Ga. Southern's "Eagle Invasion" Recruiting Video Includes Statue Head-Butting

((ht: ajc.com))

One of the great things about co-owning a Sports Blog is you can write about your alma-mater.

Which is why I'm posting this Georgia Southern football recruiting story.

Much like the fine folks at the AJC, we don't know much about incoming head coach Willie Fritz. Fritz takes over for the departed Jeff Monken who left for Army this past offseason and comes from Sam Houston State in Texas.

And Southern, a traditional FCS (1-AA) power school, has moved up to the greener if not bigger enviorns of FBS (D-1) Football. Specifically the Sun Belt conference.

So, while the 'ol alma-mater may never again win a National Championship again in football, at least coach Fritz has brought a modern edge to the folks in Statesboro. The Eagles are steeped in tradition, having won multiple FCS titles under legendary head coach Erk Russell.

Check out the schools football recruiting video, which features the coaching staff paying tribute to Russell before heading out on their respective missions...

Going Big Time: Ga. Southern Finally Takes The Leap

I'm really torn about this....

For those of you who don't know, I am a graduate of Georgia Southern, which recently announced they were moving from FCS (the old 1-AA) to FBS (D-1) Football.

Mind you, I'm no youngin', I was at Southern a long, long time ago. Long enough that the 1st game I saw my school play was as a Division II team in the fall of 1983 at Statesboro High School, their 2nd year of existence.

The coach Erk Russell.

And now my school is what a local Atlanta area radio host called today "Going to Big Boy Football".

Should I be celebrating this? Should I be excited? Should I be relieved?

That's not such an easy answer.

In many ways, it's fun being a bigger fish in a smaller pond. Georgia Southern has won 6 FCS Championships since the program began in 1982. I was there for 2 of them.

The world of College Football is not what it once was. There are essentially two distinct classes. The "Have's" and the "No Chances". By moving to FBS (D-1), we move from one to the other.

There will be no BCS Titles for us.

Sure, we appear to be moving to the Sun Belt Conference, which is the perfect "Entry Level" conference in College Football.

And there is nothing to say if we get real successful against the Louisiana-Lafayette's and Troy's of the world, that we can't move up to a bigger conference.

But we'll never beat Alabama.

Sadly, not in this decade.

Nor the next one.

Maybe, just maybe, we'll catch a couple "Once in a Lifetime" players, make a crazy run, catch a few breaks and get to play in a third tier bowl game.

The "No Chances" in college football, they don't get to play in the Rose Bowl. They don't get to play in the Sugar Bowl, Tostitos Fiesta Bowl or even the Chick-Fil-A Bowl. They get the Motor City Bowl, the Champs Sports Bowl or Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl.

But I suppose that is something.

We'll need the extra money D-1 provides, just to pay for that reward, but I suppose it's worth it.

These days nobody pays attention to the lower levels of NCAA Sports. You aren't on ESPN unless you are in the title game. You aren't won't be on Fox Sports 1 either. You may make it to Comcast Sports South or the Regional Fox Sports Net, but that's it.

But you have to make the move.

Georgia Southern outgrew FCS (1-AA) many years ago. But we never could afford to make the move. Playing "Big Boy" football costs a lot of money these days. Sure, if you have a $20 million a year TV contract, you can afford the big travel budget and to pick and choose your opponents.

But not us.

Fly high, you Georgia Southern Eagle, I for one, am very proud of you. Make the move, do what's necessary, GATA and introduce the world to the magical waters of Beautiful Eagle Creek.

Look out BCS, we're gunnin' for ya!~

No, we'll be the ones playing Alabama or LSU on Homecoming, we'll be the ones playing Ohio State or Michigan when they need a breather week. We'll lose.

We may fatten up on the other Sun Belt teams, and hopefully that will happen. If we are lucky, the Sun Belt will expand to 12-football teams and we'll make it to the conference championship.

And then....if we are REALLY lucky, we'll win the conference championship and go to a Bowl game.

Liberty Bowl in Memphis, look out, HERE WE COME!

This happened my second sophomore year at Southern: