Football mascots from Georgia Tech and UGA and former Georgia athletic director Vince Dooley helped to ring in the college football season Thursday from an unexpected spot – a balcony above the New York Stock Exchange.
The ceremonial event, which also included Dan T. Cathy, chairman of Atlanta-based Chick-fil-A, was planned ahead of the two-game Chick-fil-A Kickoff Classic at Mercedes Benz Stadium. The Georgia Bulldogs play the Oregon Ducks on Saturday. Tech will play Clemson on Monday.
The Georgia delegation was invited to ring the closing bell to mark the end of the stock market trading session. Georgia, the defending college football national champion, has a similar tradition, the ringing of the chapel bell on its campus in Athens after football games and other important occasions.
The schools’ two costumed mascots, Hairy Dawg and Buzz participated, along with former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue, who is now chancellor of the University System of Georgia.
Hairy Dawg was among the dignitaries on the balcony where the bell is located. Buzz, the Georgia Tech mascot, was cheering from the floor below. At the appointed hour, UGA President Jere Morehead rang the bell, and then Dooley banged a wooden gavel to ceremoniously close the trading day. Dan Cathy, standing to the right of Dooley, captured a video from the balcony.
Former State Rep. Bert Reeves, who resigned from the Legislature to take a job at Georgia Tech, was among the guests. Others included Gary Stokan of the Peach Bowl, Kimberly Beaudin of the College Football Hall of Fame, UGA athletic director Josh Brooks and ESPN analyst Jesse Palmer.
The NYSE routinely hosts guest delegations to preside and get their photos taken during the opening and closing bells.
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