ATLANTA -- The chunk of college football real estate was there for the taking and the Chick-fil-A Bowl pounced on it.
When the NCAA allowed schools to begin adding a 12th game in the 2006 season, the bowl group picked up the mantle of the defunct Classic games -- Kickoff Classic, Pigskin Classic and Eddie Robinson Classic -- with the first Kickoff Game in '08, giving Atlanta the nation's premier opening weekend event.
A year later, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones followed with the Cowboys Classic in Arlington and this season will see the debuts of the Heart of Dallas Classic and the Texas Kickoff Classic in Houston.
Expect more to follow.
"I think as we move forward in college football this kickoff concept is going to be the next generation or iteration or evolution of bowl games," said Gary Stokan, the Chick-fil-A Bowl president/CEO. "You'll still have bowl games at the end of the year, obviously, but I think you'll see more people start to copy us on the front side of the season."
That's because as we transition into the playoff era beginning next season and the resume-building for the selection committee that will ensue, games like the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game -- which will pit No. 1 Alabama against Virginia Tech on Saturday night in the Georgia Dome in its sixth installment -- become much more enticing.
"I think it's very clear that strength of schedule is going to be a big criteria (to make the playoff) and so I think from that standpoint (these games will become more prevalent)," Hokies coach Frank Beamer said.
Said Stokan: "As an AD, everybody's going to play their conference schedule. But who's going to play outside the conference and play tougher games strength of schedule-wise? I think the relevancy of our game goes up."
Chick-fil-A has received calls from other groups looking to join the trend, including the Kansas City Chiefs, which are considering a kickoff game at Arrowhead Stadium. Regardless of how many imitators follow, he believes his game is positioned to stay at the forefront -- and not just by virtue of being first to the party.
The College Football Hall of Fame opens in Atlanta in the fall of 2014 and the annual enshrinement ceremony will coincide with opening weekend -- "That really differentiates our game from any other game at the beginning of the season," Stokan said -- and in largely aligning itself with the SEC and ACC, the Chick-fil-A game takes advantage of the proximity of the conference's membership schools to Atlanta to generate ticket sales.
There's also the matter of getting a recruiting edge in a fertile state.
In the last five years, Georgia has produced 226 four- and five-star recruits, including 26 in the Class of 2014. It's a hotbed that Nick Saban has taken advantage of.
Stokan recalled a conversation with the Crimson Tide coach, who told him that if he could win the state of Alabama on Signing Day and finish second in Georgia, he would win the national title. After appearing in the inaugural game in '08, Saban landed five Georgia players in '09, including future All-American offensive lineman Chance Warmack. Saban's national championship team in '11 had 12 Peach State players on the roster, there were 13 on the '12 title team and this season there are 19.
But beyond ties to the game's past, exposure and a platform to get in with Georgia recruits, a strong payout also bodes well for the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game.
The Cowboy Classic has been able to offer teams bigger payouts -- it gave $4.7 million each to Alabama and Michigan last season and by comparison -- the Crimson Tide will get $2.65 million for this opener for playing in Atlanta. But the Chick-fil-A game, which also endows a $50,000 scholarship for each school, has established a brand that has teams clamoring to be a part of it.
Stokan is already fielding calls for games as far ahead as 2019 -- it was announced Thursday that Auburn and Louisville will meet in 2015 -- an interest level that could make a second game in Atlanta the norm. So far, Boise State and Georgia met in an additional matchup on Friday in '11 and Boise State and Ole Miss will play in '14, also on Friday night.
But the Chick-fil-A Bowl group likes to avoid future Fridays to avoid conflicts with high school football, instead holding contests on Thursday/Saturday -- or potentially Saturday/Monday by taking advantage of the ACC's exclusive Labor Day night spot.
"We've talked with the ACC about when it makes sense to have the right teams come to play ... and it doesn't necessarily need to be both ACC teams," Stokan said. "It's just that one ACC team."
Access to that time slot could be an interesting wrinkle given that Notre Dame begins its five-games-per-year deal with the ACC beginning in 2014 -- and as Stokan confirmed the Chick-fil-A Kickoff has already had preliminary talks with the Fighting Irish about coming to Atlanta.
Beyond Notre Dame, early discussions have also taken place with Michigan, UCLA and USC. Given that West Virginia is playing in the Chick-fil-A game in '14 (vs. Alabama) and that Boise State is coming back a second time, the group would seem to be in position to move beyond its SEC/ACC model. But as Stokan says "we'll look outside the ACC and SEC, but we think it's necessary to have one of those conferences on one side of the ledger, because tickets are awfully important."
This much is clear: when it comes to owning opening weekend, Stokan is clear on his grand design.
"My vision is to create Atlanta as the college football capital of the world," Stokan said. "It's one of the reasons we started the Kickoff Game. It's one of the reasons we went after the Hall of Fame and recruited it here. We need to stay on the lead of being an innovator, a leader."
