Georgia State takes step toward football program
Sufficient financial commitments have been made to move the process to the next phase.

By STAN AWTREY
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 09/28/07

Nearly 100 people were crammed into Tony's American Grille in Roswell on Wednesday night, most of them to talk about college football. But the topic wasn't Georgia Tech or Georgia; neither a buzz nor a woof could be heard. The program of choice was Georgia State.

Applause intermixed with a few "woo-woos" came when football consultant Dan Reeves picked up a helmet, painted in school colors and decorated with a logo, and held it aloft.

Yes, the tipping point has been reached. Alumni interest is there, and donations have been adequate enough to proceed. If students agree to an activity-fee increase next month, the program should be placed on the fast track. Georgia State could have its football team up and running by 2010.

"There's support for it now," said Bill Reeves, a 1959 GSU graduate who attended the meeting with his wife, Susan. Reeves, who is not related to Dan Reeves, has been a member of the athletics board for 12 years. "I'm talking for it and I'm supporting it," he said.

On the other end of the age spectrum is Justin Breit

felder, who earned his risk management degree in the spring. He's one of the younger alums in favor of the move. "I think football will fly," he said.

The school has more than $1.2 million in commitments, enough to move forward. The next big step comes Oct. 19, when a 15-person committee, seven of them students, hears a proposal to increase the student-activity fee to $85 per semester, a move that would generate more than $5 million. If that happens, school President Carl V. Patton is expected to give his OK by November and send the plan to the Board of Regents, which likely would rubber-stamp its approval in the spring.

"We're going pretty strong

down that road," said Tom Lewis, the school's vice president for external affairs. "The

support is pretty strong, and we're hearing it. I just spent three days on the road with the president, and at the beginning of every meeting the first question we heard was, 'How is football coming along.' The interest is there."

Supporters contend football is more viable at Georgia State since nearly 5,000 students will soon be living on campus. That's a far cry from the days when the school catered to commuters.

"When I went to Georgia State, I'd have to go to Athens for football games," Breitfelder said. "When you lived in the student village, there was no reason to stay there. Having football would change that and help school spirit."

Georgia State athletics director Mary McElroy

ssaidd that it looks like a football program will be hatched, but there are other questions that must be answered.

• The school would play its games at the Georgia Dome but would need to find a location for practice facilities.

• The addition of football would throw the Title IX statistics out of line, meaning the school would need to add two or three intercollegiate sports for women. Lacrosse would likely be the first.

• Additional money would need to be allocated for support programs such as cheerleaders and the band.

• A coach and staff would need to be hired and given a chance to recruit. There was no question that the supporters on hand at Tony's want to see Reeves go from consultant to coach.

Georgia State would compete at the Division I-AA level against the likes of Georgia Southern, not against Georgia Tech or Georgia. That would be OK, said Dave Cohen, who works in the Georgia State alumni relations office and is the longtime radio "Voice of the Panthers."

"I broadcast the Furman football games, and nobody up there [in South Carolina] is worried about the Clemson or South Carolina games," Cohen said. "Furman has its own niche, and that's what Georgia State needs to carve out."