It has been a big week for Kennesaw State athletics. The basketball team hosted Georgia Tech on Monday evening and the Owls of the Atlantic Sun Conference hammered the ACC’s Yellow Jackets 80-63. On Tuesday, the school announced that students voted to approve a fee increase that would help fund a football program, which could come into existence as early as 2014.
For head basketball coach Tony Ingle, this week could not have been better. Not only did his team pull off a memorable victory, but he also took an important step toward seeing his other favorite sport become a part of Kennesaw State. Ingle, who played both basketball and football in high school, was an assistant hoops coach at Brigham Young University between 1989 and 1997, crossing paths with 1990 Heisman Trophy winner Ty Detmer. So he knows first-hand what a football craze can do for a university.
“I think we’re definitely heading in the right direction,” Ingle said of the KSU athletics program. “I was elated that the students voted to go with football. It’s exciting to know that it’s coming. I think it’s going to help us come together as a university in a lot of ways.”
GRIDIRON DREAMS ALIVE …
The process is still very much in its infantile stages, but Tuesday’s announcement was without question a crucial development. In an online vote conducted between Nov. 8 and 14, Kennesaw State students gave the green light to a $100-per-semester fee increase in hopes of bringing football to their school sooner rather than later. All those who currently pay the university’s $144-per-semester athletics fee were eligible to vote, making the number of potential voters 22,338. Thirty-three percent of them (or 7,358 to be exact) voted, of which 55.5 percent said ‘yes’.
“We were nervous, but we were hopeful,” athletic director Scott Whitlock said of getting a thumbs-up from the students. “It’s a very exciting announcement. We would love to add football to our school.”
Arlethia Perry-Johnson, Special Assistant for External Affairs for President Papp told Score Atlanta, “KSU is already the third largest university in Georgia and is increasingly a destination campus of choice for traditional age college students. That age group is more highly engaged in campus life offering, adding football provides another layer of excitement our growing university.”
With the vote completed, the next step is a vociferous fundraising campaign over the next 18 to 30 months. According to KSU’s Football Exploratory Committee, spearheaded by legendary Georgia coach Vince Dooley, the football program will require between $8 and $12 million to get off the ground and could cost another $5 to $6 million annually. The campaign would need to raise at least $8 to $12 million, for football start-up costs as well as for the necessary expansion of KSU women’s sports to meet Title IX requirements. The student fee increase is expected to generate between $5 and $6 million per year.
If the fundraising campaign accomplishes its goals, the university would then submit a business plan to the state’s Board of Regents. Should the plan be approved, KSU could target the hiring of a head coach and staff in 2012 followed by player recruitment in 2013. The additional $100 student fee would take effect no sooner than the fall of 2012. If all goes according to an ideal schedule, with fundraising completed in 18 months, football would officially kick off in 2014.
“A football program could serve our mission well,” Papp concluded, “as it may help bring increased national recognition to our institution and highlight the important work that is being done here in teaching and research. Fielding an intercollegiate football team will promote student and alumni attachment, make KSU degrees more valuable, and will enhance our ability to raise funds and attract more students.”
OWLS SPOOK JACKETS …
While a football program appears to be on the way, Kennesaw State basketball is on the way up. The Owls scored arguably the most significant win in school history by putting a beatdown on Georgia Tech inside the KSU Convocation Center.
In front of a raucous crowd of 4,784, the home team never gave its favored opponents a chance. KSU jumped out to a 7-0 advantage and did not trail throughout the entire game. The Owls extended the lead to 10 points less than six minutes into the contest, led by as much as 20 during the first half, and enjoyed a 41-26 cushion at halftime.
Georgia Tech pulled to within five with 9:35 remaining, but Kennesaw State held off the Jackets and finished the game on a 17-7 run. Spencer Dixon poured in 27 points for the Owls, including 19 in the second half. LaDaris Green added 19 points and 12 rebounds while Markeith Cummings, who played all 40 minutes, scored 13.
“It was by far the biggest on-campus win in the history of the school,” Ingle assured. “It means a lot. We gave our students, our alumni, our boosters, our fans, and our faculty a lot to cheer about. We were playing for everybody who ever put on a Kennesaw State uniform.”
Nobody in a Kennesaw State uniform had a win this big prior to Monday night. The Owls did not have much of chance in earlier years, playing in the Division II ranks (they won the National Championship in 2004). They made the jump to Division I prior to the 2006-07 season as part of the diminutive Atlantic Sun Conference. On Monday, the Owls suddenly found themselves going up against an ACC giant, one that had played for the NCAA championship in 2004.
Ingle and company, however, were undaunted. He explained, “I told the guys tonight before the game…. I said, ‘You got a dream?’ Then bring it. I want you to dream tonight. Bring your dream.’”
IT’S GREAT TO BE AN OWL …
Dreams are very much alive these days on the campus of Kennesaw State University. The basketball team is on fire, football talk is heating up, and a new $16.5 million KSU Soccer Stadium was completed in May. KSU volleyball, currently playing in the conference championships, has won 34 matches this season and is 9-1 in ASC action. Karen Weatherington was named Atlantic Sun Coach of the Year. “It’s just incredible,” Ingle said of the athletic frenzy at Kennesaw State. “The kids on campus are just going wild.”
If this week’s developments are any indication, KSU students will have plenty to go wild about in the coming years.
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