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GSU plans first football game for 2010

Student athletic fees raised to fund gridiron program

By ANDREA JONES
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Published on: 04/15/08

Georgia State University's long planned football team is becoming a reality and its students will foot part of the bill.

The Board of Regents on Tuesday approved an $85 increase in Georgia State's athletic fee for fall semester, paving the way for university to play its first game in 2010.

A football team has long been the dream of retiring GSU president Carl Patton, who has overseen dramatic changes at the former-commuter school in his 16 years at the helm.

Still, Patton and other GSU officials declined to comment on Tuesday, preferring to wait until Thursday, when they said an official announcement will be made.

Regents approved tuition and fees for all 35 public colleges and universities at a meeting in Columbus.

Georgia State University's overall fees will go from $494 to $600 in the fall, the largest hike among schools. Georgia Tech's fees will increase by $19, to $592 in the fall. UGA students will pay $24 more, to $587. A committee of Georgia State students approved the proposed jump earlier in 2007.

For several years, the school has been morphing from a commuter-based community into a more traditional university.

By 2015, Patton has said, GSU plans to house 20 percent of its 50,000 full- and part-time students on campus, a sea change for the institution.

Georgia State has raised more than $1 million dollars in pledges toward the football program. The team will likely play its first season in the Georgia Dome.