georgia. It opened in the Fall of 1891 and hosting the first UGA home football game against Mercer University on January 30, 1892.
The Georgia State Panthers are the intercollegiate athletics teams that represent Georgia State University, located in Atlanta, Georgia. All GSU teams compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I FBS level as members of the Sun Belt Conference, a conference of which they were a charter member. Previously, GSU was a member of the CAA, and prior to that, the ASUN Conference.
Terry and Linda Fuller Track & Field Complex is a multi-use stadium in Lubbock, Texas on the campus of Texas Tech University where it serves as home to Red Raider track and field. Formerly, it was also the home of the women's soccer team before they moved to the John Walker Soccer Complex. The stadium seats 3,500.
Hairy Dawg is the costumed mascot of the University of Georgia Bulldogs. Hairy Dawg made his first appearance at the 1981 Sugar Bowl and has been an official mascot of UGA since. Hairy Dawg attends all Georgia Bulldogs football games and most home athletic events. Forbes ranks Hairy Dawg No. 3 in their list of "America's Top 10 Sports Mascots".
The Georgia Redcoat Marching Band, commonly referred to as "The Redcoats", is the official marching band of the University of Georgia.
The Samford Bulldogs are the 17 varsity teams that represent Samford University in NCAA Division I athletics. The men's basketball team made its first NCAA Tournament appearances in 1999 and 2000. They were led by Reed Rawlings, Marc Salyers, and Chris Weaver. The women's basketball team made its initial NCAA tournament appearance in the 2011 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament and made its second consecutive appearance in the tournament in 2012. The baseball team made its first NCAA tournament appearance in the 2012 NCAA Division I baseball tournament, reaching the finals of the Tallahassee Regional. Additionally, the softball team made its first NCAA Tournament Appearance in 2016. For the first time in history, the Lady Bulldogs won the regular-season championship as well as the Tournament Championship to cap off a record high of 40 wins on the season. The school is a member of the Southern Conference in Division I of the NCAA, after moving from the Ohio Valley Conference in 2008. The Samford Athletics staff is headed by athletic director Martin Newton, whose appointment was announced on March 9, 2011.
University Stadium is an on-campus stadium in Carrollton, Georgia that opened in 2009. It is primarily used for American football and is the home field of the University of West Georgia Wolves. The stadium holds 10,000 people.
A total of twenty-nine sports venues were used for the 1996 Summer Olympics.
The Ed Defore Sports Complex is located in Macon, Georgia, next to Westside High School.
The 2021 Georgia Bulldogs football team represented the University of Georgia in the 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Bulldogs played their home games at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Georgia, and competed in the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They were led by sixth-year head coach Kirby Smart. They finished the season with 14 wins and 1 loss. Georgia won the National Championship and was the consensus No. 1 team at the conclusion of the season. The 14 games won by the Bulldogs also set the record for the most wins in a single season in school history until it was broken the following season, where Georgia finished with a 15–0 record.
