Latest on Georgia St. Football

[ChooChoo]

During last weeks UNCW basketball game, AD, Mary McElroy, reported that we are moving forward as if we are adding football (an un-official way of not announcing anything). She said we have secured a place to hold the games and if you would like to send money to the effort, there will be a football fundraising endeavor that will soon be in place. This comes on the heels of a confidential meeting last week where our President apparently made it known that he was ready to embrace football. He believes with all the growth and the large number of on campus students soon to arrive, the iron is hot to strike. They are waiting 6 to 9 months to make the formal announcement, barring interfernce. The interference referred to would be the state Board of Regents, which is heavily influenced by GT and UGA.
It's wait and see, but it looks like its finally going to happen. :hurray:

[JDC325]

Good luck, the Board of Regents fought GA Southern getting football, they fought GA Southern becoming a universtiy and I am sure they will fight us in being declared a research institution even thought the carnegie foundation recognizes us as one. I am sure they will not be thrilled with another football team and I know we are in for a battle if Ga Southern ever decides to move up to the FBS.

[rokamortis]

Good luck - I hope it happens.

[th0m]

Indeed good luck. Hope to see ya soon in CAA Football!

[ButlerGSU]

It would be great to have an in state FCS rivalry and yes I remembered Savannah State.

[th0m]

You could have the in-state battle of the GSU's ;)

[TexasTerror]

Can't wait for more news on Georgia State football...

Could Georgia St possibly switch conferences with the addition of football or will they more than likely stay in CAA with an OOC rivalry with Georgia Southern?

[Monarch Nation]

That's great, ChooChoo. Let's hope it works out. The more all-sports CAA members the better.

[NoCoDanny]

So if they have secured a place to play any ideas where that is?

[ChooChoo]

Well, the formal study listed 4 possible sites: the Georgia Dome, 2 seperate and much older high school facilities (Southside and Panthersville), or a new on campus facility.
The little birds say despite what that study suggested, an internal study yielded different scenerios. If I were a betting man, I'd say for the short term, it will come down to:
1.Herndon Stadium at Morris Brown (15K, good shape, sitting empty)
2.Georgia Dome (72K, Just blocks from school, available, will swallow the crowd)
3.Panthersville at South Dekalb (5K, pitiful shape & location, but adjoins our other facilities)

[Model Citizen]

3.Panthersville at South Dekalb (5K, pitiful shape & location, but adjoins our other facilities)

Isn't your fan base more of a suburban/Dekalb group?

[henfan]

Could Georgia St possibly switch conferences with the addition of football or will they more than likely stay in CAA with an OOC rivalry with Georgia Southern?

I'd have to say absolutely not. Conference moves aren't cheap or often done without great foresight.

Georgia State is in only their second year of CAA play for Olympic sports. As part of their move, the school undoubtedly evaluated the possibility of one day playing football and doing so in the CAA. If the rivalry with Georgia Southern or other regional schools was tops on their list, they would have considered a move to the SoCon two years ago. The move to a less regional conference like the CAA was obviously part of a grander scheme for marketing GSU in the East, I'd imagine. Now, you can argue if it was the right move in terms of financing athletics, etc.

I've maintained all along that the CAA probably had some assurances from GSU as a condition of their admittance that they would begin sponsoring football within X number of years. Just a hunch. :twocents:

[th0m]

Can't wait for more news on Georgia State football...

Could Georgia St possibly switch conferences with the addition of football or will they more than likely stay in CAA with an OOC rivalry with Georgia Southern?

They just joined the conference a couple of years ago. Why would they leave the CAA when they pretty much have a sure bet of being in one of the top auto-bid conferences should they decide to add football? I think they would've joined the Socon earlier if they had the chance to.

[OL FU]

I'd have to say absolutely not. Conference moves aren't cheap or often done without great foresight.

Georgia State is in only their second year of CAA play for Olympic sports. As part of their move, the school undoubtedly evaluated the possibility of one day playing football and doing so in the CAA. If the rivalry with Georgia Southern or other regional schools was tops on their list, they would have considered a move to the SoCon two years ago. The move to a less regional conference like the CAA was obviously part of a grander scheme for marketing GSU in the East, I'd imagine. Now, you can argue if it was the right move in terms of financing athletics, etc.

I've maintained all along that the CAA probably had some assurances from GSU as a condition of their admittance that they would begin sponsoring football within X number of years. Just a hunch. :twocents:

1) The SoCon is not quick to invite or positively respond to new members. Pure conjecture but when GStateU was making their move the SoCon may have had no interest. Would not be the first time we have over looked someone in our own backyard:smiley_wi
2) Something will have to give with the CAA. In FSC, 12 football playing conference members are too many. 14 would be downright ridiculous.:nod: Maybe the NE schools leave:confused:

[ChickenMan]

In an attempt to become more like the SoCon... the CAA may kick out some tough football programs like UMass, UNH and Maine while adding soft newbies like ODU and Georgia St... :D xlolx :p

[ChooChoo]

Can't wait for more news on Georgia State football...

Could Georgia St possibly switch conferences with the addition of football or will they more than likely stay in CAA with an OOC rivalry with Georgia Southern?

I'll tell you this, our two closest CAA football opponents would be JMU (533 mi) and Old Dominion (568 mi), while the two furtherest SoCon opponents would be the Citadel (320 mi) and Elon (350 mi).
I don't think switching conferences will happen any time soon, especially with the strength of CAA basketball, but from a financial, travel, and logistics perspective, the next few years will be difficult. Many think the SoCon and regional rivalries is and should be the way the go. I, however, think that being in the CAA will enhance our recruiting appeal and gives us the best chance for national exposure.
To be honest, at this point I'd play in whatever conference that would have us.:)

[OL FU]

In an attempt to become more like the SoCon... the CAA may kick out some tough football programs like UMass, UNH and Maine while adding soft newbies like ODU and Georgia St... :D xlolx :p

And Delaware finally gets back in the playoffs:smiley_wi :p

Seriously, don't you think a 14 team conference is a little much when typically the CAA will usually two bids, occasionally three

[ChickenMan]

Although I like the current competition in the A10/CAA... 12 schools is probably three too many.

[th0m]

Well I don't see a large difference in the amount of bids for 12 vs. 14 teams, it's not like we'd play more conference games. We would have to split it between more members, but it also creates the possibility of multiple stronger teams because some teams don't play each other (as is the case now).

Not saying I would support a 14 team conference, that is just crazy, but the problem will already present itself when ODU joins the league, and I'm sure some sort of conference shake-up will occur.

[OL FU]

Well I don't see a large difference in the amount of bids for 12 vs. 14 teams, it's not like we'd play more conference games. We would have to split it between more members, but it also creates the possibility of multiple stronger teams because some teams don't play each other (as is the case now).

Not saying I would support a 14 team conference, that is just crazy, but the problem will already present itself when ODU joins the league, and I'm sure some sort of conference shake-up will occur.

Ok, I should not have ask the question using bids to the playoffs.

Just simply. if 12 is too many, then 14 is too many!!!!!:D

[henfan]

Something will have to give with the CAA. In FSC, 12 football playing conference members are too many. 14 would be downright ridiculous.:nod: Maybe the NE schools leave:confused:

Pure speculation here but I'd bet the CAA and its affiliate schools understand exactly what is going on and have already worked out plans to address this. It was likely a condition of the conference assuming control of the A-10 football league, knowing that football was in the works at ODU, Georgia State and, possibly, George Mason.

Again, speculation. I'd expect CAA Olympic sport membership to grow by 2in the next few years (to 14 teams) and football membership to actually shrink to 9 or 10 teams before, say, 2011, when ODU enters the league. A football or all-sports league consisting of Northeast schools is also probable, IMO. Could be a lot of opportunity there for conferences like the America East and Patriot. :thumbsup:

[henfan]

I'll tell you this, our two closest CAA football opponents would be JMU (533 mi) and Old Dominion (568 mi), while the two furtherest SoCon opponents would be the Citadel (320 mi) and Elon (350 mi).

I wouldn't expect JMU would be GSU's closest geographic CAA football rival by the time the Panthers are ready to field their first conference team.;)

Stay tuned.

[tsutiger]

Hmmmmmm. Mixed feelings on GSU having a football team. I have a degree from TSU but took classes at GSU to meet the 150 requirement to take the CPA exam. I think Atlanta's entertainment market is too crowed for a GSU football team. UGA, Tech, Falcons, Hawks, Thrashers, Braves, and all the other plays, comedy shows, and music concerts that come through atlanta daily. Everyone's not ment to play football, and i think GSU is one of those schools.

From what I observed from 5 classes i took there over a year and a half period. The students look at it like a community college. They take classes there and that's it. No support for it's athletic teams.

[EagleCrusade]

The Southern Conference kicked out ETSU for dropping football. Ga State did not field a football team which prevented them from joining the SoCon. The next member to the SoCon will join with football.

Yes UNC-G and CofC do not field football and Davidson does not play in the SoCon. They were allowed in before the rule.

Should Ga State field a football team at the FCS level, it is my opinion that they should join the SoCon. I doubt the SoCon would turn them down. Wait, they're a state university....

[OL FU]

I wouldn't expect JMU would be GSU's closest geographic CAA football rival by the time the Panthers are ready to field their first conference team.;)

Stay tuned.

Is App joining the CAA before they go BCS:smiley_wi

[th0m]

Yeah henfan, what are you on about :p Are you saying a team closer by will add football, or are you saying JMU won't be in the conference anymore? :o

[henfan]

Yeah henfan, what are you on about :p Are you saying a team closer by will add football, or are you saying JMU won't be in the conference anymore? :o

Just looking at the big picture and making some common sense assumptions. Pure speculation but based on what's transpired in the recent past.

The CAA's last round of expansion was an attempt to re-define its footprint (now Atlanta to Boston.) The CAA's expansion down to Atlanta and up to Boston only makes sense if the conference intended to eventually attract a couple more schools within or near the Atlanta-Wilmington, NC-Harrisonburg triangle and within a drive of Brookline. I'd suspect it would be schools with football. There are probably 6-8 schools who'd fit that description.

I haven't heard/read that the CAA or any schools are looking at expansion right now. Even if the Panthers decided to sponsor an FCS team, it wouldn't probably happen until 2013 or so. We've got some time.

[th0m]

GSU in 2013 seems reasonable. But ODU would join the league for football in 2010ish I think.

[henfan]

GSU in 2013 seems reasonable. But ODU would join the league for football in 2010ish I think.

ODU officially joins the league in 2011. They'll play as an independent in 2009 and 2010.

[youwouldno]

CAA: the first 20-team league??? I mean something is going to give, eventually.

[gophoenix]

Maybe the CAA is taking in UNC-Pembroke :)

[henfan]

CAA: the first 20-team league??? I mean something is going to give, eventually.

Not sure where you're coming up with 20 teams? It's pretty simple math, really. It would be a 14-member conference (existing 12 + 2 newbes) with an 8/10-team football league. One or two of those football teams would be affiliate members.

However, I'd bet good money that we'll never even see a 13-team football league.:twocents:

[ChooChoo]

Nothing official to report but according to "they say" things are looking very good as far as the Georgia State football rumor. VERY good. Actually, the sooner we get a program launched the better.
How soon? $$$ talks. Now I know these things take time, but unlike the ODU model, it appears State is on the fasttrack. Is this being done to streamline with ODU's inclusion to the new look CAA in four years? Most likely.
One last "they say" I found highly enlightening. The current goal is to be highly competetive in FCS while we grow, but long term, our aim is to be the biggest and best program possible. Within that statement the words eventually 1-A (though antiquated by us in the know) were used.
Now whether that's a CAA goal as a whole, a university aspiration, or just posturing to drum up money and support for our program is unknown to me. I do know that the admin. is excited to be in the CAA, so I doubt they'd bite hands so early into our tenure with such an annoucement (which hasn't been announced).
I know it's very, very early in the process to speculate, but with the beginning of a new round of shake-ups on the horizon (ie.Duquesne, NE, AE, MAAC, CAA-split), it's interesting to consider that there may actually be groundwork for new 1-A conference being laid in place.
Anyway take the last 2 paragraphs with a grain of salt, take the first paragraph as foreshadowing.
In the words of Deter,"I'm as happy as a little girl."

[MplsBison]

Would you rather see GStU playing at the Morris Brown stadium or build a new stadium in Pantherville?

[NoCoDanny]

How far from campus is that Morris Brown stadium?

[youwouldno]

Not sure where you're coming up with 20 teams? It's pretty simple math, really. It would be a 14-member conference (existing 12 + 2 newbes) with an 8/10-team football league. One or two of those football teams would be affiliate members.

However, I'd bet good money that we'll never even see a 13-team football league.:twocents:

Sorry, I guess you missed your high school english class on "hyperbole" as a form of exaggeration... so in other words, a negative comment about large leagues.

[ButlerGSU]

How far from campus is that Morris Brown stadium?

GA State does not really have a campus per say, it's mainly a few floors of skyscrapers in downtown Atlanta. They are building their first dorms now. You can see some of it on I-85.

[henfan]

Sorry, I guess you missed your high school english class on "hyperbole" as a form of exaggeration... so in other words, a negative comment about large leagues.

As I used to instruct my high school students, hyperbole is effective when used to get a reader's attention and emphasize a point. You failed badly in making a point, unless you're arguing against common sense that an 8-10-team CAA football league would be a "large league".

[Dane96]

GA State does not really have a campus per say, it's mainly a few floors of skyscrapers in downtown Atlanta. They are building their first dorms now. You can see some of it on I-85.

First dorms? I may be wrong but after the Olympics, they took over the Olympic Village (where there were then post-construction issues of sinking by an inch a year...which I thought were solved).

[89Hen]

BTW, just noticed Georgia State's website is GSU.edu :eyebrow: that must burn some people down in Statesboro.

[Dane96]

And as I thought, they are not building the FIRST DORMS at Georgia State. Gotta love GSU fans (as in ButlerGSU)......

Those "old" dorms are beautiful.

[ChooChoo]

Now, now, there most certainly IS a campus. It's not a traditional campus with massive green space and so forth, but there is a "campus proper". The Plaza off of Courtland has been the focal point of campus life for the most part. Granted it is an elevated, outdoor cocoon sheltering us from "the streets", but it's definately the heart of campus. The issue over the past decade has been the spread of Georgia State throughout the Fairlie-Poplar District of downtown. To some that has caused some confusion. It gives the perception of no cmapus life. It looked spotty for years but now it's all coming together. We have slowly changed what was once a bleak area into what is now and becoming a large urban campus infused with downtown. Our outdoor space has also increased with Woodruff Park now solidly within the schools footprint (vagrants are another issue). Under the new masterplan, MAJOR changes are coming that will give a much better feel to the public and students as to just how big Georgia State is in downtown. The biggest changes, killing the Plaza, Kell Hall, Sparks Hall, and the Courtland street overpass, and effectively dropping the old heart down to the ground. Entrance signs, bricked streets, and other distinctions will be used to build a much,much bigger, more noticeable campus.
As for Morris Brown, it's about 2 miles away (or 3 stops on the MARTA line). I have to belive that's the best option.
I really, really want to support this program, but having the games at Panthersville is a poor option. I'd go, but it's FAR from ideal. As little money as possible should be spent on that facility. It would have to be a short term solution, not the solution.

[ChooChoo]

http://www.gsu.edu/gastate_oncampus_housing.html
As you can see there are dorms. There are also plans for at least 2 maybe 3 more within three years.
http://www2.gsu.edu/~wwwmsp/2006/masterplan/index.htm
In case anyone is interested.

[aust42]

Hmmmmmm. Mixed feelings on GSU having a football team. I have a degree from TSU but took classes at GSU to meet the 150 requirement to take the CPA exam. I think Atlanta's entertainment market is too crowed for a GSU football team. UGA, Tech, Falcons, Hawks, Thrashers, Braves, and all the other plays, comedy shows, and music concerts that come through atlanta daily. Everyone's not ment to play football, and i think GSU is one of those schools.

From what I observed from 5 classes i took there over a year and a half period. The students look at it like a community college. They take classes there and that's it. No support for it's athletic teams.

tsutiger hit the nail right on the head. Georgia State football would be a hard sell when you have the Falcons and Georgia Tech on the same block. Especially for a "commuter school". If the CAA ends up with Old Dominion, George Mason, and Georgia State in the next few years I would assume the existing football only members would spit and form their own conference. There just isn't enough room for one, let alone three more football members. They could resurrect the old Yankee Conference. Now that I have a speculative mental image the CAA would be rather weak if this ever happened.

Yankee Conference

UMASS
New Hampshire
Maine
Rhode Island
Villanova
Richmond

CAA

Delaware
Northeastern
JMU
Hofstra
William & Mary
Towson
George Mason
Georgia State
Old Dominion

[Dane96]

Add Stony Brook and Albany to the Yankee conference.

[MplsBison]

And perhaps a renewed Vermont program as well?

[Dane96]

Never

[JMU_Fan_2007]

That's a fair estimate of a potential breakdown, except Richmond will very likely stay with the CAA. Richmond has to much tradition with the rivalries against W&M and JMU. That Yankee conference would also leave them geographically isolated.

You have to give credit to the idea of several of those schools forming a I-A conference. I would say this is a very legitimate second option. Here's a fun potential I-A conference:

Delaware
William and Mary
James Madison
Villanova
UMass
Annndddd, just for fun:
App St
Furman
Georgia Southern

now THAT would be a conference.

I would also mention the possibility of several CAA schools joining the Big East as football-only members. Right now there are only 8 Big East football schools. I think you could potential see 2 or 4 schools join the big east at once in the next few years. The two most likely are JMU and Delaware. Less likely but still possible would be William and Mary, Villanova (A lot of people forget they have at points had a great team and have a very strong fan base when they are good), perhaps a Socon team, and maybe Marshall or other non-BCS I-A schools.

One way or another, the CAA won't be a 14 team conference. Something will happen before ODU joins... Let the speculation continue.

[ButlerGSU]

BTW, just noticed Georgia State's website is GSU.edu :eyebrow: that must burn some people down in Statesboro.

No not really, Georgia State was GSU back in the days of Georgia Southern College. That explains why they have the domain.

I apologize about Olympic Village. I completely forgot they were dorms and you can see them on I-85 but my point was they don't have a traditional campus, it's very urban.

[89Hen]

That's a fair estimate of a potential breakdown, except Richmond will very likely stay with the CAA. Richmond has to much tradition with the rivalries against W&M and JMU.

I would also mention the possibility of several CAA schools joining the Big East as football-only members.
Two big problems there. One, it may not be up to Richmond whether they stay or go. They will have no vote on CAA football. Two, the Big East made it VERY clear several years ago that they want NO part of associate members for football. They want all members in all sports, just like most of the conferences want... including me for the CAA.

[89Hen]

And perhaps a renewed Vermont program as well?
http://www.loyaldog.nl/uploaded/Hell+freezing+over.jpg

[MplsBison]

You never know.

[89Hen]

You never know.
Probably a better chance BU would bring back football and I'd put those odds at 1,000,000 to 1.

"So you're saying there's a chance."

[henfan]

Probably a better chance BU would bring back football and I'd put those odds at 1,000,000 to 1.

"So you're saying there's a chance."

So you're saying there's still a chance?
http://site.steelcityauctions.com/rmhlloyd.jpg