More Owls: Kennesaw State reportedly close to joining Conference USA
Move would get C-USA back to 10 football members, while dropping the ASUN down to four. Kennesaw State would become C-USA's 10th active member, and the 33rd university to hold Conference USA membership in less than 30 years of existence.
Kennesaw State would then become C-USA's 10th active member, and the 33rd university to hold Conference USA membership in less than 30 years of existence.
Kennesaw State is located in Kennesaw, Ga., on the northwest fringe of Metro Atlanta. The school was founded as Kennesaw Junior College in 1966 and now enrolls close to 40,000 undergraduates. Adding Kennesaw State helps re-connect the C-USA map, as the conference would now touch every state from New Mexico to Florida (with the exception of Mississippi), a northern arm in Tennessee, Kentucky and Virginia.
Kennesaw State football launched in 2015 under head coach Brian Bohannon, who remains the Owls' head coach. KSU is 63-19 under Bohannon, with Big South Conference championships in 2017, '18 and '21, FCS quarterfinals trips in 2017 and '18, and FCS second round appearances in 2019 and '21.
As these moves always do, a Kennesaw State departure would have a chain reaction at the FCS level. The Owls have been Olympic sports members of the Atlantic Sun while maintaining football membership in the Big South; however, KSU has joined the ASUN's attempt to launch a football conference.
That effort has been a melancholic success. A long with the WAC, the ASUN keeps losing team to the FBS. Already the two leagues cross-schedule and share an FCS auto bid, with Sam Houston (WAC) and Jacksonville State (ASUN) leaving after this season for C-USA. At present, the ASUN has six football-playing members. And now Kennesaw State could join them after the 2023 season.
The Owls have only fielded a football team for seven seasons, but they have had plenty of success. The Owls have compiled a 57-17 record over the course of those seven years, and have advanced to the FCS playoffs three times. Two of those playoff appearances culminated in runs to the quarterfinals.
The newfound success that Kennesaw State has found is understandable. After all, it is a large university planted in a major metropolitan area.
With over 41,000 students, Kennesaw State is the second-largest school in Georgia. With that comes tons of financial and political ability. Should some conference want to go after a young and upcoming program, it is hard to find a better option than Kennesaw State. Now, it looks like more owls will join the top tier of football progarms, albeit at the G5 level.
Quote:Pete Thamel @PeteThamel
Sources: Kennesaw State has emerged as the favorite to become Conference USA’s tenth member. That addition is expected in the near future for Kennesaw to join effective 2024.
4:19 PM · Oct 7, 2022