The looming consolidation between Georgia State and Georgia Perimeter College (GPC) is set to take place in 2016. GPC is consistently referred to as a “feeder school” where students earn associate’s degrees, then transfer to four-year universities like Georgia State.
One of those students is Brittany Logan, who is a member of Georgia State’s women’s basketball team and hooped up for GPC before trading in the Jaguars maroon and gold for the Panthers blue and white, when she transferred before the 2013 season.
“Honestly, if it were not for GPC, I would not be at Georgia State,” Logan said.
Logan attended Georgia Perimeter from 2010 to 2013 and played basketball for her first two years as a Jaguar. She says that one of her main concerns as it relates to the takeover of GPC by Georgia State relates to how GPC’s student populace can handle Georgia State’s higher tuition cost.
“My main concern, in terms of academics, is about people of different nationalities. There are a lot of people that attend GPC that are of different nationalities that, if they wanted to attend Georgia State in downtown that may not be able to afford it,” Logan said.
In terms of the athletic side of the Georgia State-Georgia Perimeter pact, GPC president Rob Watts said at a Jan. 13 town hall meeting that athletes that did wish to transfer would be granted an immediate release and would not have to sit out a year due to eligibility requirements.
Logan thinks that athletes from GPC should have the opportunity to continue their athletic careers at Georgia State.
“I think it would be a good idea if the GPC student-athletes did have a chance to try out here or if they wanted to transfer, considering it is a junior college. Hopefully [Georgia State] President Mark Becker and Athletic Director Charlie Cobb can figure something out,” Logan said.
Logan says that she has since talked with GPC women’s basketball coach James Waldon since the announcement of the consolidation. Waldon coached Logan for the year that she played basketball at GPC.
“We talked and we went into the possibility that he may be out of a job as a result of the merger. He just said, ‘Well, that’s how it is, Britt,’” Logan said.
She did not play basketball during the 2012-2013 season at Georgia Perimeter as she turned her attention towards earning her degree.
While at GPC, Logan had several games where she had at least ten rebounds. The Jaguars finished 31-3 along with winning a conference championship and finishing seventh in the National Junior Collegiate Athletic Association (NJCAA) tournament.
“Some of my fondest memories of my time at GPC include the camaraderie I had with everyone, the road trips and establishing new friendships with my teammates and winning the conference championship my first year,” Logan said.
In her sophomore season, she averaged a double-double with 13.5 points and nearly 11 rebounds as Georgia Perimeter finished with a record of 23-9. In that year’s Georgia Junior Collegiate Athletic Association (GJCAA) tournament, Logan was named Most Valuable Player.
