Home > Furman Bisher > Archives > 2008 > April > 18 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USInner-city college football generally struggles
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Exhiliration runs high. Pulse of the mid-city beats picks up with anticipation. Downtown Atlanta is about to become blessed with its very own college football team, though “blessed” might be considered somewhat premature.
The Georgia State Panthers have no practice facility, not even a ball, most of all its own place to play the game, no history, no background, nothing more than a surging desire to have its own team and be, finally, a “full” university, as its envisions itself. OK, that’s fine. I don’t want to be a wet blanket, an anti-visionary spreading doom and gloom, but let’s take a cold, hard look at what has become of inner-city college football in this country.
Once upon a time University of Chicago was a powerhouse. It produced the first Heisman Award winner. Later its stadium became the laboratory for nuclear activity. In New York City, Fordham spread its wings from coast to coast at one time. It produced the great Vince Lombardi. NFL stars came out of NYU, the multi-talented Ken Strong, for instance. CCNY and Manhattan once had prosperous football programs. Manhattan played in a bowl game.
In Philadelphia, Temple still struggles to survive. Penn has been reduced to Ivy League level, as has Columbia in New York City. Columbia once played in the Rose Bowl. A few years ago I went to a game at Columbia. It was a nice little outing for about 1,500 people. No scholarships, Ivy League policy, no bowl games, no Heisman candidates.
In St. Louis, both Saint Louis U. and Washington participate well below the radar. Detroit U. once was so mighty it attracted Knute Rockne’s old Notre Dame quarterback, Gus Dorais, as coach. Once upon a time SMU was a regular on Georgia Tech’s schedule. They haven’t played in years. Now the Dallas school struggles to recover from a two-year “sentence” in the NCAA’s hoosegow.
San Francisco once was so rich in football that 11 of its alumni were playing in the NFL at one time, and some are in the NFL Hall of Fame. It’s major sport now is basketball. University of Denver no longer fields a football team. It, like so many other institutions, have been driven out of the game by the invasion of an NFL team. It still does well in low-budget sports.
Now, there are survivors. Boston College rules downtown with the Patriots making their home in Foxboro.
Georgia Tech lives within spitting distance of the Falcons, but its roots are deep in football, and any financial distress that developed there has to do with extravagant and under-funded expansion. All that in spite of a newly published survey of the nation’s major sports cities, in which Atlanta took a pounding.
Somebody, not sure who, did a poll to determine the United States’ “most miserable sports city.” You’ll never guess which city “won” this scourageous (my word) citation. Dear old Atlanta, reconnecting itself with a past which brought the late Lewis Grizzard around to calling it “Losersville.” True, there was much more damning evidence then than now. The Braves were miserable. The Falcons were miserable. Tech was miserable on the football field. There wasn’t much joy in the precinct.
I joust with the purveyors of this latest slap to the chops. The Braves have won 14 division titles and one World Series. (No, these aren’t the Red Sox and Yankees.) The Falcons have been to the Super Bowl. Blushingly, the Hawks now refer to themselves as a “playoff team,” with its losing record. Big-time golf and big-time stock car racing still come to call. There is misery within the boardroom of the Hawks and the Thrashers because of a miserably dysfunctional ownership. Gotta say this, they have kept us in conversation and headlines, though little to do with winning.
So, be cautious, be wary, Georgia State. Stick your toe in the pool before you leap headlong. This is not Statesboro. This is sophisticated Atlanta, as it immodestly considers itself. An upstart football program at a school surrounded by swirling traffic paying little attention, no hallowed halls, no ivy-covered towers and no tradition to build on is taking a walk into a deep forest.
Comments
By Ben
April 18, 2008 7:50 PM | Link to this
I say as a GSU student, that I do not want football there, but we’ll see.
By Najeh Davenpoop
April 18, 2008 9:54 PM | Link to this
The same people who say Atlanta is the worst sports city are the same people who say Kevin McHale is the best GM in sports.
That’s all you really need to know.
By Matt B.
April 18, 2008 11:22 PM | Link to this
I think the title refers to Georgia Tech.
By USMCdawg
April 19, 2008 1:57 AM | Link to this
I agree this could be a mistake. Atlanta already has one I-AA team playing in the city. I think they’re located right by GSU.
By Billy
April 19, 2008 5:01 AM | Link to this
wow. it certainly didn’t take the dawgs long to find this article.
seriously, when your raison d’etre is to make fun of a school with much higher academic standards because their football team isn’t that good, you’re a sad, sad individual.
By E-Roll
April 19, 2008 5:45 AM | Link to this
Can you puppies and bees calm down for just a minute. The world does not revolve around your petty rivalry. This is a story about Georgia State University, so let’s keep it there.
Mr. Bisher, I do recall two “small” schools in L.A. that have a pretty rich football tradition. If UCLA and USC can make it, just give us a little time and we will see what the future has in store for us. I am not comparing my school to those two but everyone has to start off at the beginning before they can get to the finish and yes, you are being a wet blanket in this case.
By Will
April 19, 2008 8:45 AM | Link to this
Furman’s comments about inner city football don’t make a lot of sense to me. He didn’t tell WHY,”in his opinion” that inner-city football teams don’t have great football traditions. The lack of real estate for games and practice facilities doesn’t necessarily preclude having a great football tradition. There are any number of schools who located in or near downtown areas who have great grid-iron traditions…Ga Tech, Louisville, Maryland, Syracuse,USC, UCLA…. Sometimes I think that somebody needs to confiscate Furman’s manual typewriter.
By Reggie
April 19, 2008 9:40 AM | Link to this
Sir,
Its time to put the pen down!
By Charles
April 19, 2008 9:57 AM | Link to this
What a bad article. So you are saying that Columbia and Penn are bad football programs because they play in the ivy League? I have never heard anyone say “reduced to Ivy League level.”
How can the NFL drive out Fordham and NYU when the NFL plays in New Jersey, not New York?
And what does SMUs “death sentence” have to do with them playing in a city?
I think you are grasping for straws.
By DaBulls
April 19, 2008 10:10 AM | Link to this
Mr. Bisher is apparently unfamiliar with football newcomer South Florida.
Too bad the “Saturday Evening Post” and Curtis Publishing are out of business or Mr. Bisher could break a sensational story about inner city football for them as he did about Coach Wally Butts and Coach Bear Bryant in the 1960s.
Those who revere Mr. Bisher’s opinions should re-visit that bit of Atlanta sports and college football history on their own since he faithfully bypasses that subject in his musings about the past.
By jt
April 19, 2008 10:29 AM | Link to this
Bisher you are a racist and your ancetors are racist what would you know about struggle. You white people need to walk in other races shoes before you come out with what you think the problem is and what needs to be done.
By jt
April 19, 2008 10:30 AM | Link to this
Bisher you are a racist and your ancetors are racist what would you know about struggle. You white people need to walk in other races shoes before you come out with what you think the problem is and what needs to be done.
By Bravesfan79
April 19, 2008 11:12 AM | Link to this
it: o you mean like my Irish ancestors were under English rule and tyrany?? Or how millions of Jews were killed in gas chambers? get over yourself, your lucky to be in America instead of Aids riddled Africa!! Your OWN pple sold you out!!
BTW…homie i can tell your a American black and not a African black because they actually appreciate the chances they have and know its a blessing to be in America!
The idea of Ga State football makes NO sense. Traffic already sucks enough, and its OWN students dont even want it!! GSU is a COMMUTER school!
Note to GSU officials…if your students cared about football….thed go to GT or UGA!!
Not to mention the fact that the majority of football players just arent that bright.
Congrats Ga State, youll now have oversized roided up jocks running around campus acting like there the s** (despite getting blown out everygame by about 50 points!)
Ga State football will be like a ghost in Atlanta. No tv coverage, no fans, and no students that care!
Hey at least the 20 or so pple that will be in the stands wont have to worry about fighting parking lot traffic to get home! haha….
By Ryan
April 19, 2008 2:02 PM | Link to this
Houston University is a downtwon campus. I don’t see why GSU couldn’t eventually be at that level.
And what’s so bad about Temple?
State doesn’t have to be a national title contender to be successful. This is all about creating awareness for the campus, i.e., increasing enrollment and alumni donations.
And as a GSU grad, I’d rather spend my Saturday attending MY school’s games win or lose, than going to Athens because it’s the thing to do.
By Bravesfan79
April 19, 2008 3:14 PM | Link to this
I give all these fairweather GSU fans that say they want a football team a couple of seasons before they turn back into fairweather fans again and dissapear.
Once people see the program is more like Prairie View than UGA i look for all the commuter GSU students to be “commuting” to something more worth their time on saturdays than a gsu football game!
"Prairie View Panthers"‘During the 1990s, Prairie View set a record that might stand forever, losing 80 straight games, a losing streak that nearly doubles the second-longest Division I-AA streak Their worst year might have been 1991 — they scored only 48 points all season, while giving up an average of 56 a game. After the Panthers ended their streak by beating Langston State 14-12, running back Kevin Ball said, “One isn’t good enough for me. I don’t want people to think it’s a fluke.” It wasn’t — the Panthers went 2-9 in 1999.’
By Andy
April 19, 2008 5:29 PM | Link to this
I am a student at student at GSU and I never said anything about not wanting a football team. I can’t stand when Cowards like Bravesfan79 who hides behind blogs with their racist views. I you are a man enough why don’t we meet somewhere in person so that you can really express your philosophy about about Africans and African Americans living in America. I don’t this is a racist article in anyway shape of form. However I do disagree with his opinions regarding GSU football but that’s something I have come to expect from the AJC sports journalists. I do believe that we have ways to go but it all starts with finding the right personnel who can do a job of getting the program of the ground. We have the second largest public school in this state, only behind UGA, and it’s time we act like it. I wish GSU all the luck in bringing college football to Downtown, Atlanta.
By kj
April 19, 2008 7:40 PM | Link to this
Man, is it just me or is bravefan79 seem a little bitter because he/she probably couldnt make the cut while he/she attended college? Anyway, If he/she finds being hung, drug by vehicles, shot, beat, and all of those other things lucky then I’d really love to see what he/she does for fun.
Alright, now for the topic at hand, I feel that a Ga State football program can do no worse than Tech right now. Besides, A little healthy competition makes everyone better. Didn’t Ga State compete in the NCAA basketball tourney just a few years ago?
By Charles
April 19, 2008 9:36 PM | Link to this
Probably the biggest hurdle for inner-city schools that he failed to mention is the fact that a big percentage of the students are commuters who work full time jobs and even have families. Therefore, it is difficult to get involved in inter-collegiate athletics like students do at a school like Michigan or Penn State.
It is not racial (sigh). It’s just that people at these schools tend to have jobs and families.
By Chris
April 19, 2008 10:04 PM | Link to this
You cannot compare Penn and Temple and etc. to GSU… GSU has so many resources… For starters, GT can only sign 25, and most kids who want to play college football at home without going to Statesboro will go to GSU.. Another point is that Temple and Penn don’t have the talent pool that Atlanta does..
By Jason
April 20, 2008 12:26 AM | Link to this
Nothing new… leave it up to the AJC and their joke of a staff to bring in the buzzkill… I love how you just put a negative point on something that hasn’t even happened yet… I have a feeling that you see life as the glass half empty in life… that is really sad.
The GSU football program will be more successful than you think and you’ll regret writing this crap.
Get a new job. Thanks… GSU Fans Everywhere.
By Jay Kay
April 20, 2008 12:32 AM | Link to this
Inner city in this case doesn’t mean black, so everyone shut up about that. I am a student at GSU and think football is set up to fail. Just look at every other sport at the school. The biggest sport we have right now is men’s basketball. What was their average attendance this year? Probably about 1000 per game, if that high. Every other sports draws crowds less than 100. Why would football be any different? How many people will truly go to games? There are so many people who already go to UGA or GT games, so do you really think they will give that up to go to GSU games? I seriously doubt it. Just look at Tech. They have far more student housing than GSU and they still can’t sell out their football games. GSU is a commuter school with a small percentage of students living downtown.
Playing games at the Dome is just crazy. There will be a couple thousand people in a 72,000 seat stadium. GSU needs to play at a far smaller stadium like Grady or Morehouse. The lack of facilities is going to hurt as well. The only logical place they can build them are at Panthersville and that is 25-30 minutes from campus, more if traffic is bad. Just not an ideal situation.
As much as I want GSU to succeed and build great program, I just don’t see it happening.
By DB
April 20, 2008 1:24 AM | Link to this
You are just plain ignorant Mr.Bisher. Having a thriving downtown school with lots of students, alumni, and fans is not only good for the community, city of Atlanta, and state, but for the AJC too! Yet you and your absent minded cronies continue to try and tarnish and dismiss the accomplishments and growth surrounding Georgia State University every chance you get. Why not wish them well and feature this exciting occasion on your sports page instead of a coach shaving his mustache? It may not be in 5 years or even 10 years, but in the not to distant future young men will be playing for Georgia State and the decades of history that the others have won’t mean a thing. Here’s to the 21st Century! Go Panthers!
By DB
April 20, 2008 1:24 AM | Link to this
You are just plain ignorant Mr.Bisher. Having a thriving downtown school with lots of students, alumni, and fans is not only good for the community, city of Atlanta, and state, but for the AJC too! Yet you and your absent minded cronies continue to try and tarnish and dismiss the accomplishments and growth surrounding Georgia State University every chance you get. Why not wish them well and feature this exciting occasion on your sports page instead of a coach shaving his mustache? It may not be in 5 years or even 10 years, but in the not to distant future young men will be playing for Georgia State and the decades of history that the others have won’t mean a thing. Here’s to the 21st Century! Go Panthers!
By GSU Panther
April 20, 2008 2:58 AM | Link to this
Jay Kay - How are you going to try to compare basketball to football here in the south. If you haven’t noticed, there is NO comparison. You are just another pessimistic, half-empty kind of person I’m sure. Why don’t you come up with a better plan if your so knowledgeable.
Bravesfan79 - You sir, are about the biggest idiot on the face of the earth apparently. What they hell are you talking about ‘fairweather’ GSU fans? The term fairweather applies to so called ‘fans’ of UGA, who blindly throw their loyalty to the school because it’s more of a fashion statement than anything else.
And what is your point that most football players aren’t that bright? Well if that’s the case, it’s even more reason to go to State and take some easy major, rather than going to Tech and having to take a bunch of calculus and crap. Your arguments are worthless.
Football at State has the potential. Believe me. GO STATE!!!!
By GSU Panther
April 20, 2008 3:01 AM | Link to this
Oh, and when is the AJC going to change their name to the “Athens Journal Constitution”. It’s getting a bit ridiculous.
By Jeff
April 20, 2008 4:18 AM | Link to this
As an GSU international alumnus, I am so “shocked” to see that AJC exclusively talk only for Athens, but not for thousands of the community members next to the AJC headquarter is located. I had seen one or some dominant mass medis belongs to only the government or political authority and uglily ignore the interest and benefit of its “residents” in the under-developed country, which includs my own homeland. Since I had gone to Atlanta for education, I was so schocked that a major journal in a democratic country would unilaterally advertise and writes only for one college (elite or powerful), instead of their own community member next to Marietta St. Also, I think more than 40000 Georgia citizens at GSU and thousands of their alumi in the ATL area have the equal rights to receive the quality of higher education and life. It’s time to wake up some politicians in GA that this part of Georgia needs some attention as well. In any case, I wish GSU football all the best and same to my Atlantan fellows.
By bravegator
April 20, 2008 4:58 AM | Link to this
I just want to point out a few innercity successes”
USC and UCLA have already been mentioned.
Miami has won several national championships
USF in Tampa just busted out in a big way
Georgetown has a quality IAA program
Washington has had success in the Pac 10
Houston is good and rice is at least in 1A
UCF, also a commuter school in Orlando also made a bowl game last year
Even Northwestern has had marginal success.
Many other schools have succeeded in football despite well established larger schools and pro teams so there is no reason GSU shouldn’t be able to establish itself as a strong program.
By george
April 20, 2008 6:03 AM | Link to this
Furman, its 2008 not 1948. AJC doesn’t even recognize GSU, if they did on this online edition, you would have a link up top on the sports section next to TECH and UGA, instead they have a link to High School, Recruiting, Ptree Road Race. The AJC needs to recognize all the schools, in the area Perimeter, Kennesaw State, Clark, Morehouse, etc. By the way, Kennesaw State is also looking into football. Anyway, Furman, GSU is the second largest school in Georgia, and will have a first class facility, they will be playing their games at the Dome. GSU will hurt Tech’s and Georgia Southern’s recruiting more so than GA. There is pleanty of talent in Georgia to go around.
By USNA87
April 20, 2008 7:33 AM | Link to this
Since GSU has Mary McElroy, a Graduate of the United States Naval Academy and Former United States Marine, as its Athletic Director - I have no doubt the GSU Football Program will become a success story in Downtown Atlanta - if through nothing else other than her vision, determination, sheer will and most especially her outstanding leadership.
By Jay Kay
April 20, 2008 10:15 AM | Link to this
Panther, I realize football and basketball are completely different. I was making the point that nobody supports the other sports at GSU, so why would football be that much different?
You think you are such a bada$$ badmouthing people on here, don’t you? People have opinions that differ from yours, so get used to it. I’m sure you are just one of those sheltered 19 year old kids who has never experienced the real world and is supporting Obama because it is the “cool” thing to do. Grow up Timmy.
By GeorgiaStateAlumni
April 20, 2008 10:48 AM | Link to this
It will be necessary to build a small intimate stadium to really make this thing work. It will have to be on campus and seat under 20,000. This university needs this and it will catch fire. There really was nothing that brought the students together.
By Gene
April 20, 2008 11:17 AM | Link to this
Football is just another expensive ego trip for the President of GSU, who likes to rub shoulders with athletes and coaches. When he hired “Lefty”, Patton envisioned GSU having a basketball team like Georgetown. Lefty had one good team consisting of players who had been kicked out of other schools. Basketball clearly has not worked. Football will not work either, and Patton will leave working students with a big activities bill that they neither want nor can afford. Shame on Patton and shame on the Regents for approving this boondogle.
By Dre Wilson
April 20, 2008 12:00 PM | Link to this
GSU needs to pour money into their basketball program. They could compete with all the talent around the state. There’s no reason they shouldn’t be as good as a VCU or a George Mason.
By Dre Wilson
April 20, 2008 12:00 PM | Link to this
GSU needs to pour money into their basketball program. They could compete with all the talent around the state. There’s no reason they shouldn’t be as good as a VCU or a George Mason.
By College Football Fan
April 20, 2008 3:25 PM | Link to this
Furman Bisher has always been a old tech shill and w******* ever since he used to date Bobbie Dudd. Of course he does not want Georgia State University football to succeed in Atlanta. It will take away from his first love, tech. The only question readers need to ask is can Furman still suck a golf ball through a garden hose.
By Bishop
April 20, 2008 3:45 PM | Link to this
I think that some folks from North Ave and in Athens are nervous about a comprehensive university establishing a football program. In the case of Tech, I can see them moving to the Southern conference once recruits find out that they can play in downtown atlanta and don’t have to major in industrial textile ceramic basket weaving engineering technology.
By Yo
April 20, 2008 7:09 PM | Link to this
Tech and UGA fans and alum will do anything to keep down Georgia State. If the right money and effort is put into Panther football. Watch out! This thing move quick! Keep trying to keep us down. We’ll see what happens!
Hiring of Rod Barnes as Basketball coach! Hiring of Dan Reeves! Now Georgia State Football! All in the past year! I would be scared too if I were you guys!!!
By Billy
April 20, 2008 7:11 PM | Link to this
Wow. At first, I thought that it was just Dawgs. Now, to hear freaking GSU fans talking trash, I’m laughing even harder. Industrial textile basket weaving engineering technology????? Jealous much??????????
By Yo
April 21, 2008 12:19 AM | Link to this
Jealous of what?
Your 14 fumbles at “T-DAY”?
The fact that you barely beat us in basketball this year, even though we only had like 6 scholarship players?
Or the fact that Tech has some of the hottest girls around to complement some of the hippest guys in Atlanta?
Good luck with finals next week!
By just die already, furman
April 21, 2008 12:32 AM | Link to this
what a bunch convoluted jibberish. i’ve never read somoene say so much, yet, say so little. furman, take your vitamins, pee your pants, and have the nursing home lady give you a good scrub down afterwards. but please, stay away from the laptop, er, i mean typewriter.
old piece of crap.
By Bravesfan79
April 21, 2008 1:39 AM | Link to this
Furmans 100% right. At best Ga state might get 3-5 wins in one year (over teams like Sanford, while getting WAXED by the big name teams!) I mean common what are yall really expecting?? This is coming from someone who roots for Ga state bball. So i have no reason to hate on anything, just being real. Yall fans are hyped up and dont see the big picture. When you realize your team year after year is the Washington Nationals and not the Yankees or Braves, attendence will get worse and worse.
After all college football is more suited for small towns in Tusculoosa and Auburn. There you can get pple to go to game because theres NOTHING ELSE TO DO!!
How many pple go to college games in NYC?? With 10 million residents?
KJ: I would never wish what your ancestors went thru on anyone, in reality slavery still exists today in several nations!
But if you look at the big picture, you gotta say maybe it was Gods plan. After all your family is better off now for it right?
You and your family didnt have to risk your life trying to float across the ocean on some flimsy raft now did ya? God Bless.
By mike
April 21, 2008 8:30 AM | Link to this
Nice article. I think Georgia State should first start off like West Georgia did several years ago, Div III and see how things progress. Be careful with the dollars. How well does the basketball team do attendance wise? I understand the football team may be using the Georgia Dome as their home field. Thats fine if they can afford it, but I would start off smaller. Has anyone projected the attendance Ga. State would draw. Clark College and Morehouse currently play football in the city too. Is anyone using the Morris Brown football stadium? It’s newer than the Ga. Dome and is built for football.
By Bumble B
April 21, 2008 11:20 AM | Link to this
meanest, least thoughtful blog I’ve read on the AJC site in a long time. Even worse than the week before Tech/UGA. I’d expect better from my fellow southerners…
Shame on all of you…(well, some of you. You know who you are)
By GE
April 21, 2008 11:39 AM | Link to this
I usually disagree with anything that Bisher writes. However in this case, I believe that he is right. GSU”s basketball team does not draw for 40 minutes of action. The football team will not draw a significant fan base for 48 minutes of action in the dome. Bad idea. Stick to basketball for the time being.
By Dude
April 21, 2008 12:14 PM | Link to this
This has to be the worst written article i have read in a while. He is comparing inner-city schools who have failed yet he has failed to mention the reasons “why”. People need to understand that starting any new sports program is going to take a hit on the check book and wont be profitable for the first 15 years. Why does GSU field baseball, basketball, soccer teams when they dont make money. The answer is exposure. Georgia State has the vision of making it more of a traditional school. They want students to live on campus instead of commuting. They want students to be proud of their schools reputation and success.
“If you build it, they will come” The recruits: GSU will not sign the caleb kings or an josh nesbitt but they will still have a better selection of recruits to choose from than most of the schools that are in its division.
top 5 things recruits look at while choosing colleges.
The programs success will come from the people who run the show(Players, Coaches, Administrators, students, loyal fans) not the people who sit behind the computer who think they know whats best. For any sports columnist, who wants to take cheap shots at a new college program development, needs to reconsider his career. On that note, I want to congratulate Georgia State and wish them best.
By GTinNashville
April 21, 2008 1:51 PM | Link to this
I can tell you what GSU footbal will be like: MTSU football. I think that’s a better comparison than inner-city schools.
You see, MTSU is just south of Nashville in the fastest growing county in Tennessee. MTSU even has more undergrad students than Mighty UT to the east. The problem is the same as GSU. MTSU is primarily a commuter college even though it’s not in the big city of Nashville to the north. Most kids go home on the weekends.
The other big problem is the competition. Who wants to watch your team play Florida Atlantic and North Texas? No matter how good the teams are, who cares?
The only chance MTSU and GSU have of being successful is to do what Louisville did: Seek out the Wednesday and Thursday night games, get yourself on sportscenter.
By Domesky
April 21, 2008 11:43 PM | Link to this
I like how all you GSU people think they can compete with Tech. Not going to happen. First off the comment about competing for the same recruits as Tech is outrageous. Comparing our athletic teams to yalls is also funny to read about. There is no question that this is a good chance to change the image of GSU but there is no reason to think that you will be on par with the ranks of Tech and even UGA. GSU should be happy about having a football team and should stop bashing other schools. Your just making it seem as if you wish you had the same quality athletic program. The only way for that to happen is through fan support and that is what gsu lacks the most. So all in all there is no reason for comments about Tech football’s spring game problems, when yall don’t even have one. Good luck and yall should be more worried about southern’s football team then the team north of yall.
By Dale Wilson
April 22, 2008 9:09 AM | Link to this
The demise of former football powerhouses Catholic and George Washington Universities in Washington DC were not mentioned.They played in the 40’s and 50’s.
By The Monk
April 22, 2008 9:37 AM | Link to this
U. of Washington (Seattle), Cal (Bay area), UCLA, So. Cal, Minnesota, Cincinnati, Louisville, Memphis, Houston, TCU, Miami, S. Florida, Pittsburgh, to name a few, have succeeded at the D-1 level (to varying degrees). In GSU’s conference, at 1-AA are Villanova (Philly), Towson (Baltimore), Northeastern (Boston), etc. For heaven’s sake, why the rush to rain on their parade?
By The Monk
April 22, 2008 10:01 AM | Link to this
Further comment -
State has two major longer term decisions to make: (1) Venue and (2) Conference.
The Dome advantages are, it requires no capital investment, it is essentially “on campus,” and it could potentially be a great recruiting tool (close off the upper decks and maybe the end zones and you have a 1-AA sized facility better than any in the country and which could accommodate the dreams of 1-A if ever that should happen. Disadvantages: It will still be a 3/4 empty indoor stadium on several beautiful fall afternoons. Which brings us to (2) - the CAA is a very good 1-AA conference, maybe the best, and has several universities of high standing that I am sure GSU would like to associate with from an overall standpoint. HOWEVER, given the location of those schools, there will be no natural rivalries and 0 visiting fans. On the other hand, having an Atlanta school playing in the Southern Conference would be a win-win for the school and the conference. A trip to Atlanta to play will be a big (by 1-AA standards) road trip for Chattanooga, Ga. Southern, Furman, Appalachian, and Samford (I believe they are joining that conference soon) fans.
To me, it sems like the +/- on the Dome is about equal, but the conference thing, from an athletics standpoint, tilts toward the Southern.
By Moreno4Heisman
April 22, 2008 5:23 PM | Link to this
As a Dawg fan, I just want to say that I really like the idea of a football team at Georgia State. When I look around and see states like North Carolina, Alabama, Tennessee, and Mississippi each having more Div.1-A football teams than Georgia, I have to say it makes no sense. In terms of high school football talent, there are only about 4 states with as much or more than Georgia and still we have only 2 major college teams?! Seeing what South Florida has done, I see no reason that GSU can’t be in Div.1-A within 10 years. And I see no reason they can’t match and eclipse the success of Tech. I see them being a Big east team in the future and I wish the Panthers a lot of success…just not as much as UGA!
By Football Fanatic
April 22, 2008 8:01 PM | Link to this
Furman is so focused on tech that he cannot see the major football colleges in metro areas that include Miami, South Florida, Tulane, Memphis, Pittsburgh, South Bend, UCLA, Southern California, Houston, SMU, Boston College, Syracuse, Cincinatti, Louisville, UNLV, San Diego State, Cal, Rutgers etc. Furman needed to retire years ago, but his pathetic need to protect tech keeps him in his pathetic game.**
By Wake up
April 22, 2008 9:01 PM | Link to this
Alright G-state fans. Time for a reality check. 1.)If you guys did manage to start up a football program, you would not be competing with the GT’s, UGA’s, or Georgia Southern’s of the world. You would start out at Div III, or at most Div II. You would be competing against West Georgia…
2.)I attended GSU, and most of the students are transient and couldn’t give 2 duck farts about athletics. 3.) Furman is right about Atlanta. We have many transplants from around the country that bring their allegiances with them. Who is going to watch GSU vs. Florida Atlantic when their are about 20 more relevant games on TV, and probably 1 or 2 games in the state that are better matchups. 4.)Many of you are forgetting Title IX as well. The number of scholarships it would take to field a competitive football team would force GSU to offer 85 MORE scholarships to women’s athletics. Can the athletic budeget handle 170 new scholarship atheletes? 5.)All of you G-State alumni need to realize what this would do to fees of current students. They may not be building a stadium, but I doubt the dome or any other stadium would let them use it gratis. Add in a practice facility, uniforms, travel expense, practice facilities, equipment…you get the picture. Unless a few prominent alumni step up with a lot of cash, you will be sticking it to current and future students becuase you think a “real” university has a football team.