December 2020

This week, Collegiate Consulting began the search for the University of West Georgia’s next Director of Athletics. Our long-standing partnership with the university provides us unique insight into the program, which will assist us in finding someone who fits the UWG vision. We are excited to continue our prolific relationship with UWG.

This collaboration has included several previous studies, including an operational review this summer which was a follow-up to the 2017 Operational Study conducted by our firm.

The operational review was over the course of three weeks, and included 24 total interviews with athletic department staff. These interviews were done with head coaches and department heads, as well as institutional leadership.

In addition to our interviews, Collegiate Consulting collected and analyzed benchmarking specifics for the past 10 years. This data focused on competitiveness, academics, external revenue, scholarships, operating budgets and total athletic budget. This information was gathered and reviewed for internal comparison, as well as comparison to Gulf South Conference member-institutions.

In the past decade, UWG has made significant strides in staffing, budgets, scholarships and academic performance. Collegiate Consulting provided both departmental and team recommendations as part of its assessment with an overarching goal of continuing to improve academic and on-field success.

As part of a continued relationship with the University of West Georgia, Collegiate Consulting was retained to assist in the search for a new Director of Athletics.

Georgia State University

In the Fall of 2011, Collegiate Consulting was retained by Georgia State to complete an FBS Feasibility Study. A few years prior, Georgia State had launched a football program to compete at the FCS level and in the Colonial Athletic Association.

As a part of this study, we benchmarked and analyzed the Sun Belt Conference and Conference USA in 45 days to ensure it was done in time to present to their Board of Trustees. The 176-page report was completed and delivered to Georgia State on Dec. 22, 2011.

Four months later, Georgia State received and accepted a bid to join the Sun Belt beginning in the 2013-14 season. Since their transition from the CAA to the Sun Belt, Georgia State has witnessed unprecedented success both on- and off-the-field.

Their men’s basketball program has earned three Sun Belt championships and three NCAA Tournament appearances, which includes a historic 57-56 victory over #3 Baylor. In addition, the program has two CIT and NIT appearances. The football program has been to three bowl games with a 2017 victory in the Cure Bowl and an upset in 2019 against Tennessee. Beach volleyball was national runner-up in 2016; men’s golf, men’s tennis and men’s soccer each have an NCAA Tournament appearance and women’s tennis has captured two Sun Belt titles.

On the facility front, Georgia State purchased Turner Field (former home of the Atlanta Braves) and signed a naming rights agreement to rebrand the stadium to Center Parc Stadium, the home for Panthers football. On Nov. 17, 2020, Georgia State broke ground on its new 7,300-seat arena. Since the transition from FCS to FBS, Georgia State’s athletic budget has increased from $22.9 million to $38.4 million.