Georgia State University Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ==Athletics and traditions== {{Main|Georgia State Panthers}} {{See also|Georgia Southern–Georgia State rivalry}} [[File:Georgia State Stadium field.jpg|upright|thumb|left|[[Center Parc Stadium]]]] ===Sports=== The 16 Georgia State [[Georgia State Panthers|varsity athletic teams]] compete in the [[National Collegiate Athletic Association|NCAA's]] [[Division I (NCAA)|Division I]], with their football program being in [[Football Bowl Subdivision|FBS]]. They are founding members of the [[Sun Belt Conference]]. [[Georgia State Panthers women's beach volleyball|Georgia State's beach volleyball team]], competes in [[Conference USA]]. The university has won conference championships in [[basketball]] (men's and women's), [[baseball]], [[golf]] (men's and women's), [[softball]], [[soccer]] (men's and women's), [[tennis|women's tennis]], and [[beach volleyball]]. The beach volleyball team has been ranked among the top ten programs in the country every year since its inception in 2013. Georgia State began competition in all sports in the Sun Belt Conference in 2013, although it had already played all individual sports in the Sun Belt during the 2012–13 season.<ref>{{cite web |title=GSU to Compete in 10 Sun Belt Championships in 2012-13|url=http://www.georgiastatesports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=12700&ATCLID=205534045 |work=GeorgiaStateSports.com |publisher=Georgia State University|access-date=July 2, 2013}}</ref> This marked a return to the conference that Georgia State had helped found in 1976.<ref>{{cite web|last=Taylor |first=Charlie|title=Back to Its Roots: GSU Returns to Sun Belt Conference|url=http://www.georgiastatesports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=208504360&DB_OEM_ID=12700 |work=GeorgiaStateSports.com|publisher=Georgia State University|access-date=July 2, 2013}}</ref> Before returning to the Sun Belt Conference, GSU played in the [[Colonial Athletic Association|CAA]] from 2005 to 2013, participating for only one season (2012) as a football school.<ref>{{cite web|last=Roche|first=Bryan|title=Football Preview: Georgia State vs. Maine|url=http://wmebsports.com/2012/11/10/football-preview-georgia-state-vs-maine/|publisher=WMEB 91.9FM|access-date=July 2, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305110539/http://wmebsports.com/2012/11/10/football-preview-georgia-state-vs-maine/|archive-date=March 5, 2016}}</ref> Before joining the CAA, the Panthers competed in the (then Trans America Athletic Conference, or TAAC) [[Atlantic Sun Conference]], joining in 1983 and leaving for the CAA in 2005. [[File:Georgia State Convocation Center.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Georgia State Convocation Center]], a multi-purpose venue opened in 2022 and home of GSU basketball]] Georgia State University charges a fee to each student who enrolls at the school. <!-- out of date The fee is currently $283.00 and is charged every semester along with other academic fees. --> This fee is used for athletic scholarships and other costs associated with competitive athletics. The athletic fee allows students to use their Panther Card (student identification card) for free access to athletic events.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www2.gsu.edu/~wwwdos/2009_feesallocation.html|title=Facts on Student Fees at Georgia State University, Fiscal Year 2012|publisher=Georgia State University Dean of Students Office|access-date=January 19, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120116065303/http://www2.gsu.edu/~wwwdos/2009_feesallocation.html|archive-date=January 16, 2012}}</ref> The Panthers' most historic rivalry is with the [[Georgia Southern Eagles]] with basketball being played between the two since 1972. However, rivalries have grown since, including with [[South Alabama]] with the two programs starting football within a year of one another and playing each other and having played one another every season since Georgia States football's inception except one. Georgia State University's first-ever national championship win was in [[esports]] in 2019. The university's [[Smite (video game)|SMITE: Battleground of the Gods]] team played against [[Arizona State University]] at [[DreamHack|Dreamhack]] Atlanta and won with a final score of 2 - 0.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2019-11-20|title=Georgia State Varsity Esports Wins At National Fall Collegiate SMITE Tournament - Georgia State University News - College of Arts and Sciences, Creative Media Industries Institute, Students|url=https://news.gsu.edu/2019/11/20/georgia-state-varsity-esports-wins-at-national-fall-collegiate-smite-tournament/|access-date=2020-10-17|website=Georgia State News Hub|language=en-US}}</ref> The team has since won two additional championships, and participated in a third, becoming the winningest sport in the school's history. The university also boasts several nonvarsity sports, including badminton, rowing, rugby, and wrestling <ref>{{cite web|title=Current Clubs|url=http://recreation.gsu.edu/sport-clubs/current-clubs/|website=GSU.edu|publisher=Georgia State University|access-date=July 13, 2016}}</ref> {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2018}} ===1996 Summer Olympic Games=== [[File:JO Atlanta 1996 - Drapeau.jpg|thumb|left|The Olympic flag waves at the [[1996 Olympic Games|1996 games]]]] Georgia State University was used during the 1996 Summer Olympic Games, with the GSU Sports Arena hosting the badminton matches. Georgia State's prominent position in downtown Atlanta allowed the city to build some of its venues with [[adaptive reuse]] in mind to be used by the university.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Nickisch|first1=Curt|title=Nearly 20 Years Later, The Legacy Of Atlanta's Olympic Venues Is Still Being Written|url=http://www.wbur.org/news/2015/06/05/atlanta-olympic-venue-lessons-for-boston |publisher=WBUR|access-date=July 13, 2016}}</ref> The first on-campus [[dormitories]] at the university, the Village, was constructed as part of the [[Olympic Village]] to house athletes.<ref>{{cite web|title=Georgia State University Village|url=http://www2.gsu.edu/~wwwcra/lodging/GSUDorms.htm|website=GSU.edu|publisher=Georgia State University|access-date=July 13, 2016|archive-date=March 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304090506/http://www2.gsu.edu/~wwwcra/lodging/GSUDorms.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> This began the metamorphosis of GSU from a [[commuter college]] to a massive urban research institute, as well as one of the largest universities in the United States.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Eloy|first1=Michelle |title=Atlanta Olympics Helped GSU Shake Off Commuter School Image|url=http://news.wabe.org/post/atlanta-olympics-helped-gsu-shake-commuter-school-image |publisher=WABE|access-date=July 13, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160714155225/http://news.wabe.org/post/atlanta-olympics-helped-gsu-shake-commuter-school-image|archive-date=July 14, 2016|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref> [[Centennial Olympic Stadium]], host of the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics, was after the games converted to Turner Field, home of MLB's Atlanta Braves. After the Braves moved to [[SunTrust Park]] in suburban Cobb County, [[Turner Field]] and the surrounding grounds were purchased by Georgia State in January 2017.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Leslie|first1=Katie|title=Turner Field to be sold to Georgia State and developer Carter|url=http://www.ajc.com/news/news/local/turner-field-to-be-sold-to-georgia-state-and-devel/nppZC/|website=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution|publisher=Cox Communications|access-date=July 13, 2016|archive-date=May 6, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160506145234/http://www.ajc.com/news/news/local/turner-field-to-be-sold-to-georgia-state-and-devel/nppZC/|url-status=dead}}</ref> The university converted the stadium to a football field for the school's [[Georgia State Panthers football|football]] team, now called [[Center Parc Stadium]] (named Georgia State Stadium until 2020), and is building a new campus baseball stadium on the site of the former [[Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium]], and new classrooms and housing on the lot.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Davis|first1=Janel|title=Turner Field holds future for Georgia State, neighborhoods|url=http://www.myajc.com/news/news/local-govt-politics/turner-field-holds-future-for-georgia-state-neighb/npq89/|website=AJC.com|publisher=Cox Communications|access-date=July 13, 2016}}</ref> ===Marching band=== In 2010, Georgia State University established its first-ever [[marching band]]. The marching band began its inaugural season in the fall of 2010. 150 students successfully auditioned for the band. In its first year, the band performed at all home football games, a high school marching band exhibition, and (most notably) during the Georgia State vs. [[University of Alabama|Alabama]] football game on November 18, 2010, in Tuscaloosa. The band is a drum corps-style unit that focuses on precision musicality and movement. Like most ensembles, the band features a [[colorguard]] section, but in a departure from typical marching bands, the traditional auxiliary front sideline percussion section, or pit, has been replaced by a four-piece rock band consisting of a lead guitar, bass guitar, drum set, and keyboard synthesizer. The Georgia State marching band has received many honors, includecludes performing in 2013 for the [[Second inauguration of Barack Obama]], the 2014 [[Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade]], the 2019 [[Super Bowl LIII halftime show]], and the 2022 [[Tournament of Roses Parade]] in [[Pasadena, California]]. ===Coat of arms=== The school's coat of arms is registered in the [[College of Arms]] in the [[City of London]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Royal Registrar Gives Winthrop Coat of Arms|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1979&dat=19801216&id=e2IlAAAAIBAJ&pg=2955,8683264|publisher=The Sumpter Daily Item|date=December 1980}}</ref> The Latin motto means, "Truth is strong and will conquer" (or alternatively, "Truth is valuable and shall overcome"). The panther holds the symbol of education, with the quill in red to symbolize the fire in Atlanta's city emblem. The gold coin indicates the university's beginnings as a business school. The crown august is a representation of the Stone Mountain granite. The center flame is an eternal flame in honor of the first president, George Sparks, and represents flames of scholarship and the burning of Atlanta.<ref>{{cite web|title=Symbols, Seals, and Logos|url=http://www.library.gsu.edu/spcoll/pages/pages.asp?ldID=105&guideID=549&ID=3673|publisher=Georgia State University|access-date=April 14, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120405030331/http://www.library.gsu.edu/spcoll/pages/pages.asp?ldID=105&guideID=549&ID=3673|archive-date=April 5, 2012}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). 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