Press Release
COLLEGE FOOTBALL GAME TO BE STAGED IN IRELAND IN 2016
Aer Lingus College Football Classic between Boston College and Georgia Tech set for
Aviva Stadium on Saturday, 3rd September 2016
#GameOnIre
Thursday, 4th June: For the third time in five years, an American college football game will be staged in
Ireland, with the announcement today that the Aer Lingus College Football Classic between Boston
College and Georgia Tech will take place in Dublin’s Aviva Stadium on Saturday, 3rd September, 2016.
The announcement was made at the reception in Dublin attended by An Taoiseach Enda Kenny TD,
which was followed by a reception in Boston College in the U.S. attended by the Mayor of Boston, Marty
Walsh.
Aer Lingus was also announced as Title Sponsor for the game that will see the Boston College Eagles kick
off the 2016/17 NCAA Division I College Football Season in an Atlantic Coast Conference game against
the formidable Yellow Jackets of Georgia Tech. Tourism Ireland, Failte Ireland and Dublin City Council
are also supporting the game.
Event organisers are confident the game will be a 48,000 ticket sellout. It is expected that 25,000 will
travel from the US and Europe to the game. While general ticket sales are still some months away, tour
packages in the US have gone on sale today and are expected to sell quickly while corporate hospitality
facilities at Aviva Stadium have also gone on sale and they too are likely to sell out. Further details can
be found on www.collegefootballireland.com.
Speaking at the announcement An Taoiseach Enda Kenny said he was delighted that College Football
was returning to Ireland; “This is great news for Irish tourism and the economy; in 2012 and again last
year, we witnessed a huge surge of US visitors to our shores for the Emerald Isle Classic and the Croke
Park Classic and I have no doubt, particularly given Boston College’s close links with this country, we will
see another spectacular success in 2016. Sports tourism and events like this College Football game have
become increasingly important as we build and develop our tourism industry and I want to thank Boston
College President Fr. William Leahy for his support in making this game a reality”.
Commenting on the game sponsorship, Aer Lingus Chief Executive Stephen Kavanagh said, “We are very
proud to partner with Boston College and Georgia Tech for the Aer Lingus College Football Classic in
2016. Aer Lingus operates three daily services from Boston connecting to Ireland and beyond and we
are delighted to support our local team. 2016 is a very special year for Aer Lingus as we will celebrate
our 80th anniversary. We look forward to offering guests a warm welcome on board our flights, and we
wish the organisers all the best in their preparations for what promises to be a great sporting event.”
Boston College will be making its second football visit to Ireland; in 1988 Boston College played and
defeated Army 38-24 in front of a 42,000 crowd in the old Lansdowne Road. Speaking about the 2016
Aer Lingus College Football Classic, Fr. William P Leahy expressed his delight at the opportunity for
Boston College to return to Ireland for another College Football game “Our history and our connections
with Ireland are well known, we are very proud of our campus on Dublin’s St. Stephen’s Green. 2016 is a
very special year in Ireland’s history and we are particularly pleased that we will be travelling with
hopefully tens of thousands Boston College supporters to share in those celebrations and enjoy this
important conference game with Georgia Tech”.
Welcoming today’s announcement, Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism Ireland, said: “This game will provide
a further, very welcome boost for tourism next year, with up to 25,000 people expected to travel here
from the US and Europe. It will undoubtedly be another wonderful college football event for Dublin,
bringing wider benefits to the island as a whole. Tourism Ireland in the US is working closely with
Anthony Travel, the official travel company for both colleges, and other travel partners, to maximise the
tourism benefits of the game. Sports-related tourism has emerged as a very significant element of the
global travel business in recent years and the Aer Lingus College Football Classic will be another great
opportunity to showcase Dublin and Ireland, and more generally the many attractions that the island of
Ireland offers as a holiday destination.”
The game is being organised by a new entity called Irish American Events Ltd which is a joint venture
between Corporate.ie and Anthony Travel who have been involved in the recent college football games
in Ireland.
See www.collegefootballireland.com for details on the Aer Lingus College Football Classic and follow the
game on social media Twitter (@CFBireland), Facebook (facebook.com/collegefootballireland), and
Instagram (@CFBireland).
ENDS
For Further information please contact:
Julian Davis, FleishmanHillard [016188423 / 0862531269 / [email protected]]
Kevin Moore, FleishmanHillard [016188499 / 0868252611 / [email protected]]
Notes to Editors
About Boston College
 Boston College was founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus to serve the sons of Boston's Irish immigrants
and was the first institution of higher education to be founded in the city of Boston. Today, it is one of the
foremost universities in the nation, with a coeducational enrollment of nearly 14,700 undergraduate and
graduate students. BC boasts a rich American football tradition that includes 24 postseason bowl games, a
Heisman Trophy winner (Doug Flutie) and nine members of the National Football Foundation College
Football Hall of Fame. The Eagles are coached by Steve Addazio, who has led the team to two consecutive
postseason bowl games since becoming head coach in 2013. BC has, in fact, participated in a postseason
bowl game in 14 of the last 16 seasons.
About Georgia Tech
 Founded in 1885, the Georgia Institute of Technology is a public research university with more than
21,500 undergraduate and graduate students. Ranked as the nation’s seventh-best public university,
Georgia Tech provides a focused, technologically based education. Georgia Tech is one of the oldest
college football programs in the nation and ranks in the top 20 in all-time wins. Georgia Tech has made 43
bowl appearances and has won four national championships. The Jackets are coached by Paul Johnson,
who is 58-35 in seven seasons on The Flats. He has led the Yellow Jackets to three ACC Championship
Game appearances in 2009, 2012 and 2014. Georgia Tech won the 2014 Orange Bowl in decisive fashion
to finish in the Top 10 of final AP and coaches polls.
Who is organising the game?
 The game is being organised by a new entity called Irish American Events Ltd which is a joint venture
between Corporate.ie – Hospitality & Events Specialists (Irish Partner) and Anthony Travel (US Partner)
Who is Irish American Events Ltd?


Corporate.ie is a leading Irish events and hospitality company. The company played a pivotal role to both
the Emerald Isle Classic in 2012 and the Croke Park Classic in 2014 and has an excellent understanding of
the various traditions and culture associated with US college football. For the Emerald Isle Classic in 2012,
Corporate.ie represented The University of Notre Dame on the ground in Ireland for 18 months prior to
game weekend. Creating, developing and executing a very specific four day programme which was
enjoyed by 28,000 plus Notre Dame travelling supporters. For the Croke Park Classic in 2014, Corporate.ie
worked directly with the management of Croke Park Stadium on the strategic planning of the overall
event from early 2014, assuming control for the activation of the City and the high-level business
networking events.
Anthony Travel is a full service travel management company specialising in university and athletic travel.
Founded in 1989, Anthony Travel has 26 years of experience in collegiate travel, servicing 58 college
athletic departments year-round and numerous other universities throughout the year with special
events. Anthony Travel manages all housing and travel components of 300+ athletic events annually and
has managed over 160 international athletic tours in more than 30 countries on 6 continents. Anthony
Travel has played a significant role in the formation and execution of all of the successful overseas college
football games of recent history, including the 2012 Emerald Isle Classic and 2014 Croke Park Classic, both
played in Dublin and broadcast around the world. Anthony Travel consulted and executed with the
participating universities on stadium selection, revenue strategies including sponsorships and ticket sales,
marketing, travel packages, tourism relationships, pep rallies, pre-game parties, and various ancillary
events.
About Aer Lingus
 Aer Lingus is the national airline of Ireland, founded in 1936. The airline operates 61 aircraft on routes to
destinations in the UK, Europe and North America, carrying 11 million customers per annum. This summer
Aer Lingus will operate 24 flights per day across the North Atlantic, with three daily services between
Boston and Ireland; two flights to Dublin and one flight to Shannon. Aer Lingus’ primary mission is ‘To
Connect Ireland to The World’ by providing guests with convenience, choice, comfort, a seamless
experience and value. We serve a combination of leisure and business travellers with a quality core
product that can be augmented through benefit driven a la carte paid options. Aer Lingus serves central
airport locations, enhancing connectivity options. Our guests can choose from nine North American
destinations with more than 100 onward connections across the U.S and Canada with our partner airlines.
Dublin Airport is the only major airport in Europe to offer U.S preclearance, which enables passengers to
save time on arrival in the U.S by completing all the necessary immigration and customs checks prior to
departure.