Latest on Georgia St's Quest for I-AA

[TexasTerror]

Georgia St is making strides. More than half of a $1M scholarship endowment has been raised. Studies are being done left and right, while a lot on the front-end is being done to gather up $$$ to make it happen...

From the Georgia State athletic 'Panther Talk' Luncheon...

From the AD...
• The Football Feasibility Study is underway for student interest. Next is a study for alumni and boosters. The concept by the consulting firm is to gauge the interest level and more importantly the financial commitments on the front end in order to know if Division I-AA football is possible
• More than half of the $1 million dollar scholarship endowments have been made with a big push to reach the goal

http://www2.gsu.edu/~wwwath/general/060505_PantherTalkRecap.htm

[mainejeff]

CAA Football by 2010:

Delaware
Towson
James Madison
Richmond
William & Mary
Old Dominion
Appalachian State
Georgia State

:hurray:

[th0m]

Where'd ASU come from? :o

[*****]

Where'd ASU come from? :oYeah, I've read on boards that they and JMU (plus maybe UD) will all be I-A by then... :read:

[blukeys]

Yeah, I've read on boards that they and JMU (plus maybe UD) will all be I-A by then... :read:

Yes along with YSU we are all joining the MAC.

:nod: :nod: :nod: :nod: :nod: :nod: :nod: :nod:

[PCbluehose]

I know that State has a club team right now. They played North Greenville last year who is a D-II independent. The final was 55-0. Here is a link to the recap.

http://ngcrusaders.athleticsite.com/article.asp?articleID=71

Living about 20 min from the campus, they are stoked about getting some sort of team together in the future.

[TexasTerror]

I know that State has a club team right now. They played North Greenville last year who is a D-II independent. The final was 55-0. Here is a link to the recap.

http://ngcrusaders.athleticsite.com/article.asp?articleID=71

Living about 20 min from the campus, they are stoked about getting some sort of team together in the future.

A Div II independent played a club team?!? Unreal!

[*****]

Grambling played a first year team last year... gotta start somewhere.

[TexasTerror]

Grambling played a first year team last year... gotta start somewhere.

But, I thought that was a league-member? Similar talent level, right? xlolx

Okay, all jokes aside, it was Concordia, I know...:)

[PaladinFan]

My question is where will they play? For those who aren't familiar, Georgia State is located in the middle of downtown Atlanta. Perhaps they will use Bobby Dodd across the street?

[Dane96]

Talk is they will use the Georgia Dome.

Yep, after we brought those fans back to sanity...everyone believes the real home stadium will end up being Morris Brown's stadium. MB dropped football, however there stadium is really nice (20k+) and just had been revamped for the Olympics 10 years ago.

[Pard4Life]

Yeah, I've read on boards that they and JMU (plus maybe UD) will all be I-A by then... :read:

Are you serious about that fact or is that sarcasm? I-AA would be losing three of their premier programs. I can kinda see why ASU to DI would make sense, but JMU and UD??

If not that new CAA would be the dance of death. The fourth place team might be good enough for the playoffs.

[JaxSinfonian]

I've always thought MBC's Herndon Stadium would be their best option. On Google Earth, it looks to be just a couple blocks west of the Georgia Dome. Not having seen it in person, I'm not sure what the area around the stadium is like. Anyone been there?

http://www.worldstadiums.com/stadium_pictures/north_america/united_states/georgia/atlanta_herndon.jpg

http://myweb.cableone.net/jax42/atl-stadiums.jpg


I've often wondered if Herndon could be another option for the I-AA Championship game. It's in the middle of a major city with access to an easy-to-fly-to airport. For the record, I like 'Nooga, but if it had to move, this would be even closer to me. Parking might be an issue, though. And WorldStadiums.com (http://www.worldstadiums.com/north_america/countries/united_states/georgia.shtml) says it seats only 15,000. Anyone know for sure?

[ButlerGSU]

I believe it's on the campus of Morris Brown, not sure its setup for football or not since it's used mainly for soccer. I think the I-AA game in Atlanta would be nice but with all the bowls in Atlanta already it'd probably get covered over.

[jstate83]

How large is Georgia St. student body?

[ButlerGSU]

How large is Georgia St. student body?

26,000+

A lot of them are non-traditional students in the fact that 1/4th of all graduate students in the state of Georgia attend Georgia State (it's a research university located in the heart of downtown Atlanta, go figure)

[Blueandwhitefightfight]

26,000+

A lot of them are non-traditional students in the fact that 1/4th of all graduate students in the state of Georgia attend Georgia State (it's a research university located in the heart of downtown Atlanta, go figure)


It also is non-traditional because it is largely a commuter school. Most people that go there live in the suburbs and commute to school everyday.

I really don't know how a football team for them will work. I know it could do alright, but I don't know if they will have the success other DI programs in the state have had (GSU, UGA, and GT).

But hey, maybe that will give us another reason to jump to I-A?

[PCbluehose]

My question is where will they play? For those who aren't familiar, Georgia State is located in the middle of downtown Atlanta. Perhaps they will use Bobby Dodd across the street?


Georgia State uses an athletic site right now in Panthersville (Pun intended?) ,GA (about 10 miles from campus) for Softball and Baseball. There is also a football stadium there that the Dekalb Co. school system uses for their high school football games. I imagine that if Georgia State wants to keep all their athletics in a general area they might look to use the facility on Saturday afternoons. The only problem is that the stadium is not in the best area of town. The stadium holds about 6,500 people. Which might also be a problem for a school as large as GSU. Another option for GSU is Memorial Stadium off Memorial Drive. It is about the same distance from GSU and holds close to 16,000 people. Also a stadium used by Dekalb County Schools, it is also used by the Atlanta minor leauge soccer team who is about to get their own stadium.

[BusinessEagle]

I believe it's on the campus of Morris Brown, not sure its setup for football or not since it's used mainly for soccer. I think the I-AA game in Atlanta would be nice but with all the bowls in Atlanta already it'd probably get covered over.

Last time I checked Herndon Stadium still hosts football games for high schools on occassions. It was used for Field Hockey during the '96 Olympics.

The neighborhood is not the best. However, just down the street is the home where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was living at the time of his assassination. The stadium is located near a MARTA station. As a matter of fact the MARTA line runs directly under the stadium.

Also, if you look in the bottom left corner of the picture, that stadium is for Division II Clark-Atlanta University.

[Kill'em]

I can kinda see why ASU to DI would make sense, but JMU and UD??
ASU is Division-I. :nonono2:

[youwouldno]

Their situation is similar to ODU's, and they seem to be moving ahead with I-AA football. I think it comes down to rivalries... I suppose Georgia State would have GSU as an out-of-conference possibility for geographic reasons, but the CAA schools aren't geographically close and GA St. doesn't have a football tradition.

[blukeys]

Their situation is similar to ODU's, and they seem to be moving ahead with I-AA football. I think it comes down to rivalries... I suppose Georgia State would have GSU as an out-of-conference possibility for geographic reasons, but the CAA schools aren't geographically close and GA St. doesn't have a football tradition.


Neither did Coastal Carolina 5 years ago!:D

[henfan]

Hey, at least Georgia State and George Mason have club teams. That's at least some FB tradition, no matter how (in)significant.;)

FWIW, George Mason's 2006 schedule includes 4 NCAA teams (D-III Wesley College, D-II W. New Mex., D-II Clark Atlanta and I-AA LaSalle), which represents a significant upgrade in competition. Not sure if this is a sign of things to come for them or not.

GEORGE MASON @ GEORGIA STATE:
http://recsports.gmu.edu/football/Georgia%20State/Punter.jpg

[ButlerGSU]

The two GSU's would make a great game, we have a pretty good history of playing them in baseball already. Plus Georgia Southern has a HUGE alumni base in Atlanta.

[MplsBison]

Seems like a no brainer.

What's the official reason for not doing it? Money?