Georgia Southern's Sun Belt Resume

Georgia Southern:

Paulson Stadium

School Founded: 1906

Location: Statesboro, Georgia

Football Founded: 1924

Current Conference: Southern Conference

Facilities: 18,000 seat Paulson Stadium is the crown jewel of the athletic stadiums. 

Allen E. Paulson Stadium was dedicated on Sept. 29, 1984 with a 48-11 rout of Liberty Baptist. The game was a fitting end to four years of planning and hard work - four years of dreaming of one of the finest football facilities in America.

Constructed at a cost of $4.7 million, Paulson Stadium currently seats 18,000 spectators while permanent light fixtures were added prior to the 1994 season.

The stadium features a prescription athletic turf playing field designed to accommodate both soccer and football, special climate-controlled VIP boxes with luxurious interiors, private restrooms and food service areas.

Prior to the start of the 2005 season, a brick façade was built along the walls of Paulson Stadium while the video scoreboard was also surrounded with a brick garden/façade.

Paulson Stadium reflects and enhances the growing importance of Georgia Southern University and Southeast Georgia - an importance symbolized by the area's economic and educational impact on the state and nation.

The stadium is named for the late Allen E. Paulson, who donated more than $1 million toward construction of the facility.

http://gseagles.com/inside-ath/facilities

TV Market(s): Savannah (96th TV market) and Charleston (99th TV market)

All-time Record: 275-101-1

Claimed National Championships: 6

• 1985 (NCAA Division I-AA National Champions)
• 1986 (NCAA Division I-AA National Champions)
• 1989 (NCAA Division I-AA National Champions)
• 1990 (NCAA Division I-AA National Champions)
• 1999 (NCAA Division I-AA National Champions)
• 2000 (NCAA Division I-AA National Champions)

Rivalries:

• Furman University
• Appalachian State University

 Student Population: 20,574 (Undergraduate 17,993)

Academics: http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/georgia-southern-1572

Endowment: $39.9 Million (2011 only)

Athletic Budget: $12 million

FBS Aspirations:

GSU President believes moving from FCS to FBS makes school more national than regional university.

Soaring to Victory Campaign; it’s an 8 year, 36.6 million dollar campaign to ensure future athletic success, with 5 phases, the most expensive going towards Stabilizing the Program (15.5 mill) that’s towards recruiting advantages and paying their coaches, to upgrading facilites, the centerpiece is the Football Operations Center, a 57,000 square foot building that will cost 10 million dollars, the school believes can transform the program.

5.1 million dollars has already been raised, if GSU gets the necessary 10 million, they believe construction can begin in 12-18 months, they have not yet begun a marketing campaign to raise the remaining money.

GSU’s Athletic Budget is 12 million dollars, the school says they’d need a minimum addition of 4.4 million annually to cover everything from travel costs to more scholarships (going from 63 to 85)

Georgia Southern’s budget ranks 95th out of 125 schools in FCS.

Part of the expansion project would be to expand Paulson Stadium from the current 18,000 seats to nearly 25,000 and a new scoreboard.

http://bisonmedia.areavoices.com/2012/04/23/georgia-southern-is-going-for-it/