The Chick-fil-A Kickoff consisted of two games in 2012. Boise State of the Mountain West Conference, one of the most successful programs from a BCS non-automatic qualifier conference in recent years, defeated Georgia 35–21. The 2011 edition was the first Chick-fil-A Kickoff to feature a team that was not a member of the ACC or SEC, the two conferences with tie-ins to the Peach Bowl. The 2010 game also saw the introduction of a trophy awarded to the winner, the Old Leather Helmet.

Finally, an agreement was reached in which LSU and North Carolina would match up, with the Tigers winning 30–24. ABC attempted to replace Auburn with Georgia Tech, but the switch prompted UCLA to opt out entirely because the game would essentially be a home game for the Atlanta-based Yellow Jackets, with no scheduled return trip to Los Angeles. Alabama defeated Clemson 34–10.Īlabama returned to the Chick-fil-A Kickoff for the 2009 game, defeating Virginia Tech to begin the 2009 season.Īuburn and UCLA were initially slated to play in 2010, but Auburn officials later backed out of the offer. The first game, known that year as the Chick-fil-A College Kickoff, was played on August 30, 2008, the opening Saturday of the 2008 season. In 2008, Clemson and Alabama were both expected to receive more than $2 million. Payout to each team depends on the amount of revenue gained in excess of the Kickoff's $5.5 million budget. In 2008, ESPN's College Gameday broadcast from Downtown Atlanta, while ESPN corporate sponsors and local Atlanta-based companies featured prominent displays at Fanzones in Atlanta's Centennial Olympic Park. Organizers intended for the game to become a national spotlight game, on par with the Kickoff Classic held in the Meadowlands from 1983–2002, and the Disneyland Pigskin Classic in the 1990s.

College football kickoff