History and location of Aviva Stadium before the Florida State football game
Florida State and Georgia Tech will play in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic in Dublin, Ireland on August 24, 2024.
Florida State’s Jason Baisden has been involved in some of the biggest games in college football.
The Seminoles’ assistant athletic director for equipment operations has spent a lot of time coordinating equipment needs for national championship games, bowl games and some of the fiercest rivalries in college sports while traveling across the country.
But Baisden said the upcoming trip to Dublin, Ireland for FSU’s game against Georgia Tech is at the top of his list.
“This is kind of like our Super Bowl,” Baisden said.
“To be abroad like this, to do it logistically without any problems and to support the team and the coaches with everything they need without any problems, if we can do that, it will be the best thing for me personally and my group.”
Baisden said he had been planning the trip since the game was announced last March. Equipment staff packed for last season’s away game with extreme care, labelling equipment and gear and keeping track of the weight of things being transported en route to ensure the trip to Ireland went as smoothly as possible.
“We really used last season as a dry run to prepare for the first game of the season,” Baisden said. “I also talked to my colleagues at other schools who played there, just to make sure we weren’t missing anything or that there were any problems.”
The first leg of the unusual 4,000-mile journey was completed Wednesday when the Seminoles’ equipment truck headed to Orlando to be loaded onto a cargo plane. The equipment was scheduled to arrive at Aviva Stadium and the team’s hotel in Dublin on Tuesday morning.
The Seminoles will have a crew in Ireland at that time ready to receive the equipment and distribute it to the desired locations.
A new environment brings new challenges, better preparation
Baisden said on a typical away game, the earliest equipment staff would depart is the Wednesday of the week of the game. This trip dramatically changed the schedule, moving operations forward by nearly a week to accommodate the increased travel load across the Atlantic.
For the equipment crew, considerations for the trip were not limited to simply packing the equipment into the truck and shipping it; crews also had to take into account the different climates, frequencies and power supplies.
Baisden said the trip to Ireland forced his team to prepare more thoroughly because if something went wrong in Tallahassee, there was no guarantee the Seminoles could find a replacement in Dublin.
“It’s going to help us be better prepared for the things we’re taking with us. We had to be really thorough,” Baisden said. “Because when you’re out in the States and you maybe forget something, either the other team has something left and we have a chance to borrow it, or we can run out and get it.”
“We don’t have that option there.”
The Seminoles’ training schedule presented another difficulty for the equipment staff to consider.
Mike Norvell’s team will continue training in Tallahassee through Wednesday, August 21. That means players will bring their personal equipment bags to Ireland on a chartered plane and equipment staff will be responsible for transporting them back. Baisden said the team took into account the extra weight these bags would add for the flight back to Florida when packing.
The equipment crew is prepared for almost any scenario that might arise during the trip.
“Usually you have a rough idea of what situation you’re going into. But when you go there, it could rain, it could be cold,” Baisden said. “So we pack for all factors, like cold weather gear, rain gear, removable cleats. Typical things we wouldn’t take to every away game.”
Although fans sometimes don’t see and overlook them as part of game week preparations, Baisden says the equipment staff have a great relationship with the team as they try to make the lead-up to game day as smooth as possible.
On game day, Baisden and his staff will experience what it looks and feels like at a typical away game.
As the Seminoles line up for the second half of their game against Georgia Tech, equipment personnel prepare the truck to bring all of the team’s equipment back to Tallahassee on Sunday, one day before the Seminoles head home.
He said as soon as they land on Monday, preparations for Boston College would begin.
“Whatever it takes, make sure it’s done right,” Baisden said. “The truck will go to the airport in Dublin and go through customs, they’ll load the plane and our equipment will be back in Tallahassee by Sunday night.”
“When we get back on Monday, our equipment from Orlando should be back and on our loading dock so we can unload it and start preparing for Boston College next week.”
How to watch FSU vs Georgia Tech
- Date: Saturday, August 24
- Time: 12:00 p.m. ET
- Where: Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland
- TV: ESPN
- Streaming: ESPN+ ($10.99 per month), WatchESPN and the ESPN app (TV provider subscription required), fuboTV (7-day free trial), YouTube TV (2-week free trial), Hulu + Live TV (7-day free trial)
Liam Rooney covers Florida State University athletics for the Tallahassee Democrat. Reach him via email at [email protected] or on Twitter at @__liamroonej
