KB, I still find problem with your argument, because playing as an independent is a thing of the past. It is next to impossible to schedule the required number of Div. 1 games to remain a Div 1 member of football without a conference to play in. Thus I don't think that we can look at this as a Southern or bust situation. So if it takes a few years in the OVC or the Big South (this is truly my second pick after SoCon.) to prove to the Southern that we are a good candidate for their league, then I say go for it. It is better then having a failing program floundering without a conference. We could also go to these conferences with a Football only mindset if that is what it takes till we can get our admission to the Southern Conference.

I also doubt that anyone really cares about KSU and the Atlanta Market. Yes Atlanta is the 9th Largest DMA, but KSU does not draw and will not draw from the Atl DMA. We may be able to secure a fair amount of viewership in Cobb, Cherokee, and Paulding, but that is just a fraction of the Atlanta DMA. Finally FCS schools pay to be on TV they rarely get paid. Outside of conference finals, TV stations do not play games unless the conference picks up the opperating cost of the broadcast. This usually is in the ballpark of $40,000-$60,000.
So until we start talking CUSA, SunBelt, or other Bowl Series Conference the ATL DMA means next to nothing. Even then lets not forget that we are in Dawg Country and in the Shadows of Tech. Let's just ask a school like UCF if their total control of the 19th largest DMA means anything in a state that already has historical powerhouses. Or go ask ECU how it feels to be 20 miles outside of your DMA's epicenter and thus not considered a major player. DMA only means something if you actually have a chance to capture that DMA, and lets face it KSU is far from that day.

OWLREF it is rare that I say this as I am usually a pessimist, you give Kennesaw too little credit in your last post. I guarantee you that that Atlanta Market matters. I'll give you a small example. Cobb County is the #1 area for prep school baseball in the country and it isn't even close. Baseball coaches from the Southern will want to give some exposure over here, recruit here, tell recruits that they get to come back home for a few games a year. Basketball and football coaches will want the same thing.

We are a school that is just barely tapping our potential. I can't think of another school like us that is currently rated so low, that has the potential to soar so high. Usually schools have some sort of limiting factor in their growth potential. Kennesaw has none of those. All it is going to take is time and money. With the commitment to football, I am thinking that our financial situation will continue to get better. If we had to play independent I am sure we could find plenty of guarantee games to build up some cash for the football program until we find an appropriate conference.

The Big South sucks and the OVC is a poor fit. I would much rather stay in the ASun and play independent football then go to the Big South.

(04-17-2011 07:41 AM)KennesawBasketball Wrote:  Assuming that Jacksonville State leaves which is what some people are suggesting, the OVC is full of teams significantly north of Kennesaw. We are a southern school. That is part of our identity. We have no common thread with schools in Illinois, or with a conference named Ohio Valley - yet they have no schools in Ohio in the conference.

I agree with you on the stance towards the OVC. But I don't know if going Independent is the answer. Technically, Georgia State is an independent right now in our transition to FCS before we join the Colonial. Look at our schedule -> http://www.georgiastatesports.com/SportS...PSID=53628 Its not bad for a second year program, but you see the Div II and NAIA schools on there? Those are the product of being an independent without a conference to help you fill out your schedule. Savannah State was independent the past few years before joining the MEAC this year; and I think they played at the most 3 home games over 2 seasons.

I think joining the Big South or OVC - building a competitive program - and then making a bid for the SoCon (assuming the SoCon doesn't invite you outright) would be a better situation than going independent (even with the geographical oddity of being in the OVC).

KB, I actually agree with you that the sky is the limit when it comes to not only KSU athletics, but the University as a whole. In fact I am usually more of the optimist when it comes to what KSU can offer. However my point in that last post was to give what an outsider will see in KSU. We see the potential and they see the past and Present. Most deals are made on this past and present mindset. Yes KSU is in the middle of baseball heaven. Yes we have great football and soccer recruits come from this region. But I am a little worried that it might not be enough for someone looking in from the outside. This is where Williams and Papp will earn their money selling our university. I am also saying that I don't want to play Shorter, Lindsey Wilson, Mercer, Jacksonville, Stetson, West Georgia, and Valdosta State every year until we get an invite from the SoCon. Because outside of one guarantee game and playing the other Div. 1 Independents at the time, these are the teams that fill up a FCS Independent schedule.