KSU wants $30M for football

[EPJr]

Atlanta Business Chronicle - July 13, 2007
by Justin Rubner - Staff 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.

President Daniel Papp, a former semi-pro quarterback who replaced Betty Siegel in 2006, says the upcoming push is "virgin territory" for him and the 44-year-old institution.

"Football in the American South is a big part of a university," Papp said. "That's the reality of it. But it depends on the economics. Football is very expensive."

Right now, he says, options span the full spectrum. It all depends on community support. If all goes perfectly, a KSU Owls football team could be playing as early as 2010. Or a number of factors -- most notably not raising enough money -- could lead to no football at all, Papp stresses.

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.

Where the Owls would play is also up in the air. KSU's top choice is a new stadium on or near campus, which would cost $20 million to $30 million. At the lower end of desirability is the option of playing at another team's stadium.

The interest is there. The feasibility study recommended that fundraising start as soon as possible and showed that two-thirds of interviewees -- a diverse cross-section of corporate, media and government leaders -- believed football would be a valuable addition to KSU. And many students, who would likely pay considerably more per semester to help fund a team, are interested, too, Papp says. This fall, the university plans to survey students to get their official take.

"I can barely walk across campus without somebody asking when we're getting a football team," Papp said.

Papp says the university will pitch individuals who have shown a previous interest in KSU and will work on identifying more. And, as an added lure for corporations, the study suggests naming rights for any new stadium.

But there are big hurdles, starting with money. KSU would need about $34 million to get a program with a stadium, according to the study. A Division I non-scholarship program would cost about $1 million per year while a Division I scholarship program would cost $2 million to $3 million per year.

The entire sports budget for the 2007-2008 academic year is $5.4 million, about $2 million less than the average Division I non-football school, says Athletics Director Dave Waples. He says KSU has made good on the budget, though. In 2005, after having a successful test run with men's golf and women's soccer in Division I, the rest of the university's sports were granted access to the division.

While some sports have fared well against tough Division I competition, there has been something conspicuously missing since he came to KSU in 1987.

"I've wanted football from the time I've stepped on campus to this time," Waples said.

The only other university he's worked at that has not had a football team was Valdosta State. Before coming to KSU, though, he helped bring Blazers football there.

While Waples and Papp craft a plan to get football at KSU, Georgia State University is crafting its own. And GSU, the state's second-biggest university, is further ahead, too.

GSU just signed ex-Atlanta Falcons coach Dan Reeves to help raise money and marshal the entire process. The GSU Panthers are expected to join the Division IAA conference and will play in the Georgia Dome, home of the Falcons, just a short ride from the downtown campus.

Startup costs would be as high as $10 million, says GSU Vice President of External Affairs Tom Lewis. So far, he says, the university has raised $500,000 privately. While GSU has set a hard goal of $1 million in private money by September, he is confident that football will come to the university, especially with the help of Reeves, who Lewis says could be head coach.

Both Lewis and Waples believe football -- particularly in the South -- helps universities attract more students and ultimately more money and prestige.

"Adding football is about setting a vision for GSU," Lewis said. "It's more about athletics. It makes a more complete campus."

KSU will have more roadblocks than GSU, though. Kennesaw, located in northern Cobb County, does not have easy access to any major stadiums. While Waples would take a leased stadium over no football, it's not a particularly savory idea for him.

Building a stadium, which Papp says should incorporate other sports, would also be tough because KSU is landlocked. The area also suffers from heavy traffic.

And student parking is a serious issue, says junior Amy Storey. While Storey sees the average student getting excited about football, she wonders if the area's infrastructure could handle a game day.

"Parking would be huge," she said. "It's an issue now for just students attending classes."

Assuming donors come through, and logistics are ironed out, an important final question must be asked. With intense historical loyalties already in place, will Georgians want to see an Owls game over a Georgia Bulldogs or Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets game?

Waples believes there's room for both.

"We realize we won't be The University of Georgia," Waples said. "Our theory is to let them remain fans of the big schools but also be a Kennesaw State person. We think we have a lot of loyalties. We think we can woo them to our games."

Reach Rubner at jrubner@bizjournals.com.

http://atlanta.bizjournals.com/atlanta/ ... ^1490248

[JMU Duke Dog]

Good luck to Kennesaw State University!

[lizrdgizrd]

Any chance that KSU and Georgia State U will be working the same cash sources? Seems like that might spell trouble for one or both of them.

[GreenDay17]

Good luck to Kennesaw State University!

Agreed. It's great to see schools attempting to add football rather than cut it.

[dbackjon]

Good luck to them - there should be plenty of room in Georgia for a few more FCS teams.