KSU football faces student vote, faculty concerns

By Janel Davis

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Are you ready for some football?

A student vote this week at Kennesaw State University on whether to approve a fee increase to pay for the sport could lead to the Owls taking the gridiron four years from now.

KSU officials say they're interested launching a football program because it would add value to the school’s degrees, enhance fund-raising and could increase enrollment.

Georgia State University picked up 1,000 additional students when it launched its football program this fall, KSU President Dan Papp said. Attendance at GSU’s six football games this season has averaged 17,094 people, according to school officials.

KSU is one of several schools nationally that is looking to start or resume a football program. Since 2000, 34 NCAA schools have begun or resumed football, according to the association’s 2009 Division I football records book.

Among Georgia schools, Reinhardt University and Berry College are both considering starting football programs -- Reinhardt as early as 2013. For two years Mercer University has been studying resuming its football program; a decision is expected later this year.

In advance of the student vote at KSU, Papp held a series of public forums last week to brief students and faculty on the football proposal. Most students speaking at one forum appeared to favor football and a student government representative said that also seems to be the case with the student body at large.

If approved, the $100 per semester student fee increase would go toward football and expanding women’s sports. The fee is expected to generate up to $6 million each year. KSU students already pay $144 each semester in athletic fees. GSU students’ fees increased $85 per semester to pay for football.

The federal Title IX law requires equal opportunities for men and women in education and athletics. A KSU football exploratory committee recommended adding women’s sports such as field hockey and gymnastics, or raising the women’s lacrosse team to the NCAA level, but no decision has yet been made, Papp said.

While many at KSU appear to be in favor of the new sport, there are still concerns, including the impact on academics and uses for the money involved.

“The big [question] is if we get football, how does that affect the academic side of the house, particularly resources,” said Randy Stuart, president of KSU’s faculty senate and an assistant marketing professor. “How will the money be allocated and will the focus still be on academics?”

“Our mission is to educate and turn out good quality graduates,” she said. “We want to ensure that academics will still take precedence over athletics.”

Student Heidi Costanzo, 21, thinks increasing fees to add football is a waste of money.

“I think the administration needs to take care of things we actually need like more parking, instead of things that are just wanted,” she said.

In April, the Center for College Affordability and Productivity, a Washington-based research group, published a study on the hidden costs of athletics in college education. They found that some smaller schools ended up subsidizing athletic programs with need-based federal grants and other funds intended for academic purposes.

In June, the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics advocated making student fees more transparent so that students know exactly how much they are paying toward athletics.

According to the NCAA 2009 report, seven nationally prominent schools, including St. John’s University and Siena College in New York, permanently dropped football since 2000 for reasons ranging from the cost to lack of student interest.

KSU’s student vote on the fee increase is set for Monday through Sunday; votes will be cast online. If  the students approve the increase, the next step is a fund-raising campaign to cover start-up costs. And then the football proposal will be presented to the Board of Regents for approval.

Board of Regents member Larry Walker said he thinks when it comes to University System of Georgia schools contemplating football, there should be a process where the regents get involved before a school convenes an exploratory committee. Adding football, he said, should be handled the same way as  "things like dorms and parking decks that pay for themselves and that supposedly have no ramifications for the state." 

Staff reporter Ken Sugiura contributed to this article.

Likely KSU football timeline

-- This week: Student vote. If approved, that's followed by an 18- to 30-month campaign to raise $8 million-$12 million in start-up costs.

-- Spring 2012 or 2013: Business plan presented to Board of Regents.

-- Fall 2012: Football fee begins; coaches hired.

-- Fall 2013: First class of football student-athletes enters KSU.

-- Fall 2014: Second class of football student-athletes enters KSU.

-- Fall 2014: First KSU football games.