A Sea Of Red

We've mentioned this before, but after moving up from Division II that commuter school in suburban Atlanta is starting to give more thought to starting up a football program. Obviously the Big South has some interest in how this works out even if they wouldn't necessarily come our way.

Two years into Division I play, pigskin on Owls horizon

Sunday, March 11, 2007 4:14 AM EDT

By David Brandt
MDJ Assistant News Editor

KENNESAW - Several universities across the country often have their names immediately associated with their athletic teams.

In the coming years, Kennesaw State University hopes to share the Georgia college football limelight with similar symmetry between its name and what officials hope will become a successful football program, often considered a right of passage for most NCAA Division I schools. KSU entered Division I in its 2005-06 year.

"We are sitting here without a football program, but we should have one," said KSU Athletic Director Dave Waples, who helped create the football program at Valdosta State University in south Georgia in the late 1970s. "I've been trying for 20 years to get one here."

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Kennesaw is a good school and would certainly help to have a football program.

He went on to say Division I-AA schools like Georgia Southern University in Statesboro operate with an annual football budget of about $1.5 million, while Division I-A programs, such as Georgia Tech and UGA, operate between $5 million and $7 million, but even that amount varies program to program.

Gosh...it brings tears to my eyes to see the media not get on board with the NCAA-mandated terminology....

This morning on Sportscenter one of the anchors goes, "... in the Football Bowl Subdivision. Ah, just call it Division I."

I find it VERY hard to believe UGa is operating at just $7M. I'd expect it to be anywhere from 5-10 times that.

They could be our 11th member...though the Winthrop fans will whine about how football shouldn't drive the conference (translation: UNFAIR-OTHER SCHOOLS HAVE FOOTBALL AND WE DON'T *stomp feet*) and it'll hurt them in basketball.

Why would we want IUP? They're in friggin Pennsylvania. Half the schools in the Big South couldn't afford to go up there.

Uhh, SJ-this thread is about Kennesaw State

SuperJon wrote:Why would we want IUP? They're in friggin Pennsylvania. Half the schools in the Big South couldn't afford to go up there.

<cough> Stony Brook! <cough>

Seriously, there is no real indication that IUP is moving up anytime soon.

Stony Brook is one sport, once every other year.


What ATrain is suggesting is every sport, every year.

LOOK AT THE THREAD TOPIC: IT SAYS KENNESAW STATE.

The only sport I suggested IUP for a conference in was varsity hockey when and if we get a team...and they'd have to make the same commitment for that as well.

The link to the thread where IUP came up:
http://www.flamefans.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=4461

KSU would be a viable option.

ATrain wrote:They could be our 11th member...though the Winthrop fans will whine about how football shouldn't drive the conference (translation: UNFAIR-OTHER SCHOOLS HAVE FOOTBALL AND WE DON'T *stomp feet*) and it'll hurt them in basketball.

I'd like to get Kennesaw...It would be good to have a team in GA and they had a very good basketball program when they were a D-II program.

WEF - You need to stop busting down the stereotypes we love to have about WU based on Realist's posts.



Over on AGS, there is a great deal of talk that with unpopular CAA member Georgia State also considering football that the two could start together and join the same league as travel partners. The two schools together would be great for the Big South. But I think its unlikely at this point.

Sly Fox wrote:WEF - You need to stop busting down the stereotypes we love to have about WU based on Realist's posts.



Over on AGS, there is a great deal of talk that with unpopular CAA member Georgia State also considering football that the two could start together and join the same league as travel partners. The two schools together would be great for the Big South. But I think its unlikely at this point.

The only downside to adding more teams is that it would likely end the double-round-robin basketball schedule which I like alot (I hate when leagues get so big that teams can't play everyone twice, but at the same time, it would be good to get programs like KSU and Ga. St. into the league...maybe Radford can finally go to the A-Sun...I know I won't miss them).

I'm with you. And perhaps another of our Carolina-based non-hoops teams without the nickname Eagles could just fade away. But once again, its probably just idle chatter. But then again, isn't that what this time of year is all about?

Sly, don't you mean Carolina-based non-football team?

I like UNCA for that one...High Point is a good rivalry thats developing.

That is indeed what I meant.

Here's an update from an Atlanta fishwrap this past week:

KSU wants $30M for football
Atlanta Business Chronicle - July 13, 2007
by Justin RubnerStaff writer

Kennesaw State University is preparing to launch a $30 million-plus fundraising campaign to bring collegiate football to Cobb County.

Encouraged by a recently published feasibility study, Georgia's fourth-largest university will start pitching corporations and high-net-worth individuals during its next capital campaign, which starts in October.

And this is of note:

Ideally, KSU would go after a scholarship Division 1AA classification -- with the potential of eventually going into the coveted Division IA. Or, the 20,000-student university could get a non-scholarship IAA "Pioneer League" classification, which would cost significantly less.

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Kennessaw State has a way worse redneck name than Appalachian State.

exactly what i was thinking

But they're not from NC, Sly won't make fun of them.

ok, i've been in Tennessee for a week, and i can say that Tennessee is a lot more redneck/hillbilly/country/whatever other stereotypes, than NC is. I've seen more mullets this week than in the last 5 years! who chose NC to be picked on for hillbillies?

ok i have to comment because i live 2 min. away from the school. These talks have been going on for YEARS and never come to anything BUT, its finally happening. KSU is a good school with decent to good athletics with DII national championships in soccer,basketbal and baseball. Another random fact and somthing that might also be of intrest to the Big south... I was driving by Georgia State the other day and a sign had posted that football was coming in 2008... interesting.