Georgia Southern’s football feasibility study will likely commence in the next few days after Atlanta’s Rosser International Inc. was selected to head the project last week.
It’s another giant leap for GSU, which last fall approved funding a study to examine potentially upgrading from the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA) to the Football Bowl Subdivision, the highest level of collegiate competition. Pending a few technicalities, Rosser will run the study for a price of approximately $170,000.
Rosser has been around for more than 60 years and specializes in designing collegiate sports facilities. The company’s resume includes the original design for GSU’s Paulson Stadium, and it’s currently leading the expansion of the University of Louisville’s Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium.
To help with the GSU project, Rosser has pulled together a team consisting of Conventions, Sports & Leisure International, which will handle the economic analysis, and two former major-college administrators.
CSL has worked with over 50 collegiate athletic programs regarding topics ranging from football implementation and reclassification to revenue enhancement. The company studied reclassification for North Dakota State, South Dakota State and Florida Atlantic and looked into starting programs at South Alabama and Georgia State. It also recently completed an economic impact study of a proposed new stadium for the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers.
Based in the Minneapolis and Dallas metro areas, CSL’s objective is to help clients from the initial stages of project planning so they’ll be able to make informed decisions.
The third part of the team consists of former Ohio State athletic director Andy Geiger and former South Carolina AD Mike McGee.
Rosser and Georgia Southern haven’t been in contact yet, but once things get rolling, the project should take anywhere from four to six months.
“We don’t really know what our marching orders are yet,” Rosser spokeswoman Fran Rothbard said. “We need to get with (GSU) and figure out what our timeline and plan of attack are.”
The preliminary process will involve a series of interviews with key people including GSU president Bruce Grube and athletic director Sam Baker. The company will also take an in-depth look at the football program, possible conferences, Title IX issues, the community, alumni, potential supporters and schools in similar situations.
In the end, Rosser will make recommendations laying out a blueprint for the move, should the Eagles decide to do so.
“We are going to collect a lot of information and synthesize it into something that’s going to help (GSU) make the decision,” Rothbard said.
An upgrade couldn’t be made until August 2011 at the earliest because of an NCAA moratorium enacted in last August that sealed off Division I to new members — and halted any movement between its subdivisions — for a four-year period. The NCAA is currently studying D-I membership requirements, which could change by the end of the moratorium.
“I think it’s good for a school like (GSU) to undertake a study like this so that they understand what’s going to be involved in that kind of a move,” Rothbard said. “If they do decide to do it, it’s sort of a road map for where they need to go next. It’s a pretty good investment as opposed to going full steam ahead and not knowing where you are going.”
Alex Pellegrino can be reached at (912) 489-9413.
It’s another giant leap for GSU, which last fall approved funding a study to examine potentially upgrading from the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA) to the Football Bowl Subdivision, the highest level of collegiate competition. Pending a few technicalities, Rosser will run the study for a price of approximately $170,000.
Rosser has been around for more than 60 years and specializes in designing collegiate sports facilities. The company’s resume includes the original design for GSU’s Paulson Stadium, and it’s currently leading the expansion of the University of Louisville’s Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium.
To help with the GSU project, Rosser has pulled together a team consisting of Conventions, Sports & Leisure International, which will handle the economic analysis, and two former major-college administrators.
CSL has worked with over 50 collegiate athletic programs regarding topics ranging from football implementation and reclassification to revenue enhancement. The company studied reclassification for North Dakota State, South Dakota State and Florida Atlantic and looked into starting programs at South Alabama and Georgia State. It also recently completed an economic impact study of a proposed new stadium for the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers.
Based in the Minneapolis and Dallas metro areas, CSL’s objective is to help clients from the initial stages of project planning so they’ll be able to make informed decisions.
The third part of the team consists of former Ohio State athletic director Andy Geiger and former South Carolina AD Mike McGee.
Rosser and Georgia Southern haven’t been in contact yet, but once things get rolling, the project should take anywhere from four to six months.
“We don’t really know what our marching orders are yet,” Rosser spokeswoman Fran Rothbard said. “We need to get with (GSU) and figure out what our timeline and plan of attack are.”
The preliminary process will involve a series of interviews with key people including GSU president Bruce Grube and athletic director Sam Baker. The company will also take an in-depth look at the football program, possible conferences, Title IX issues, the community, alumni, potential supporters and schools in similar situations.
In the end, Rosser will make recommendations laying out a blueprint for the move, should the Eagles decide to do so.
“We are going to collect a lot of information and synthesize it into something that’s going to help (GSU) make the decision,” Rothbard said.
An upgrade couldn’t be made until August 2011 at the earliest because of an NCAA moratorium enacted in last August that sealed off Division I to new members — and halted any movement between its subdivisions — for a four-year period. The NCAA is currently studying D-I membership requirements, which could change by the end of the moratorium.
“I think it’s good for a school like (GSU) to undertake a study like this so that they understand what’s going to be involved in that kind of a move,” Rothbard said. “If they do decide to do it, it’s sort of a road map for where they need to go next. It’s a pretty good investment as opposed to going full steam ahead and not knowing where you are going.”
Alex Pellegrino can be reached at (912) 489-9413.
