List of Georgia Institute of Technology athletes

The Georgia Institute of Technology is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States...

has graduated a number of athletes. This includes graduates, non-graduate former students and current students of Georgia Tech who are notable for their achievements within athletics, sometimes before or after their time at Georgia Tech. Other alumni can be found in the list of Georgia Institute of Technology alumni; notable administration, faculty, and staff can be found on the list of Georgia Institute of Technology faculty. Intercollegiate sports teams at Georgia Tech are called "Yellow Jackets

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

The Yellow Jackets is the name used for all of the intercollegiate athletic teams that play for the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia. The teams have also been nicknamed the Ramblin' Wreck, Engineers, Blacksmiths, and Golden Tornado. There are 8 men's and 7 women's teams that...

", and are run by the Georgia Tech Athletic Association

Georgia Tech Athletic Association

The Georgia Tech Athletic Association is a non-profit organization responsible for maintaining the intercollegiate athletic program at Georgia Tech. The Athletic Association is overseen by the Georgia Tech Athletic Board....

. The Athletic Association runs Georgia Tech's Hall of Fame

Hall of Fame

A hall of fame, wall of fame, walk of fame, walk of stars or avenue of stars is a type of attraction established for any field of endeavor to honor individuals of noteworthy achievement in that field...

, which has inducted many of Tech's greatest players throughout the program's history.

Despite their technical backgrounds and courses of study, many Georgia Tech students participate in college athletics

College athletics

College athletics refers primarily to sports and athletic competition organized and funded by institutions of tertiary education . In the United States, college athletics is a two-tiered system. The first tier includes the sports that are sanctioned by one of the collegiate sport governing bodies...

, outdoor activities and other forms of sport

Sport

A Sport is all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants. Sport may be competitive, where a winner or winners can be identified by objective means, and may require a degree...

. Georgia Tech offers seventeen varsity sports: Men's Football, Men's and Women's Basketball, Men's Baseball, Women's Softball, Women's volleyball, Men's Golf, Men's and Women's Tennis, Men's and Women's Swimming and Diving, Men's and Women's Track and Field, and Men's and Women's Cross Country. Approximately 150 Tech students have gone into the National Football League

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

(NFL), with many others going into the National Basketball Association

National Basketball Association

The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...

(NBA) or Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

(MLB). Some Tech players have also participated in the Olympic Games

Olympic Games

The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...

.

Well-known American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

athletes include former students Calvin Johnson

Calvin Johnson (American football)

Calvin Johnson, Jr. is an American football wide receiver for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League . He was drafted by the Lions second overall in the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at Georgia Tech....

, Ken Whisenhunt

Ken Whisenhunt

Kenneth "Ken" Moore Whisenhunt is the current head coach of the Arizona Cardinals NFL football team, leading them to the first Super Bowl in franchise history during the 2008 season...

, and Keith Brooking

Keith Brooking

Keith Howard Brooking is a linebacker for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the first round of the 1998 NFL Draft. He played college football at Georgia Tech...

, former Tech head football coaches John Heisman

John Heisman

John William Heisman was an American player and coach of football, basketball, and baseball. He served as the head football coach at Oberlin College , Buchtel College, now known as the University of Akron , Auburn University , Clemson University , Georgia Tech , the...

, and Bobby Dodd

Bobby Dodd

Robert Lee Dodd was an American college football coach at Georgia Tech. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame as a player and coach, something that only three people have accomplished....

, and all-time greats such as Joe Hamilton

Joe Hamilton (football player)

Joe Hamilton is a former American football player who now serves as running backs coach at Georgia State University. Before joining the Georgia State football staff in 2010, he had played professionally as a quarterback, most recently for the Orlando Predators of the Arena Football League...

, Pat Swilling

Pat Swilling

Patrick Travis Swilling is a former American football linebacker in the NFL for the New Orleans Saints and a delegate in the Louisiana House of Representatives. He earned five Pro Bowl appearances.-College career:...

, Billy Shaw

Billy Shaw

William Lewis "Billy" Shaw is an American former college and professional football player.Drafted in 1961 by the American Football League's Buffalo Bills, Billy Shaw of Georgia Tech was the prototypical "pulling guard" who despite his size held his own against much bigger defensive linemen like...

, and Joe Guyon

Joe Guyon

Joseph Napoleon Guyon was a professional American football player in the National Football League...

. Tech's entrants into the NBA include Dennis Scott

Dennis Scott (basketball)

Dennis Eugene Scott is an American former professional basketball player. A 6' 8" small forward from Georgia Tech, and the 1989–1990 ACC Men's Basketball Player of the Year, Scott was selected by the Orlando Magic with the fourth pick of the 1990 NBA Draft after being the leading scorer on a...

, Mark Price

Mark Price

William Mark Price is a retired American basketball player who played for 12 seasons in the NBA, from 1986 to 1998...

, John Salley

John Salley

John Thomas "Spider" Salley is a retired American professional basketball player, actor and talk show host. He was the first player in NBA history to play on three different championship-winning franchises....

, Stephon Marbury

Stephon Marbury

Stephon Xavier Marbury is an American professional basketball player.The , point guard was selected out of the Georgia Institute of Technology by the Milwaukee Bucks with the 4th overall pick in the 1996 NBA Draft, but was traded shortly thereafter to the Minnesota Timberwolves.He was an NBA...

, and Chris Bosh

Chris Bosh

Christopher Wesson Bosh is an American professional basketball player who plays power forward for the Miami Heat in the National Basketball Association ....

. Award-winning baseball stars include Mark Teixeira

Mark Teixeira

Mark Charles Teixeira , nicknamed "Tex" is an American Major League Baseball player for the New York Yankees. Mostly a first baseman, he has also played third base and in the outfield...

, Nomar Garciaparra

Nomar Garciaparra

Anthony Nomar Garciaparra is a former Major League Baseball player. After playing parts of 9 seasons as an All-Star shortstop for the Boston Red Sox, he played third base, first base, and designated hitter for the Oakland Athletics, first base and third base for the Los Angeles Dodgers, and...

, and Jason Varitek

Jason Varitek

Jason Andrew Varitek is an American professional baseball catcher who is a free agent. After being traded as a minor league prospect by the Seattle Mariners, Varitek has played his entire major league career for the Boston Red Sox...

. In golf, Bobby Jones

Bobby Jones (golfer)

Robert Tyre "Bobby" Jones Jr. was an American amateur golfer, and a lawyer by profession. Jones was the most successful amateur golfer ever to compete on a national and international level...

founded The Masters, David Duval

David Duval

David Robert Duval is an American professional golfer and former World No. 1 who competes on the PGA Tour.-Early years:...

was ranked #1 in the world in 2001, and Stewart Cink

Stewart Cink

Stewart Ernest Cink is an American professional golfer who won the 2009 Open Championship. He has spent over 40 weeks in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Rankings from 2004 to 2009.-Early years and education:...

won the 2009 British Open

The Open Championship

The Open Championship, or simply The Open , is the oldest of the four major championships in professional golf. It is the only "major" held outside the USA and is administered by The R&A, which is the governing body of golf outside the USA and Mexico...