If you haven’t heard already, Georgia State has added the University of Wisconsin to their 2016 football schedule.
Georgia State will receive $1.2 million from Wisconsin for showing up to the game and playing no matter the result.
Now let me be completely blunt – I love this decision.
I’ve always loved the idea of Georgia State going on the road to go up against some of the best college football programs in the country and accepting a nice big check, even if it means picking up a loss.
I’ve walked around campus and heard people complaining about when Georgia State schedules expected blowouts. They say things like, “What’s the point? We’re just going to lose,” and “All they care about is money.”
The fact of the matter is this infant program needs exposure, valuable experiences, and a chance to compare themselves against some of the best while letting their weaknesses be exposed.
This is about more than money; games like these are the chance for Georgia State players and coaches to observe the best in everything that they do.
Before going to Alabama, Trent Miles said he hoped his players would learn from the Crimson Tide in how they play, how they carry themselves, how they eat, how they prepare, etc.
The players got the chance to observationally learn from the best while kinesthetically learning as they matched up against them play-after-play.
What better way is there to learn?
Going against a prominent football program is something the players genuinely get excited about. They work and practice throughout the week knowing they will be representing their team and school on a substantially bigger stage.
Opposed to common thought, these games do attract recruits, even after they see Georgia State get blown out, for a couple reasons.
First, playing time. Imagine you’re a talented football player. If you play how you practice and continuously execute, you will get the playing time you so desire game in and game out at Georgia State while still having the chance to improve in practice.
Not everyone can be five star recruits and go to Alabama. But, you can go to Georgia State where they are not afraid to match up against the best and allow their players the time to go against some of the best athletes.
Second, there’s something exciting about being a part of a program that is new and growing.
Players want to be the ones to turn a program from something to nothing. They hope to be the ones to push the program towards success- whether that be a winning season, a Sun Belt championship, or even many years down the road a national championship.
Players want to be able to look back and be proud of what they were a part of being remembered as the ones who “broke the rock,” as coach Miles and his team say.
Georgia State has to take advantage of these opportunities to get the experience and pick up the money it requires along the way.
Think of the $1.2 million Georgia State is going to get from Wisconsin. They are giving us the money we need to be able to acquire the resources to recruit, build up the guys we already have, and establish tradition here at Georgia State.
Maybe someday Georgia State will be a winning program and have all the money it needs and will pass some of it on to adolescent football programs as they try and get on their feet and running as we once did.
This is how it is done.
You must know that this is not unique to Georgia State; this is something that is frequently done around the NCAA camaraderie.
This is the strategy Georgia State football must take to get the resources it needs to win.
