It's Game Time:Football arrives in a big way at Kennesaw State_
Kennesaw State University[케네소주립대학교]
A new day is dawning for Kennesaw State, as university athletics rises to a new level: the creation of a intercollegiate football program. In a time when the university is undergoing so many changes toward becoming a world-class institution, the development of a football team reflects just how far Kennesaw State has come during its first 50 years, joining the ranks of great American universities offering students a full array of academic and athletic programs.
It's Game Time!
Every year around this time, at colleges and universities all over the country, students greet the fall with excitement for a particular brand of on-campus activity. As they get decked out in their school colors, warm up their voices for their strongest cheers, roll out the tailgate for a little pregame fun and fill the stands of their favorite stadiums, fans are celebrating the traditions of that most American of pastimes – football.
And in 2015, another university will be adding its name to the list of schools building on the college football tradition: Kennesaw State. As a step in a journey that began nearly two decades ago, the University is fielding a football team for the first time this fall.
No one is more aware of the what that step means than Kennesaw State’s first head football coach, Brian Bohannon.
“I want to win every game, but at the end of the day, we want to build this program the right way,” Bohannon said. “So we can look back in 30 years and say, ‘Look at the foundation we laid and look at the success Kennesaw State football has had. Not just on the field, but off the field and in the classroom.’”
Since becoming head coach a little more than two years ago, Bohannon has been responsible for bringing a longtime vision of major college football to reality. He put together an experienced coaching staff and went to work on completing a roster of eager young players who were ready to venture into unknown territory.
The end result of that preparation will be the beginning of a new era of Owls athletics.
“That first game is the culmination of all the hard work between the university, our staff and our players,” Bohannon said. “We’ve had kids on campus, starting last fall. They’ve been practicing really hard, working toward that first game on Sept. 3. It’s been an awesome process.”
MAKING AN IDEA INTO REALITY
The possibility of fielding a football team is nothing new at Kennesaw State. But while athletics has been an integral part of campus life since as far back as the early 1980s and football was frequently discussed as a potential addition, the opportunity for fielding a football team only gained momentum in the last 10 years.
In the late 1990s and early in this century, a couple of Kennesaw State University committees studied the feasibility of football for then-president Betty L. Siegel, but found that the time was not yet right.
After Daniel S. Papp was named as Kennesaw State president in 2006, the program started to take shape. The results in 2007 of a study initiated by the KSU Foundation noted the potential benefits to the university of developing a football program, and with the move in 2009 of Kennesaw State athletic programs to NCAA Division I status, the opportunity for new sports grew.
It was in late 2009 that the program became a more formal pursuit, when Papp brought together the Football Exploratory Committee, a group of 33 members of the Kennesaw State community, to provide comprehensive recommendations about football. The committee, led by former University of Georgia head football coach and athletic director Vince Dooley, examined possible costs, funding opportunities, levels of support, administrative issues and all potential impacts of a new sport on campus.
In September 2010, the committee recommended moving forward, and two months later, a vote of the students confirmed support for the development of a football program.
In February 2013, the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia approved the university’s business plan to play intercollegiate football.
A month later, Athletic Director Vaughn Williams brought Bohannon on board to guide the program through its next phase.
Bohannon says that while building the football program during his first two years as head coach has been a large undertaking, the process ran more smoothly because of the amount of preparation by the university community.
“Dr. Papp and Vaughn Williams have laid a great foundation to give us a chance to be successful,” Bohannon said. “The great thing is they had a great plan. They’ve taken the time to do it the right way. They’ve prepared the university, which has been important.”
That attention to detail has been a key part of ensuring that the football program gets off on the right foot.
“There’s just overwhelming support, overwhelming positivity over being able to play football in the backyard of Cobb County,” Bohannon said. “It has been 100 percent all in. That tells you something about the university and the community.”
BUILDING A TEAM
From Bohannon’s perspective, the potential for success comes from the team of players and coaches he has assembled to take the field this fall.
“I truly believe that if you surround yourself with good people – and outstanding student-athletes – you give yourself a chance,” Bohannon said.
Almost from the start, Bohannon and his coaching staff were hard at work searching for talented players to take up the mantle of the “first class” for football.
The first recruiting class of 29 players selected Kennesaw State in early 2014. That core of studentathletes arrived on campus the following fall, and have spent much of the year since in the classroom and on the practice fields.
“When I first took the job, I said this is the best kept secret in the South,” Bohannon said. “All we had to do is get kids on campus, and it would sell itself. And the enthusiasm and energy the staff has on top of the facilities and what we have to offer here. And for the first class, making history here – first team photo, first game, all the ‘firsts’ that go with what’s going on – I think all our kids bought into it.”
For the players from the team’s first recruiting class, the past year has been a learning process.
“It’s definitely an honor and a big deal to be on that first team,” said Jake McKenzie, a quarterback from Monroeville, Ala. “I’ve enjoyed every minute.
“It’s tough practicing every day, but you’ve got to get used to the speed of college football. So you’ve got to take every practice and work hard every day, because there is so much you can work on and improve on.”
The prospect of practicing without game experience has been a challenge, but it has given the players an edge as they start the first real season.
“We’ve gotten better and better,” said Taylor Henkle, a defensive back from Kennesaw. “We’ve had our ups and downs on and off the field, but we’ve taken the right steps. A lot of us have grown as people, and that’s going to help us when we’re seniors. This first year has been very helpful in building a foundation.”
Bohannon and his staff put an emphasis on bringing younger players out of high school in that first recruiting class, while the second class of 16 recruits, named early this year, expanded the roster with more experienced transfer students.
“We exceeded expectations in our first class, but we didn’t really know what the expectations were,” Bohannon said. “I know what it takes to win championships, having been a part of several of them, but you’re starting out here, so it’s a little different.
We won’t officially know until we play games, because at the end of the day, the results you put out on Saturday afternoon are a big part of it.”
EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS
When the football team takes the field this fall, Kennesaw State will be entering into uncharted territory. The coaching staff and players describe the development of the football program as evolving, which will provide a stable future beyond the inaugural season.
Bohannon said his strategy will require game conditions to identify how that future will unfold.
“We’re going to be a run-oriented offense, and each year we’re going to have to adapt a little bit what it takes to give us a chance to be a winning football team,” Bohannon said. “Defensively, we want to fly around and make plays and get people off schedule and create turnovers. But all these things will be evolving. What you see early on in the year may change later in the year, or in year two, year three. Hopefully, by year three, we’ve got in a rhythm of who we are.”
That mentality of planning for the long term success extends to the players.
“You always want to win a championship,” McKenzie said. “I feel like we’re going to compete in the games we play. We may not win them all, but I hope that we compete in every game and show people that we are here to play ball. With so many redshirt freshmen and sophomores playing in the first year, I feel that the four years after that, it can only get better. I feel that in our junior and senior years, we’ll really be a force to be reckoned with.”
Henkle agreed. “We have high expectations, but the bigger picture, we want people to see how we compete and how much progress we’ll be making in the years to come,” he said. “They’re going to see a team that steps on the field that plays hard constantly; that no matter what happens will keep coming back – being resilient. That will help us build the foundation for the years to come.”
THE KENNESAW STATE WAY
During his time as head coach, Bohannon has emphasized the importance of teamwork in building the football program.
“Check your ego at the door. We’re here to be the best Kennesaw State football team we can be.
He and his coaching staff have worked to maintain high standards both on and off the field.
“They’ve done a great job of mentoring and leading these young kids,” Bohannon said. “And teach them how to do everything, what we call, ‘the Kennesaw State way.’
“We talk about winning the day. Win the day on the field, win the day off the field, win the day in the classroom. So we want to be successful in all three facets. Socially, academically, in the community, on the field.”
That attitude is something that builds when the Kennesaw State community shows its support.
“There is a unique, positive energy on campus that in all the campuses I’ve been, I don’t think there is anything like it,” Bohannon said. “And I think that’s the culture of Kennesaw State University.
The coaches and players see that potential growing when the stands of Fifth Third Bank Stadium fill up each Saturday afternoon.
“It’s going to open the doors to a lot of people in the Southeast and the country to let them know what this university is about,” Bohannon said. “There are so many good things going on here, but people don’t know about it. But in time, through football, they will.”
And for those in the Kennesaw State community who do know about what the university can offer, Bohannon has a simple goal:
“We can lay the foundation for a program that all of us can look back on and say, ‘I’m proud to be a graduate of Kennesaw State – whether I played football or not – and look at what the football program has done for the university.”
FOOTBALL TIMELINE 1963 - 2015
1963
Board of Regents charters a new junior college in Cobb County
1965
Horace W. Sturgis named as first president
1966
Kennesaw Junior college opens
1976
Board of Regents votes to make Kennesaw College a four-year institution
1981
Betty Siegel named as second president
1982
Intercollegiate athletics begin under the first athletic director, James (Spec) Landrum
1992
NCAA accepts Kennesaw State College at the Division II level
1996
Institution renamed Kennesaw State University
1999
President Betty Siegel convenes first committee to study the addition of football
2006
KSU initiates report on feasibility of football program
Daniel S. Papp named as third president
2009
Kennesaw State athletics makes transition to NCAA Division I
Kennesaw State announces construction of a new stadium on campus
President Daniel S. Papp charges a 33-member exploratory committee with the task of answering questions about the possibility of football at KSU
2010
Fifth Third Bank Stadium opens
Football Exploratory Committee begins examining possibilities for new program
Football Exploratory Committee releases report recommending development of a football program
Students vote to support creation of a football program
2011
Vaughn Williams named athletic director
2012
KSU Student Fee Committee votes to support fee increase for football
The Kennesaw State logo and mascot Scrappy get a new look during the first Flight Night event
2013
Board of Regents vote to approve university’s request to add football to athletics program.
Fifth Third Bank enters into multi-sport sponsorship agreement with Kennesaw State Athletics
Brian Bohannon named Kennesaw State’s first head football coach
KSU joins Big South Conference as an associate member in football
Football Ticket Letter of Intent Program begins
Grant Chesnut named offensive coordinator/offensive line coach
Jay Bailey named director of football operations; Tim Glanton named A-backs/ slot coach
Brian Newberry named defensive coordinator/secondary coach
Kennesaw State unveils official gold helmet at women’s soccer game
Live owl mascot Sturgis makes his debut at the second Flight Night event
2014
Kennesaw State signs 29 recruits to football in its first National Signing Day
Coaching staff completed with hiring of Chris Bland (cornerbacks); Stewart Cook (tight ends and tackles), Mike Daniels (wide receivers), Kevin Downing (defensive ends) and Cody Worley (quarterbacks)
First Kennesaw State recruiting class reports to campus
Football team holds first workout.
KSU football team holds first football scrimmage during Homecoming festivities
2015
Kennesaw State announces that Brian Giffin, Tutan Reyes and Art Eckman will form football broadcasting team
Kennesaw State signs 16 recruits to football in its second National Signing Day
Kennesaw State hosts first Black and Gold spring football game
Kennesaw State opens fall practice
Kennesaw State kicks off first football game at East Tennessee State
Kennesaw State hosts first home football game versus Edward Waters
