Ga state football!!! - Atlanta - Georgia (GA) - Page 5 - City-Data Forum

brownhornet · 10-20-2010, 03:52 PM

Student attendance isnt good for the main reason I said earlier in the thread... the whole commuter school thing. Students on campus that want to go to the game that dont have cars have to either ride marta or wait on the gsu shuttles. But the vast majority of students probably dont even live in the city of Atlanta.

DTL3000 · 10-20-2010, 04:43 PM

Georgia State is sort of a weird school. I went there so I know a little bit about it. It has been a few years since I graduated but campus life is very weak compared to say UGA because, hell, there isn't actually a "campus." It seems like the school is making an effort to change that and it is working somewhat but it will never have the "spirit" of UGA or GaTech. I also think the alumni aren't nearly as involved as they are at those other two. Add the fact that a very large percentage of students live off campus and it's tough to draw people in consistently.

I was sort of skeptical about GSU football when I first heard about the idea. I figured that it might play out pretty much as it has: huge initial interest and a fairly steep drop off in attendance after the first few games. I went to the first game and I'm not even sure what their record is right now. Maybe a strong following will grow over time but GSU football faces a lot of things UGA and Ga Tech football didn't have to contend with when they were building their programs a hundred or more years ago.

brownhornet · 10-20-2010, 07:59 PM

Biggest advantage both GT and UGA have are on campus stadiums. For UGA Athens is pretty much nothing BUT a college town. With GT they dont have the greatest attendance either with the exception of big games like UGA, Florida State and Miami.

Big L · 10-21-2010, 08:20 AM

From my observation, most of the Georgia State alums that I know basically went to class and then either went back home or to work. As far as student attendance goes, that doesn't lend to high student turnout since most of them probably aren't in a dorm or on-campus apartment on Game Day waiting for the festivities to start.

This may be another case of "If you build it, they will come". Someone mentioned USF earlier. What helped their cause is that once they built their program they were able to get some in-state recruits that weren't going to Florida, FSU, or the U. Over time, Georgia State could benefit in the same vein as some recruits that aren't going to make it to UGA or GA Tech may fall into their laps. Moving football into the CAA in 2012 could also help since that could lead to some rivalries within the conference. As a first-year independent, it is hard to get folks excited about games against opponents where nothing is really at stake besides a victory. I graduated from an FCS school (Southern University), but one of the things that made our games exciting was that there were years of rivalry and tradition surrounding most of the games. Most casual fans would have no idea why a game against Jackson State University would be so important to us, but those at both schools understand. The same could eventually happen either in the CAA or another conference down the line for Georgia State.

MathmanMathman · 10-22-2010, 03:11 PM

I'm not so sure GSU should be in the CAA. The closest football team is in Virginia. The Southern Conference would make the most sense in terms of local rivals. Samford, Furman, Wofford, Chattanooga, not to mention GSU's most hated rival...the other GSU in Statesboro are relatively close so visiting teams can help with Dome attendance. Unless of course the CAA teams travel well...although I don't think GSU will. And travel costs are high in the CAA since it stretches up into Maine. And I've heard talk of the CAA wanting to put GSU in the CAA north division which sounds insane.

RandyWatson13 · 10-22-2010, 03:14 PM

Considering its their first season with no real stadium of their own attendance is fantastic.

MathmanMathman · 10-22-2010, 03:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RandyWatson13

Considering its their first season with no real stadium of their own attendance is fantastic.

Shoot...all that aside...by FCS standards....GSU's attendance is fantastic. But they did get 30,000+ opening day. That shows it is possible. But even 15,000 in the Dome doesn't look good however 30,000 fills the lower bowl and part of the middle.