Georgia State Panthers
Encyclopedia
The Georgia State Panthers are the athletic teams of Georgia State University
. Georgia State currently sponsors 17 NCAA Division I teams.Georgia State University competes with 16 teams in an athletics program at the highest level of NCAA competition (Division I). Football and women's sand volleyball were added during the 2010-2011 school year. The football team is competing as an independent team in NCAA Division I FCS from 2010 until 2012, when they will join the CAA in football.
Georgia State moved into the 12-member Colonial Athletic Association
(CAA) on July 1, 2005. The CAA receives automatic bids to all NCAA Championship Tournaments. Georgia State has already won four CAA Championships in its first three years.
In 1976-77, the athletics program became a member of the Sun Belt Conference
. After five seasons in that organization, Georgia State chose to break their affiliation with that conference. In 1984-85, Georgia State joined the Trans America Athletic Conference
(TAAC) and competed with that group for 21 years. In July 2001 the conference changed its named to the Atlantic Sun Conference
(A-Sun).
Women's sports blossomed into the program during the 1974-75 school year as basketball, soccer, volleyball and tennis competed at the NCAA Division I level. Women's cross country began the next year. The teams competed against programs throughout the southeast, but were not affiliated with a conference.
Georgia State’s women’s teams were part of the TAAC/A-Sun since 1991. Before that, they were members of the New South Women’s Athletic Conference (NSWAC), beginning in 1984-85.
Through automatic conference bids, 17 of the teams have reached the highest goals by competing in NCAA postseason in men's basketball, women's basketball, men's soccer, volleyball, men's cross country, women's cross country, softball, men's golf, women's golf, men's tennis, women's indoor track and women's outdoor track.
Until 2003, the Panthers men's basketball
team was coached by Lefty Driesell
, one of the winningest coaches in Division I history.
On July 1, 2005, the school left the Atlantic Sun Conference
to join the Colonial Athletic Association
.
In 2006, the Panthers won their first two conference championships as a member of the CAA, winning both in men's and women's golf.
In March 2007, after two consecutive 20 loss seasons in men's basketball, Georgia State fired head coach and former Driesell assistant coach Michael Perry, and hired former Ole Miss coach Rod Barnes
.
In February 2011, after 4 more consecutive 20 loss losing seasons in men's basketball (the first three being 20 loss seasons), Georgia State fired head coach Rod Barnes
, replacing him with assistant coach Paul Graham as the interim coach.
(CAA) beginning in 2012. Georgia State plays its home games off-campus at the Georgia Dome
. Presently the Panthers are led by head coach Bill Curry
and began play as part of the 2010 college football season
. The Panthers played their first football game at home (the Georgia Dome) on September 2, 2010 against Shorter University (Mid-South Conference
) (NAIA
). In front of a crowd of 30,237 the Panthers won the game 41-7.
in NCAA Division I. It is currently coached by Ron Hunter
.
Women's sports
Georgia State University
Georgia State University is a research university in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Founded in 1913, it serves about 30,000 students and is one of the University System of Georgia's four research universities...
. Georgia State currently sponsors 17 NCAA Division I teams.Georgia State University competes with 16 teams in an athletics program at the highest level of NCAA competition (Division I). Football and women's sand volleyball were added during the 2010-2011 school year. The football team is competing as an independent team in NCAA Division I FCS from 2010 until 2012, when they will join the CAA in football.
Georgia State moved into the 12-member Colonial Athletic Association
Colonial Athletic Association
The Colonial Athletic Association is a NCAA Division I college athletic conference whose full-time members are located in East Coast states from Massachusetts to Georgia. Most of its members are public universities, with five in Virginia alone, and the conference is headquartered in Richmond,...
(CAA) on July 1, 2005. The CAA receives automatic bids to all NCAA Championship Tournaments. Georgia State has already won four CAA Championships in its first three years.
Athletic history
In 1963-64, Georgia State became a fully accredited NCAA Division I athletics program, giving scholarships for the first time to students to compete at the highest collegiate level possible.In 1976-77, the athletics program became a member of the Sun Belt Conference
Sun Belt Conference
The Sun Belt Conference is a college athletic conference that has been affiliated with the NCAA's Division I since 1976. Its football teams participate in the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , the higher of two levels of Division I football competition . The Sun Belt has member institutions...
. After five seasons in that organization, Georgia State chose to break their affiliation with that conference. In 1984-85, Georgia State joined the Trans America Athletic Conference
Atlantic Sun Conference
The Atlantic Sun Conference is a college athletic conference operating in the Southeastern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I; it does not sponsor football. The conference was established in 1978 as the Trans America Athletic Conference...
(TAAC) and competed with that group for 21 years. In July 2001 the conference changed its named to the Atlantic Sun Conference
Atlantic Sun Conference
The Atlantic Sun Conference is a college athletic conference operating in the Southeastern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I; it does not sponsor football. The conference was established in 1978 as the Trans America Athletic Conference...
(A-Sun).
Women's sports blossomed into the program during the 1974-75 school year as basketball, soccer, volleyball and tennis competed at the NCAA Division I level. Women's cross country began the next year. The teams competed against programs throughout the southeast, but were not affiliated with a conference.
Georgia State’s women’s teams were part of the TAAC/A-Sun since 1991. Before that, they were members of the New South Women’s Athletic Conference (NSWAC), beginning in 1984-85.
Through automatic conference bids, 17 of the teams have reached the highest goals by competing in NCAA postseason in men's basketball, women's basketball, men's soccer, volleyball, men's cross country, women's cross country, softball, men's golf, women's golf, men's tennis, women's indoor track and women's outdoor track.
Until 2003, the Panthers men's basketball
College basketball
College basketball most often refers to the USA basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Basketball in the NCAA is divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II and Division III....
team was coached by Lefty Driesell
Lefty Driesell
Charles Grice "Lefty" Driesell is an American former college basketball coach. He served as the head coach at the University of Maryland, Davidson College, James Madison University, and Georgia State University. During his 41-year coaching career, Driesell led teams from each school to the NCAA...
, one of the winningest coaches in Division I history.
On July 1, 2005, the school left the Atlantic Sun Conference
Atlantic Sun Conference
The Atlantic Sun Conference is a college athletic conference operating in the Southeastern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I; it does not sponsor football. The conference was established in 1978 as the Trans America Athletic Conference...
to join the Colonial Athletic Association
Colonial Athletic Association
The Colonial Athletic Association is a NCAA Division I college athletic conference whose full-time members are located in East Coast states from Massachusetts to Georgia. Most of its members are public universities, with five in Virginia alone, and the conference is headquartered in Richmond,...
.
In 2006, the Panthers won their first two conference championships as a member of the CAA, winning both in men's and women's golf.
In March 2007, after two consecutive 20 loss seasons in men's basketball, Georgia State fired head coach and former Driesell assistant coach Michael Perry, and hired former Ole Miss coach Rod Barnes
Rod Barnes
Rod Barnes is an American college basketball coach and current head coach of the Cal State Bakersfield Men's Basketball program. He previously served as head coach for the Georgia State University men's basketball team of the NCAA Division I's Colonial Athletic Association...
.
In February 2011, after 4 more consecutive 20 loss losing seasons in men's basketball (the first three being 20 loss seasons), Georgia State fired head coach Rod Barnes
Rod Barnes
Rod Barnes is an American college basketball coach and current head coach of the Cal State Bakersfield Men's Basketball program. He previously served as head coach for the Georgia State University men's basketball team of the NCAA Division I's Colonial Athletic Association...
, replacing him with assistant coach Paul Graham as the interim coach.
Football
The Panthers football team compete as part of the NCAA Division I-FCS, as an independent, but are slated to join the Colonial Athletic AssociationColonial Athletic Association
The Colonial Athletic Association is a NCAA Division I college athletic conference whose full-time members are located in East Coast states from Massachusetts to Georgia. Most of its members are public universities, with five in Virginia alone, and the conference is headquartered in Richmond,...
(CAA) beginning in 2012. Georgia State plays its home games off-campus at the Georgia Dome
Georgia Dome
The Georgia Dome is a domed stadium located in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, between downtown to the east and Vine City to the west. It is primarily the home stadium for the NFL Atlanta Falcons and the NCAA Division I FCS Georgia State Panthers football team. It is owned and operated by the...
. Presently the Panthers are led by head coach Bill Curry
Bill Curry
William Alexander "Bill" Curry is an American football coach and former player. He is the current head coach at Georgia State University, which began competing in college football in 2010...
and began play as part of the 2010 college football season
2010 NCAA Division I FCS football season
The 2010 NCAA Division I FCS football season, part of the college football season, began in September 2010 and concluded with the national championship game on January 7, 2011 won by Eastern Washington...
. The Panthers played their first football game at home (the Georgia Dome) on September 2, 2010 against Shorter University (Mid-South Conference
Mid-South Conference
The Mid-South Conference is an athletic conference affiliated with the NAIA. Member institutions are located in Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. It is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky....
) (NAIA
National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics is an athletic association that organizes college and university-level athletic programs. Membership in the NAIA consists of smaller colleges and universities across the United States. The NAIA allows colleges and universities outside the USA...
). In front of a crowd of 30,237 the Panthers won the game 41-7.
Men's Basketball
The Panthers men's basketball team competes as a member of the Colonial Athletic AssociationColonial Athletic Association
The Colonial Athletic Association is a NCAA Division I college athletic conference whose full-time members are located in East Coast states from Massachusetts to Georgia. Most of its members are public universities, with five in Virginia alone, and the conference is headquartered in Richmond,...
in NCAA Division I. It is currently coached by Ron Hunter
Ron Hunter
Ron Hunter is an American college basketball coach and the current head men's basketball coach of the Georgia State Panthers.-Coaching career:...
.
Men's Soccer
The men's soccer team also competes in the CAA.Facilities
- Men's and women's basketball and volleyball teams compete on campus at the 4000 person capacity GSU Sports ArenaGSU Sports ArenaThe Georgia State University Sports Arena is an indoor arena located in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It is the home of the basketball teams of Georgia State University and hosted the badminton competition of the 1996 Summer Olympics. Georgia State's women's volleyball team uses the facility as...
- The football team competes at the state owned Georgia DomeGeorgia DomeThe Georgia Dome is a domed stadium located in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, between downtown to the east and Vine City to the west. It is primarily the home stadium for the NFL Atlanta Falcons and the NCAA Division I FCS Georgia State Panthers football team. It is owned and operated by the...
, an off campus facility located less than a mile from the central campus. The Georgia DomeGeorgia DomeThe Georgia Dome is a domed stadium located in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, between downtown to the east and Vine City to the west. It is primarily the home stadium for the NFL Atlanta Falcons and the NCAA Division I FCS Georgia State Panthers football team. It is owned and operated by the...
has a capacity of 71,228. Practice fields owned by the school are located south of the main campus over the downtown connectorDowntown ConnectorIn Atlanta, Georgia, the Downtown Connector or 75/85 is the concurrent section of Interstate 75 and Interstate 85 through the core of the city. Beginning at the I-85/Langford Parkway interchange, the Downtown Connector runs generally due north, meeting the east-west Interstate 20 in the middle....
(interstate 75 85).
- The softball team competes at Bob Heck field, a school owned off campus facility located east of campus in Panthersville, GeorgiaPanthersville, GeorgiaPanthersville is a census-designated place in DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The population was 9,749 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Panthersville is located at...
.
- The baseball team competes at the Field at Panthersville, a school owned off campus facility located east of campus in Panthersville, GeorgiaPanthersville, GeorgiaPanthersville is a census-designated place in DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The population was 9,749 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Panthersville is located at...
.
- The men's and women's soccer teams compete at the GSU Soccer Field, a school owned off campus facility located east of campus in Panthersville, GeorgiaPanthersville, GeorgiaPanthersville is a census-designated place in DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The population was 9,749 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Panthersville is located at...
.
- The men's and women's tennis teams compete at Piedmont Park, a city owned park to the north of campus in the MidtownMidtown AtlantaMidtown is the second largest financial district in the city of Atlanta, Georgia, situated between the commercial and financial districts of Downtown and SoNo to the south and the affluent residential and commercial district of Buckhead to the north...
neighborhood
- Men's and women's golf compete at Eagles Landing Country Club, a 27 hole golf course in Stockbridge, GeorgiaStockbridge, GeorgiaStockbridge is a city in Henry County, Georgia, United States with a population of 25,636 as of the 2010 census. It is the hometown of the multi-platinum selling alternative rock/post-grunge band Collective Soul and home to one of the youngest starting pitchers ever to play for the Atlanta Braves,...
.
Others
Men's sports- BaseballCollege baseballCollege baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. Compared to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a less significant contribution to cultivating professional players, as the minor leagues primarily...
- BasketballCollege basketballCollege basketball most often refers to the USA basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Basketball in the NCAA is divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II and Division III....
- Cross countryCross country runningCross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
- FootballCollege footballCollege football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
- GolfGolfGolf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
- SoccerCollege soccerCollege soccer is a term used to describe association football played by teams who are operated by colleges and universities as opposed to a professional league operated for exclusively financial purposes...
- TennisTennisTennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
- Track and fieldTrack and fieldTrack and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
Women's sports
- BasketballCollege basketballCollege basketball most often refers to the USA basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Basketball in the NCAA is divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II and Division III....
- Cross countryCross country runningCross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
- GolfGolfGolf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
- SoccerCollege soccerCollege soccer is a term used to describe association football played by teams who are operated by colleges and universities as opposed to a professional league operated for exclusively financial purposes...
- SoftballSoftballSoftball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...
- TennisTennisTennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
- Track and fieldTrack and fieldTrack and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
- VolleyballVolleyballVolleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...