(CSTV U-WIRE) SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The former NFL running back, head coach and record holder of nine Super Bowl appearances has seen a lot in his storied football career. But what Vice President for External Affairs Tom Lewis asked him caught him by surprise. After some convincing by GSU, Reeves, 63, an Atlanta native, agreed to join the Panthers in their quest for football.
In April, GSU announced that Reeves will serve as a consultant to help begin a football program at the school. The university, located in downtown Atlanta, has more than 27,000 undergraduate students but lacks a football team, largely due to the fact that fields are at a premium in the urban area. GSU Athletic Director Mary McElroy said alumni and student pressure caused the school to look into the possibility of fielding a team.
“We were sitting around strategizing and thinking about how we would present this idea to the alumni and potential supporters of the idea of football at Georgia State,” McElroy said. “We decided that we probably needed a known entity with regard to football.”
Enter Reeves.
“I didn’t know a lot about Georgia State and was certainly a little bit surprised about what he was asking me to do,” Reeves said. “The more I looked into it, the more I felt like Georgia State needed a football program because it had about 28 to 29,000 students and has had an immense amount of success in their schools.”
With about 95,000 alumni in the Atlanta area, GSU certainly has a large base from which they can collect donations. McElroy said it is important to tap into the alumni base because even small donations will begin to accumulate. That’s where the iconic Reeves plays a large role.
“The main thing that he has been brought on board to do is be the face of football and to give us credibility, as far as with the alumni and with people around Atlanta, that we really are seriously looking at football and to ask people to step up and be participants rather than spectators,” McElroy said.
The fact an Atlanta-based school selected Reeves for the job is no coincidence and is something McElroy said “helps immensely.” Having played high school football in Georgia and coaching the Falcons for seven seasons, Reeves has deep roots in the region and has called Atlanta home since exiting the NFL.
“When I got let go by the Falcons, my wife and I decided we were going to stay in Atlanta unless another opportunity came up to coach somewhere, and that hasn’t happened,” Reeves said. “This is great to help them get the football program started, and I think what it did when I came aboard, it let the Georgia State people and the city of Atlanta know that Georgia State was serious about trying to start a football program.”
Jon McLamb, associate athletic director for development and marketing, has worked closely with Reeves by going out in the community, persuading businesses and alumni to contribute. When meeting with business leaders, McLamb focuses on the economic impacts football could bring to Atlanta, including the return of alumni to campus for game weekends. With Reeves’ recognizable name, the community has already shown support for the cause.
“Having him on our team at this point has added an extra dimension to it that certainly had a positive impact because of his respect throughout Atlanta, throughout Georgia and throughout football circles in general,” McLamb said.
GSU has raised just under $1.1 million to date for their football initiative, McLamb said. Start-up costs for the program would be between $7 million to $8 million. Another $5 million is needed annually for the football team, as well as $1 million GSU would need to add for women’s sports, McElroy said. If successful, Panthers football will be played in the Georgia Dome in 2010, at the earliest.
While fans might want to see Reeves back on the sideline, they may just have to rely on his array of contacts and vast knowledge of football.
“I don’t want anybody giving money to the Georgia State football program thinking that I am going to be the head coach,” Reeves said. “And I don’t want anybody not to give money thinking I am going to be the head coach. I left it open. I don’t want anybody thinking this is a job that I’m going to take. When we get to that point, we’ll see what my level of interest is.”