Greetings Bulldogs fans, it’s so nice to be back grinding on my laptop, putting the final touches on another issue of Bulldawg Illustrated. And as you can tell by the thickness and weight of the magazine, this Season Preview has a ton of incredible content for you.
So here we go …
While I will get to discussing the 2026 football team, the most recent story in Bulldog Nation is the Georgia baseball team’s amazing season. Yes, unfortunately they fell victim to the unstoppable, hot Oklahoma Sooners in Omaha, but my goodness what a joyous ride for Coach Wes Johnson and his terrific team and coaching staff. We as fans were treated to some of the most magical baseball ever witnessed in UGA Baseball history.
For this reason, a very special section in this issue of BI was a no-brainer. Beginning on page 45, I know you will thoroughly enjoy the 13 pages our crew has put together for your enjoyment. From wrapping up the season to fan photos all along the journey to a terrific guest fan column from Diamond Dawgs lover, Dale Shedd, the section came together nicely. What a treat to pay tribute to a team that gave so much to our beloved University. Matter of fact, we had so much content for the tribute that the first thing I did this Sunday morning was let our printer know that I needed more pages. I do implore that reading pages 54 and 55 is an absolute must. There you will find all the superlatives that were accomplished by this year’s Diamond Dawgs squad. Amazing!
I’m also so thrilled for the Diamond Dawgs radio duo of Jeff Dantzler and David Johnston. For decades, they have been the mouthpiece to so many diehard Diamond Dawgs listeners. Both listening and seeing photos of JD and DJ out in Omaha (also during the nervy Regionals and Super Regionals) is so awesome.
Speaking of JD, the incredible season by the Diamond Dawgs wasn’t the only exciting news out of Athens this spring. Cheri and I are so thrilled that Jeff was promoted to the voice of the football team beginning this upcoming season. His love of Georgia and masterful recollection of Bulldog history is going to make the football broadcast so much fun to tune into every Saturday. Unfortunately, JD’s new duties mean this will be the final issue that our friend and associate will be on the Bulldawg Illustrated team.
Yes, it’s bitter sweet, but what a ride we have all had these last 23+ years. Congrats JD. We love and appreciate you and certainly thank you for your dedication to BI over the years and the kind words in your column on page 10.
Our 2026 football coverage starts on page 15 with an excellent story from Greg Poole discussing the Southeastern Conference going to 9 intra-conference games this season. A new era begins in September and only time will tell if making the move from eight games to nine will be beneficial. Our BI interns, Will Hearn and Matthew Herren, did a terrific job on what we affectionately call “The Beasts” (Game by Game Preview, pages 59-63 and Position by Positon, pages 65-69) at BI.
We are happy to introduce St. Simons Island native Max Champion to the BI team in this issue. You can find Max Man’s Top 12 on page 64.
Like always, you are going to love our Social Section in this issue. What’s not to love about fan photos from G-Day (pages 26-30) and the Live Between the Hedges concert (pages 35-40) in Athens. Boy, those back-to-back weekends were a blast. Also in this issue, don’t miss our Georgia Girls (Lucy Welborn Smith – pages 24, 25), MIXTAPE (Cory Phillips – page 42) and Proust Q&A (Spence Pryor – page 44) features. Darn Good Dawgs galore. Thanks to everyone for your participation.
Well, like always, I’m out of time, space and energy, so I better wrap this 72-pager up. But before I go, please check out our Spring Sports Wrap-Up on page 70. Success is happening everywhere in UGA athletics, who finished No. 8 in the 2026 Learfield Directors’ Cup. Bravo!
Enjoy the rest of your summer and rejoice in being a Bulldog and an American. We will be back in September with our next issue when toe meets leather. Until then Go USA 250 and Dawgs!!