Could Georgia Southern Compete In The ACC?

charles

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Based on what I seen so far I think that they could win a few games and scare the hell out of the rest of the teams; Good up and coming program Nobody is going to want to schedule them.
 

WreckinGT

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Looking at GTs ACC schedule this year, I don't think there is a team on it that Ga Southern could beat. They have a decent program building but they are still many years away from being good enough to be competitive in a major conference.
 

johncu

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WreckinGT said:
Looking at GTs ACC schedule this year, I don't think there is a team on it that Ga Southern could beat. They have a decent program building but they are still many years away from being good enough to be competitive in a major conference.
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How do you figure? They almost beat us, and we are better than most of our opponents (I think). Not to mention they should have beaten NC State as well. I think GSU would win 2 or 3 ACC games, depending on their schedule. That offense is really good.
 

WreckinGT

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johncu said:
How do you figure? They almost beat us, and we are better than most of our opponents (I think). Not to mention they should have beaten NC State as well. I think GSU would win 2 or 3 ACC games, depending on their schedule. That offense is really good.
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Out of UVA, Duke, UNC, Clemson, Miami, VT, NC State, and Pitt, which ones do you think they would beat? I think on their very best years they would win 2 ACC games if they get a favorable schedule. Im not sure that would really make them competitive.
 
GTBandit22

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This year? Yes. I'm not so sure long term. Just look at South Florida, who many people wanted to invite a few years back. Fritz has stayed 3-4 years at a lot of places. I could see him leaving for a bigger program if they win the Belt a few times.
 
Techster

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Southern could beat Wake Forest. Might even be able to beat UNC. Almost beat NC State...as well as us.

This year would be tough...they're still playing with FCS level talent. Give them a couple of years to recruit on this level and if that coach stays...it's VERY possible they could be competitive in the ACC in football. Southern has a good football program...and CPJ said it himself the week we played them, they will do what needs to be done to succeed. Their administration understands the importance of a good football program and they're committed. GT and UGA fans have a hard time admitting that GSU will be a legit player soon.
 
Stonewall

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Gotta love a coach like this as a GS player!

FreeWillie.gif
 

WreckinGT

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Techster said:
Southern could beat Wake Forest. Might even be able to beat UNC. Almost beat NC State...as well as us.

This year would be tough...they're still playing with FCS level talent. Give them a couple of years to recruit on this level and if that coach stays...it's VERY possible they could be competitive in the ACC in football. Southern has a good football program...and CPJ said it himself the week we played them, they will do what needs to be done to succeed. Their administration understands the importance of a good football program and they're committed. GT and UGA fans have a hard time admitting that GSU will be a legit player soon.
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Their biggest barrier here will be money. GSU only brought in 13 million in revenue last year and 63% of that was subsidized. They play in a conference that makes them about $100k a year in TV revenue. Compare this to even the worst ACC teams making over $50 million in revenue and over $20 million in TV revenue. Willie Fritz appears to be a quality coach but he is making less than most coordinators make at major schools. How will a school like Ga Southern keep a guy like that if he continues to succeed? Eventually the money catches up to you.
 
swampsting

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WreckinGT said:
Their biggest barrier here will be money. GSU only brought in 13 million in revenue last year and 63% of that was subsidized. They play in a conference that makes them about $100k a year in TV revenue. Compare this to even the worst ACC teams making over $50 million in revenue and over $20 million in TV revenue. Willie Fritz appears to be a quality coach but he is making less than most coordinators make at major schools. How will a school like Ga Southern keep a guy like that if he continues to succeed? Eventually the money catches up to you.
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Yeah, Southern's biggest hurdle, even for the Sun Belt, isn't competition between the lines. It's money. Pure and simple. Now, to their administration's credit, they didn't go up on ticket prices this year. That, however, is going to change. And with an athletic department budget of $14-$16 million, and little prospects of that increasing significantly in the near future, they couldn't do it. Michigan's travel budget alone for its athletic department was $9 million last year.
Southern may have to sell another game to a P5 team for the revenue, giving them just four home games in a year and no OOC games at home in the near future. It's a very small market with very limited corporate sponsorship opportunities.
 
Stonewall

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GTech63 said:
If Tech cans CPJ or he leaves, Willie Fritz would be on my short list.
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if fritz has a similar trajectory as monken at GS there's no doubt in my mind he'll be gone within 3-5 years. depending upon coaches that get canned in the next couple of years it could be sooner. he hasn't been a HC for over two decades to settle for $500k/year. someone dangle a $1M+ at him and he's gone. who could blame him?
 
Stonewall

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swampsting said:
Yeah, Southern's biggest hurdle, even for the Sun Belt, isn't competition between the lines. It's money. Pure and simple. Now, to their administration's credit, they didn't go up on ticket prices this year. That, however, is going to change. And with an athletic department budget of $14-$16 million, and little prospects of that increasing significantly in the near future, they couldn't do it. Michigan's travel budget alone for its athletic department was $9 million last year.
Southern may have to sell another game to a P5 team for the revenue, giving them just four home games in a year and no OOC games at home in the near future. It's a very small market with very limited corporate sponsorship opportunities.
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with the move up bringing in more revenue is a work in progress--no doubt about it. winning will go a long way in helping create an environment where folks are willing to pay more for tickets and up their donations. getting the ATL crowd of alum more involved is a start. southern's alum base is young in terms of money. schools that have established programs for decades on end, they've got "old money" and that makes a tremendous difference. they have generations of donors.
 
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