Charlie Cobb is a builder.
He wanted to be an architect when he enrolled at N.C. State, but football got in the way of afternoon labs. So, he majored in business administration and has been building products, not buildings, since.
That ability to take a vision and turn it into something of substance is one of the reasons that Cobb was hired as Georgia State’s athletic director Thursday. With his wife, daughter, son and other family members who live in Smyrna and Vinings in attendance, Cobb drew applause throughout his introduction Friday.
“It’s an exciting challenge ahead,” Cobb said. “Coach Hunter proved this past year with a great run in basketball there are no limits on expectations and success.”
Cobb already has a foundation started by former AD Cheryl Levick to work with at Georgia State, but there’s much to do in upgrading fundraising and facilities, the lifeblood of successful athletics programs.
Cobb brings successful experiences in both developed from his time with Peach Bowl and Georgia Dome in the mid-1990s, followed by N.C. State and most recently nine years as athletic director at Appalachian State, where he oversaw $50 million in facilities upgrades and annual fundraising totals that grew from $600,000 his first year in Boone to $3 million last year. Georgia State had $500,000 in annual donations last year.
“He’s proven builder, a proven winner who knows this city well,” Georgia State President Mark Becker said.
Cobb has the experience to make the projects happen. When he took over at Appalachian State, he said athletics had an ambitious facility plan that really consisted of a drawing — some Panthers fans long ridiculed Levick because they thought Georgia State’s master plan consisted of drawings — but Cobb saw what could be done. And he, along with others, made those things happen.
Cobb said he needs time to review the three projects on deck at Georgia State that need almost $12 million to complete. But he is familiar with the intersection of fundraising and facilities — and the reason that numerous athletic directors expressed interest in the position — that is the $300 million Turner Field proposal.
Cobb stopped short of saying that he wouldn’t have applied for the job if not for the possibility of one day turning the Braves stadium into a Panthers’ lair for football, but he did say the job wouldn’t have been as appealing.
“When I started looking at this opportunity, the Turner Field proposal was incredibly important and viable piece to the future of the athletic program,” he said. “If you want to build a program, and build a brand around that program, an on-campus facility for football and other sports is vitally important.”
How can Cobb get people to open what have been mostly closed checkbooks and, perhaps more important, get them to games?
He won’t move fast, and it’s not because he’s so big he looks as if he could still make All-ACC as a center. He said his style is to take his time — an exception being offered the Georgia State job Thursday morning at breakfast and accepting around 3 p.m. the same day — and to talk to lots of stakeholders. He said almost 60 groups got a chance to listen to why Appalachian State was leaving FCS and the Southern Conference for the Sun Belt. He referenced wanting to speak to the neighboring communities around Turner Field.
Following that prudent path, Cobb said he has a three-year matrix for judging coaches and teams. The grid includes success on the field, the classroom and as citizens. The formula seems to work. The Mountaineers won three consecutive national championships in football and were judged to have the best men’s or women’s programs in the Southern Conference 13 times.
“He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience, is an established winner and is a great guy,” Georgia State football coach Trent Miles said. “Anytime you hire great people you have a chance to be successful.”
Cobb will be back in town for the opening football game Aug. 27 against Abilene Christian at the Georgia Dome. He will start his new job after Labor Day.
“When you don’t have limitations placed on what you can do, and you can figure out creative ways to look forward,” he said.
