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Georgia State accepts invitation to join CAA

10:27 a.m., May 25, 2004--Georgia State University in Atlanta will join the Colonial Athletic Association, of which the University of Delaware has been a member since 2001, it was announced Monday afternoon by CAA Commissioner Thomas E. Yeager.

Georgia State will join the conference effective July 1, 2006. It will leave the Atlantic Sun Athletic Conference.

“Today is an exciting day for the CAA,” Yeager said in making the announcement. “In the ever changing landscape of college athletics, we are thrilled to add Georgia State University to what we think is already an impressive roster of academic institutions. Our geographic footprint will stretch from the shadow of the Statue of Liberty to Atlanta, Ga., resulting in increased exposure for the CAA in one of the nation’s top media markets.”

Yeager added, “Georgia State’s broad-based program fits nicely with those of our existing members, and the university will help enhance our branding initiative as we stretch further south into one of the nation’s most vibrant metropolitan areas.”

UD Director of Athletics Edgar Johnson welcomed the addition of Georgia State. He said the CAA had two longstanding goals regarding expansion, both of which are of equal importance.

Johnson said the first goal is to “expand and strengthen the conference so that divisional play is an option.” Divisions will provide the institutions at the conference’s geographic extremes, the University of North Carolina Wilmington and Hofstra University, with arrangements that “make travel and varsity play competitively, academically and fiscally sound,” he said.

The second goal is to add football as a conference sport “so that all of our sports programs can be branded with the CAA mantle,” Johnson said. “The admission of Georgia State, though not a football-playing institution, is an important step in the realization of these goals.”

Currently, UD plays football in the Atlantic 10 Conference with three other CAA institutions: Hofstra, James Madison and William and Mary. Towson, another CAA school, will join the Atlantic 10 for football this fall.

Johnson added, “Georgia State is an evolving institution with strong team sports, and it will be a valuable addition to the CAA.”

Georgia State fields teams in 15 sports of the 21 sports in which the CAA conducts championships.

“This is a very exciting change for Georgia State,” Carl Patton, president of the university, said. “While we have certainly enjoyed our 20-year association with the Atlantic Sun Athletic Conference, joining the CAA provides Georgia State the opportunity to compete with other institutions that are similar in size and scope.”

Patton added, “This change is also great for metro Atlanta and will bring many first-time visitors and CAA alumni to the city.”

Georgia State anticipates participating in CAA athletic events beginning in fall 2006, Patton said. The Atlantic Sun requires a two-year notification from institutions intending to leave its conference.

“We are very pleased with the invitation to move to the Colonial Athletic Association,” Georgia State Athletic Director Greg Manning said. “The success of Georgia State's student-athletes in the classroom and in competition has been extraordinary, and our coaches and athletes are looking forward to the challenge of competing in the conference. We are fortunate to be joining a very impressive group of institutions and are committed to the ideals of the CAA.”

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