Statement from Georgia State University President Dr. Carl Patton:
“What a great crowd,
Thank you all for being here. I was thinking about a title for my remarks today and the reply for my remarks would be: “Never say never.”
When I became president of Georgia State 16 years ago, the first question I received at my very first Panther roundtable dinner with students was, “When are we getting football?”
Now I have to admit, my answer then was, “Not in my lifetime.” I have to also admit I didn't think I would be here for 16 years either. My lifetime here has lasted a little longer than I thought. Well you know I remember the day, and I'd like to give you a little bit more of how we got here.
Exactly one year ago I stood on this very same stage and I announced that Georgia State University was going to further explore starting a football program what has happened after that point was that Athletics Director Mary McElroy hired a consulting team to conduct a feasibility study about football and when that report came back it looked that football would help the entire University.
We do know that such a big undertaking would require demands of support and a commitment by many, many people. We had to be sure that football was do-able. So on April 10, 2007, we announced that we were bringing Dan Reeves on board to serve as our football consultant. So the alumni, faculty and staff and friends of Georgia State along with Athletics Director Mary McElroy, Vice President Doug Covey and the football committee helped us answer a lot of questions at town hall meetings and meetings with students. And at the same time we secured more than a million dollars in pledges for a football program.
Dan, Georgia State is grateful for the time and energy you put in this effort with us and I look forward to your continued involvement with football at Georgia State because “Once a Panther, always a Panther!”
So with that information the next step was to ask the student mandatory fee committee to consider an increase in the student athletic fee. Last October, the student mandatory fee committee voted unanimously to increase the student athletic fee to support football and women's lacrosse.
Following that vote, the university's fiscal advisory committee to the president also voted on this fee matter, that committee also voted unanimously to support the fee increase for football and women's lacrosse. So with this strong campus support, I forwarded the request to the board of regions, for the athletic fee increase, and Tuesday at the table meeting, the board of regions also voted unanimously to approve our fee request.
And as one student pointed out to me when I was asking how much they were concerned about this fee increase the student replied to me, “Dr. Patton, that's less than a can of Coke a day.” I thought it was a pretty good comment.
Well I know that many former and current students have been dreaming of the day when there would be football Saturdays here at Georgia State, and for a while now it looked like third-and-long but I think were getting very close to those football Saturdays and I think today is a great time for an end zone celebration.
So today, April 17, 2008, and I checked my watch, its 2:10, I'm very happy to announce that Georgia State University will begin football in 2010.
Statement from Director of Athletics Mary McElroy:
“Thank you, Dave, and thanks to all of you for being here to share in this very memorable day in Georgia State history.
There are a lot of people whose efforts made this day possible. I offer a sincere thank you to all of them. It is a cardinal sin to name names in an endeavor like this, but I beg the forgiveness of those whom I do not call by name, but I would be remiss if I did not recognize some people, without whose approval and support we could not have done this. First, Dr. Patton, whose incredible vision allowed this to be possible. I would also like to recognize and thank Tom Lewis, Jerry Rackliffe, Nancy Peterman, Doug Covey, Ron Henry, and Dr. Patton's entire cabinet and other University staff members and Athletic Department staff members, who contributed to this dream becoming reality. I must thank Jim Stark and the members of the Athletic Association Board of Trustees for their leadership and support as well. I cannot say thank you enough to the members of the student fee committee and the members of FAC-P, who advise the President on fiscal matters. It was their support of the proposal which, pardon the pun, got this ball rolling. Jon McLamb and Dan Reeves, and others on the University Development staff and most importantly, those key alumni and supporters who made those first pledges to allow us to bring $1.2 Million in pledges to the student fee committee along with the proposal, you will always be special friends of the Georgia State football program. Thank you once again!
“While it took a lot of work to get us to this point, it's going to take even more effort and cooperation from everyone involved to get the Georgia State Panthers ready to kick that first football in September of 2010. I feel that Georgia State has reached a tipping point. We have 2,400 students living on campus, with that number growing each year. We have a rich offering of majors and areas of study. We have a thriving program of student activities. Doesn't sound like your run of the mill commuter school to me. We are starting to see sustained success in CAA competition in many of our sports and have student-athletes and coaches focused on getting to and advancing in the NCAA championships. Golf, tennis, and track and field will compete this weekend for CAA championships and NCAA berths. Softball and baseball will do so in May and June. We are anticipating a great year in men's basketball thanks to Coach Rod Barnes and now we will have football too. And have you kept up with Bob Heck, our softball coach? It's a great time to be a Panther!
Certainly, I understand that building a football program from scratch is a tremendous challenge, but it's also an incredible opportunity because there is no question that Georgia State Football has the potential to very successful at the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision level, formerly known as Division I-AA.
The quality and popularity of high school football in the Atlanta area and the state of Georgia offers a tremendous recruiting base. I am told that Georgia ranks 4th in the number of high school football players who go on to play in college?behind only Florida, Texas, and California. Just scan the rosters of other successful FCS schools in the Southeast such as Appalachian State or Furman and look at how many of their players are from Atlanta. Won't it be great when those young men have the opportunity to play college football right here in their hometown while receiving an outstanding education at Georgia State University?
Georgia State's conference, the Colonial Athletic Association, sponsors football and is the top conference in FCS. The CAA placed a record five teams in the 2007 NCAA Playoffs, including national runner-up Delaware and semifinalist Richmond. CAA teams have reached the NCAA title game in four of the last five years, including NCAA championships by Delaware in 2003 and James Madison in 2004.
These factors and many others give Georgia State a chance to build a competitive program that will help build identity and exposure for the University while engaging a growing student population and a huge local alumni base.
With the start of our first season about 29 months away, we're now officially “on the clock.” Our plan is to hire a head football coach and a director of football operations this summer. The head coach will then hire up to four assistant coaches to begin recruiting this fall. Georgia State will sign its first recruiting class in February of 2009.
Those student-athletes will enroll at Georgia State in the fall of 2009, and they will practice but not compete during a “red-shirt” year. After adding another class of signees in February of 2010 and completing the coaching and support staff, Georgia State will conduct spring practice and play a Spring intra-squad scrimmage game in 2010 and begin playing intercollegiate football in the fall of 2010.
We plan to award up to 30 scholarships in 2009, and move to 60 in 2010 before building up to the full complement of 63 scholarships in 2011.
The question I'm most often asked is, “Who is going to be the Georgia State football coach?” As I said, we'll be looking to hire that person in the very near future. Even with the program not officially launched, I have had numerous inquiries from a number of qualified candidates, which again speaks to the potential that people see in Georgia State football.
As we begin the hiring process, we'll be seeking a coach who is energetic, enthusiastic and willing to work hard to build the program from the ground up. In addition to being an outstanding tactician and recruiter, the Georgia State head coach must be eager to market the program to the Atlanta community. The coach must embrace the academic mission of the University, and should be knowledgeable of the landscape of college football, particularly NCAA rules. Those are some of the qualities that we'll be looking for.
The second most frequent question that I get is: “Where will the team play?” We are very fortunate to have an outstanding facility just minutes away from our campus at the Georgia Dome, and that's where Georgia State will play its football games. The Georgia Dome has been very willing to work with us, and we hope to formalize those arrangements in the coming months.
As we all know, college football doesn't just happen 12 Saturdays in the fall; it is a year-round endeavor for student-athletes, coaches and staff, and facilities for practice and training are a key element in that. The University is currently investigating options for coaches' offices and additional space for practice fields and meeting rooms. We hope to find some space on campus adjacent to our current athletics facilities. Our current weight room, athletic training room and academic support areas must also expanded, or new areas constructed, in order to accommodate the addition of more than 100 student-athletes.
I say more than 100 student-athletes because in addition to football, Georgia State will also be adding additional women's sports so that we maintain compliance with gender equity. Our women's lacrosse program is scheduled to begin in 2010 also, and we are currently exploring other opportunities for women.
Through it all, fund-raising is paramount. The student fee increase that the Board of Regents approved this week will go toward annual operating costs for football, as well as our additional women's sports. But we must raise significant dollars for start-up costs and besides these types of endeavors sometimes cost more than anticipated. We were very pleased to be able to raise over $1.2 million dollars in pledges prior to the student fee committee vote, and that was without even having a program yet. Now that we have officially launched the program, our fund-raising efforts will go into high gear as we look to raise around $7 million more, and we eagerly anticipate the support of the Georgia State community. Just so you know; no gift is too small. It's our collective efforts that have brought us to this point!
Thank you to the Georgia State band and cheerleaders for their support and thank you all for being here!!
Mary McElroy Q&A:
Q: What are the chances that Dan [Reeves] would be considered for the head coaching position? Would he be on your list?
He would be. I think I'd have to raise a whole lot more money. There's no question if [Dan] expressed interest, Dr. Patton and others have said they would be open to the idea and I would be as well. At the same time, we'd have change the dynamic and surround him with coaches who are familiar with the college landscape.
Q: Can you comment on the experience level of the people who have contacted you about the head coaching position?
It's the whole gamut. I wouldn't say that I've been getting any inquiries from graduate assistant coaches. But I have been getting inquiries from people who are assistants at the FCS [Football Championship Subdivision] level, head coaches at the FCS level, assistants at the FBS [Football Bowl Subdivision] level, pro assistants and some high school coaches, too. Everybody sees this as a good opportunity.
Q: How important is it to hire a head coach with some name recognition?
That is definitely a consideration because people will second guess you. So it does have to be someone with some recognition, but at the same time he has to have that work ethic. This job is from the ground up. This isn't regenerating a program that has existed before. This is ground up opportunity, and he's going to have be a little bit patient because I don't have an office for the coach. He's going to share one with me right now.
We've been looking at Florida Atlantic a lot. When they started, they had coaches in trailers. And we've looked at South Florida as well. I remember talking with [former South Florida Athletics Director] Paul Griffin and he said those were very key characteristics he sought in hiring a coach. You need a blue-collar coach who isn't going to be caught up in the bells and whistles, as least not the first few years.
Q: How important was Dan [Reeves] in getting the program to this point?
I would say the cache he brought, that we had somebody of his caliber interested in helping us get this off the ground, helped us when we met people. When people see Dan Reeves, they know they're talking to somebody who knows football. And it was exciting for people to meet him up close and personal, and people appreciated that opportunity. And being able to have him go out and talk to people and tell them about what we had looked it, and that it was indeed possible for Georgia State to do this. It convinced people that this was indeed possible, and it got people fired up. A lot of people are hoping, and some still are, that he would be so inspired that he'd want to be the coach. But we'll just see what happens with that.
Q: Is [Dan Reeves] going to stay on in some advisory role?
He's offered his services to help us select the coach. We're going to have an internal team that we put together of our senior staff that's going to look at the parameters. And then we'll from there to establish a search committee, and I'm definitely willing to have him on the search committee.
Q: What qualities are you looking for in a coach if you mimic South Florida's program?
Someone who's looking for their first shot. They're hungry. They're a good coach. It has to be a good coach because they're going against the big boys in the CAA. Our fans are going to lose interest really quickly if I hire a coach who uses our kids as hamburger meat on Saturdays.
With any program, as you start it up it might start off slow but you've got to give it a chance to build momentum. Like we did with men's basketball last year. Rod [Barnes] had a decent team, but he had to work with them a lot to get those nine wins. Whereas next year there's a whole lot of anticipation. I would see a similar dynamic with football as well. Where you get it off the ground, you get somebody in here initially with some name recognition and has built a program once before and made it successful.
Dan Reeves Q&A:
Q: What makes the head coaching position at Georgia State attractive to potential candidates?
There's not a better place in the world to recruit from than right here [in Georgia]. When you look at it, there are so many kids who can play football. I went to South Carolina from the state of Georgia, and that was back when [teams had unlimited scholarships]. Now they have a limited number of scholarships and have a lot more kids playing. There are so many kids who end up going out of state to play or far away to play when they'd love to play right here.
Not every kid goes to college to play football because they want to play pro football. A lot of them go because they want a good education and they want an opportunity once they get through with school to have a business opportunity. This is a slam dunk.
The curriculum and the university that you have here is going to be great, as far as a recruiting tool in getting kids interested in going to school here. When you look at it, there are more CEOs and CFOs in the city of Atlanta who graduated from Georgia State than Georgia and Georgia Tech combined. That's a lot of people who are looking [for employees]. A lot of the kids we talk to now who are in some of these firms ? real estate or accounting ? there's a lot of them who graduated from Georgia State. They hire an awful lot of kids who get their degrees from Georgia State. So these kids have an opportunity to do something immediately.
There are 39 kids on Georgia Southern's [roster] who are from the Atlanta area. That's a lot of kids who go down to Statesboro. That's going to be a nice rivalry to see who has the right to call themselves GSU.
Q: Are there coaches who have contacted you about the head coaching position at Georgia State?
Lots of them. There are lots of them calling to play us. Everybody wants us to be their Homecoming [opponent].
There's a lot of interest because people understand that if you're in the coaching business what an opportunity this is at Georgia State.
