By Billy McGee – @iambillymcgee
The University of Georgia recently announced that its women’s soccer team will be playing a game in its football stadium, Sanford Stadium, for the first time in its 2026 home opener against James Madison on Thursday, August 20. The match marks the 30th anniversary of the 1996 Summer Olympics that were hosted in Atlanta, with Sanford Stadium being the host of the Soccer finals.
They will be attempting to break both the women’s college soccer attendance record and the overall college soccer attendance record. The overall record of 22,512 was set on October 30, 1980, for a match between St. Louis and SIUE played at Busch Stadium, the home of the St. Louis Cardinals. The women’s record of 14,410 was set when North Carolina beat Notre Dame in the 1999 College Cup Final at San Jose State’s football stadium, breaking the record that was set two days earlier at the College Cup Semifinals. Attendance will be free for those who wish to go, with ticket claims opening on July 30.
The Bulldogs are coming off a 2025 season that saw them third in the SEC, losing to Vanderbilt in the SEC Tournament and losing in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to Ohio State. They will be without their best player from 2025, with MAC Hermann semifinalist Summer Denigan transferring to North Carolina.
