On Wednesday, Georgia State announced it will host the Kennesaw State Owls in a non-conference matchup on Aug. 30, 2018 to start that year’s football season.
The year the game is scheduled for will be two years after Georgia State’s deal to play football at the Georgia Dome expires. Future home plans will be announced at a later date.
Head football coach Trent Miles, in a press release, described it as a “great opportunity” for the two schools to play each other and that the Panthers need to be prepared because of where Kennesaw State’s football program is.
Georgia State has an agreement with the Georgia Dome to play its home games there through 2016, but the university plans to build a new 30,000 seat football stadium as part of its proposal to buy the land around Turner Field after the Atlanta Braves depart for a new stadium and entertainment complex in Cobb County.
“I don’t know if the Turner Field deal had anything to do with it, but I do know that it made sense for us,” said Kennesaw State athletic director Vaughn Williams. “Whether it’s in the new Falcons Stadium that will debut in 2017 or in a new stadium at Turner Field, we feel it’s the perfect time for us to play Georgia State.”
The news was first reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and then announced on the websites for both athletic departments.
The Kennesaw State Owls will debut its football program next year at the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level as a member of the Big South Conference. Other sports are part of the Atlantic Sun Conference, whom Georgia State was part of from 1983 to 2005 before it left to join the Colonial Athletic Association.
“It makes sense for us to play teams in state, especially with Georgia State making the transition from FCS to FBS,” said Williams. “Plus, with these being two well-known schools throughout the state of Georgia, this game will have a packed house wherever it is.”
Williams disclosed that Kennesaw State will receive $135,000 in guaranteed money from Georgia State and that men’s basketball coach Ron Hunter has been in conversations with Kennesaw State coach Jimmy Lallathin about scheduling games against each other.
It is the second non-conference opponent Georgia State has scheduled for 2018. The Panthers will also play North Carolina State the following week on Sept. 8 on the road. A year earlier, the team will travel to Penn State on Sept. 27.
Representatives from Georgia State were unavailable for further comment.
