I personally like the idea of a rivalry. I like MercerFan but Mercer seems to be the easiest target. In-state... closer than anyone else, yada yada yada.

Whatcha think? Should we start a rivalry that makes sense other than ETSU? ETSU is only a rival to us on here cause they trash talk more than other schools. The games are exciting but no one else even knows about ETSU. Maybe they've heard of Mercer.

We need something to get the backing of the students. Starting a rivalry from scratch sounds hard to me but it could be done.

I have been reading around on these boards, and there are some very interesting points being thrown around. When one talks about an A-Sun specific rivalry, I believe beyond a shadow of a doubt it is Mercer because it is convenient, similar to what nick said. Now I will digress from the A-Sun. When talking about a school rivalry, not just basketball or any other specific sport, I think it is important to look outside of conference to the Colonial Athletic Association. Thats right, although we do not play that often, I think our biggest natural rivalry is the Georgia State Panthers. Of course you have the relative location to one another, but also the similarities of the schools. Both schools have a lot of commuters, and both seem to be in somewhat of an arms race in trying to get a football program. Maybe I am stretching this argument. Thoughts? Some of you probably know more about the comparison than I do.

We've never played GSU in basketball. I think that's where the rivalry stops. lol... I would love to beat up on some panthers. Not you GSP, but ya know. I would like that better than Mercer I just don't see it though.

I think that Georgia State is a perfect rival. I would like to see us schedule them our first year of Division I eligibility - that way there are no ** to the the series. Start it our first year, and alternate home sites. Would be great for the city of Atlanta, and I think great for each program. Right now GSU is a step ahead of us, but I think we are closing fast. Barnes is a very good coach, with big time basketball experience, so he would be a great matchup vs. Ingle.

I think that is a great idea Escalade. Would be interesting to see if they would play us. Right now they wouldn't have a whole lot to gain, and a good bit to lose if Kennesaw were to beat them.

I agree with you guys. I hope a Mercer rivalry can grow. Hopefully our new coach will help with that process. Up until now the games have all been very close and Ingle has always had the edge it seems.

GA State is of course your best bet out of conference, that's as long as they ever get the balls to schedule you...

KSUowl0003 Wrote:
All I have to say is that its amazing that GA ST does not play KSU in anything just because they want to pretend they are at a level above KSU. GA ST is in the same boat as KSU and we should be working on building a rivalry but GA ST believes ignoring KSU will make us go away.
Good luck getting Football over there and hope to see you guys on the field and hardwood soon.

GSP Wrote: As to the second part of your statements....Well I'm not going into detail because it wouldn't be appropriate for this topic. But to be short Georgia State has been DI since the 1960s. Granted we haven't made the best of it, and could have made decisions to put us in a better position, but we aren't in the same boat.

GSP - comment on another board to me about GA ST not scheduling KSU. For some reason he believe GA ST is light years ahead of KSU. GA ST as a rival can not happen until they are willing to schedule us

Yeah I'm not sure I get the whole GSU thing but whatever. If they want to play us or if we want to schedule them, that's up to the coaches and programs. It may be better to go be a whipping boy and get some money for the program rather than

I mean, look at what Presby did this year... $650,000 dollars to basically throw a season, get national coverage for having one of the most lopsided schedules in history and gear up for next year. I don't wish that on anyone, especially KSU, but that took balls and it's good to see them work the system.

Guys,

Think about it like this.

What if the roles were reversed?

What if KSU has been in Division I for 45+ years and after years going backwards they finally start moving forward. But has not yet caught up and hasn't been consistent enough to catch up with the "big schools" in Georgia.

Nonetheless KSU starts things that finally after 45+ years of backwardness are finally in the right direction. KSU moves to a strong conference, they hire a quality coach, and then finally starts a football program.

At the same time a school about 25 miles away called GSU wakes up and says: Hey! We have 20k students...we've had success in D II.....maybe we can do this D I thing too! All of a sudden GSU joins KSU's old conference and not even two years later starts talking about football.

How would you guys react to some "start-up" suddenly positioning itself to "steal your thunder?" Would you want KSU to do anything that might hint that this "start-up" GSU is even close to the same "level" as KSU? Hell No!

Its all about association and perception schools affiliate themselves athletically with schools that they feel they are equal with (or in the case of y'all can provide a good transition to better pastures (but that's beside the point)).

This is why UGA plays Georgia Tech every year...but after Georgia State "upset" UGA two years in a row vowed not to play us again (well at least until "Lefty" left and Felton knew he could get a W). Unless the "big schools" know they can beat you (i.e. Georgia Tech vs. KSU last season) they won't play you.

Right now...I don't think GSU could certainly, definitely beat y'all; thus GSU won't play KSU. And if KSU was in GSU's shoes y'all wouldn't play us either!

What if West Georgia and Clayton State both decided they wanted to go D I as well? Do you think KSU is going to run to Carroll and Clayton county and play them?

No! KSU has worked too hard to build attention to themselves and publicize their move to D I then to let some "start-up" play them...(which would insinuate they are on the same level).

And what if West Georgia or Clayton State actually beat y'all? What kind of impact would that have on KSU's program?

For example could you imagine trying to recruit local high school talent after that? "Well Coach Ingle...I like your campus and your facilities...and the scholarship offer is real nice...but West Georgia/Clayton State beat y'all last year so I think I'm going to sign with them."

Do y'all see what something like this means? Do y'all see why GSU won't play y'all...for the same reason KSU wouldn't play us if the roles were reversed.

GaStPanther has a great point. I went to Ga Southern the first 3 years of my college career and they feel/felt the same about UGA and Ga Tech. They always said Tech wouldnt play Southern because they were afraid they would lose. At least UGA will play Southern once every 4 years in football. If Southern beat one of those teams in football you would see a direct change in attitude towards Southern, maybe a shift to move up to 1-a and then they could tell recruits of the football talent in Ga that they beat one of the top programs in the state. Just think, if KSU does as well as we did last year in baseball vs. the rest of the Ga Div 1 teams they might not schedule us anymore. As much as I hate to agree, GaStPanther has a point.

GaStPanther is exactly right. This what I have been saying all along. GSU has no incentive to play KSU. Doesn't mean they won't schedule us, but after our scare of Georgia last year, I doubt they would. I predict that once Kennesaw gets to an even playing field with GSU (either wins our conference, or makes some serious noise) then we might see some sort of home and home start b/w GSU and KSU. That way both schools could take pride in the rivalry, but neither school would be embarrassed by a loss.

Guys,

Thanks for helping me clarify all of this stuff. I just wanted to make clear that what I said above is only the opinion of myself, as a fan. That's how I see it, and thoughts of other fans could be different.

Also, remember all of this stuff is left up to the Athletic Departments and the Administration. So they may have completely different rationales for why they do or don't do things.

For all we know they could have tried to arrange a game...but maybe schedules didn't work out or something else came up?

I bet it's pride and money. Ingle recruits a lot of the same players as GSU. They know each other is what I'm trying to say.

I think just cause you've been D-I doesn't mean you're immune from playing new comers. That's a rather weak argument.

MercerFan Wrote:that's as long as they [GA State] ever get the balls to schedule you...

This is still the bottom line here! Let's not over inflate Georgia State's program here. They are still ranked below half of the A-Sun in RPI... at #277. So losing to KSU wouldn't exactly be damaging to the ego at this point. They don't play Mercer anymore either. Hopefully we can work on this. We're getting a new coach... KSU is getting off probation, we need to play these in state games.

edit -- Well we do play GA State on the diamond still. But never in hoops after they left. Once again, hope the new coach changes this.