Ga state football!!! (Atlanta, Statesboro, Jackson: fit in, apartment, dorm)

[Atlantasfinest]

Your not in the minority with regards to knowing that...The Olympics really helped upgrade alot of the HBCU's in Atlanta sporting facilities at Morehouse (Forbes Arena -Basketball Gym), Clark Atlanta (Panther Stadium - Football and new Track that was used for the Olympics and Promenade through campus) and Morris Brown (Herndon Stadium). That was one of the lasting legacies of the 1996 Olympics amongst other things.

[onemanarmy]

Originally Posted by brownhornet

Well for one GSU and Valdosta State generally recruit in the southern area of the state and have championship tradition to rely on for recruiting. Plus with Valdosta State bring D2 they aren't bound by the same rules as D1AA... so they get players that wouldn't be otherwise eligible.

Im not saying it won't be possible but it won't be as simple as people are making it. Commuter schools don't generally do so well when it comes to attendance especially with an off campus stadium but time will tell.

Well, football is primarily the only way to get out of being a commuter school. I hope I didnt make it seem easy, but Georgia State has natural advantages most commuter schools do not have. I don't think our disagreements are far apart, but just to address your last point involving recruiting. GSU will be able to offer any D1A transfer the opportunity to play immediately, so we will be ripe for all the UGA, Tech, Bama, Auburn, Clemson, Gamecock drop outs to transfer.

[Atlantasfinest]

The University of South Florida was and still is considered to be a commuter school and they are making alot of noise in Division 1 Football these days and have been a top 25 school and selling out Raymond James Stadium on a continual basis the last few years.

[Saintmarks]

Great idea on Herndon Stadium.

I know there is a lot of history that alumni would not want to give up, but I always thought that the Atlanta HBCUs should combine their sports into one larger IAA or Div I program and play as Atlanta University.

With all the struggles at Morris Brown, do they still field a team these days? Sorry, out of touch with some of the finer points in Atlanta being in TX five years now. This site helps me stay informed on home. If they don't, this should be a no brainer for GSU.

If they still do, this could help bring much needed revenue to Morris Brown. Somebody tip off the powers that be at GSU and tell them we are on to something. Great idea Atlanta's Finest!

[Atlantasfinest]

Originally Posted by Saintmarks

Great idea on Herndon Stadium.

I know there is a lot of history that alumni would not want to give up, but I always thought that the Atlanta HBCUs should combine their sports into one larger IAA or Div I program and play as Atlanta University.

With all the struggles at Morris Brown, do they still field a team these days? Sorry, out of touch with some of the finer points in Atlanta being in TX five years now. This site helps me stay informed on home. If they don't, this should be a no brainer for GSU.

If they still do, this could help bring much needed revenue to Morris Brown. Somebody tip off the powers that be at GSU and tell them we are on to something. Great idea Atlanta's Finest!

Morris Brown doesn't currently field a team and probably won't anytime in the future. I agree that GSU playing their home games at Herndon would be a no brainer...Georgia Tech doesn't even fill the GA Dome on a consistent basis so what do you think it's going to look like for GSU Football in the GA Dome?

Herndon Stadium holds seating capacity for roughly 18,000-25,000 from what I remember which would provide the perfect atmosphere for GSU on nice fall football days. College Football should not be played indoors anyway! Their is plenty of room to tailgate at Morris Brown as well and it would be a win win situation for both schools since Morris Brown needs the revenue and GSU needs a better home field for it's inaugural season. Tell the New GSU President to SIGN THE CHECK!

[DeaconJ]

Originally Posted by brownhornet

Well for one GSU and Valdosta State generally recruit in the southern area of the state and have championship tradition to rely on for recruiting. Plus with Valdosta State bring D2 they aren't bound by the same rules as D1AA... so they get players that wouldn't be otherwise eligible.

Im not saying it won't be possible but it won't be as simple as people are making it. Commuter schools don't generally do so well when it comes to attendance especially with an off campus stadium but time will tell.

Georgia State isn't just any "commuter school"...it's an urban university of 30,000 students that is working hard toward getting away from the "commuter school" label - and making good progress toward this goal. GSU also will obviously not be Division I-AA for very long...it will be a couple of years and they will be Division I, much like UConn did - 2 years at I-AA then moved up.

[JPD]

Originally Posted by Atlantasfinest

Morris Brown doesn't currently field a team and probably won't anytime in the future. I agree that GSU playing their home games at Herndon would be a no brainer...Georgia Tech doesn't even fill the GA Dome on a consistent basis so what do you think it's going to look like for GSU Football in the GA Dome?

Herndon Stadium holds seating capacity for roughly 18,000-25,000 from what I remember which would provide the perfect atmosphere for GSU on nice fall football days. College Football should not be played indoors anyway! Their is plenty of room to tailgate at Morris Brown as well and it would be a win win situation for both schools since Morris Brown needs the revenue and GSU needs a better home field for it's inaugural season. Tell the New GSU President to SIGN THE CHECK!

What it comes down to is who can offer better tit-for-tat. I'm guessing the owners of the dome (the state and the GWCC) can scratch GSU's back better than Morris Brown.

I agree that games shoud be outdoors, though. Especially in this climate. How wimpy do you have to be to need climate controlled football in Atlanta?

[onemanarmy]

Originally Posted by JPD

What it comes down to is who can offer better tit-for-tat. I'm guessing the owners of the dome (the state and the GWCC) can scratch GSU's back better than Morris Brown.

I agree that games shoud be outdoors, though. Especially in this climate. How wimpy do you have to be to need climate controlled football in Atlanta?

You are absolutely right, my guess is that the dome will work better financially. They already have the vendors set up, where as Herndon Stadium GSU would probably lease the stadium and be responsible for operating it. Herndon is best for football, and the dome is best for business, guess who will win out.

[JPD]

Originally Posted by onemanarmy

You are absolutely right, my guess is that the dome will work better financially. They already have the vendors set up, where as Herndon Stadium GSU would probably lease the stadium and be responsible for operating it. Herndon is best for football, and the dome is best for business, guess who will win out.

Plus, GSU will have a FAR better advertising advantage if it's games are at the done, because they can advertise to the enormous captive audiences during other events at the dome.

[MathmanMathman]

Might be a good time for an update.

GSU has played 6 games at the Dome with 1 game remaining other than the road games. Average attendance is above 15,000 per game thanks in part to the phenomenal first game attendance of over 30,000. Attendance has dropped off a lot but hovers around the 15,000 mark. The Lambuth game was the low of around 12,000+ and other than the first game the second highest was the Jacksonville State game with 16,000+. For some reason, student attendance is not good. Only about 1,800 turned up for the North Carolina Central game out of a total attendance of over 13,000. With more than 30,000, GSU should be able to get more students since it costs them nothing to attend. Hopefully there'll be a large turnout for GSU's last game of the year against Lamar.

The Dome vs Herndon Stadium? Herndon's capacity is 15,000 so it would be too small for some of GSU's games. The Dome is definitely too big however, and the GSU "crowds" look really sparse in there. But the big screens and instant replay not to mention monitors everywhere and field views from the concourse are nice.

And what about next year when the excitement and newness of the program wears off?