DEAR EDITOR:

On Dec. 20, your sports department wrote, "So don't be surprised - not even a little" that Kennesaw State University's Football Exploratory Committee "recommends that KSU give birth to a pigskin program."

This article helped give the impression to the local community that football at KSU is preordained prior to the work of the committee.

Please allow me to dispel that impression. As a member of the committee, I have taken note of KSU President Dr. Dan Papp's charge to us to "examine, and answer objectively, questions surrounding the possibility of football at KSU. ... No recommendations or conclusions are predetermined."

Those of us asked to serve take this charge seriously and realize that not recommending football is a distinct possibility.

The startup and annual operational costs of Division I football (even at the Football Championship Series level, the old I-AA) are significant.

Such operational costs were enough for Northeastern and Hofstra Universities in recent months to give up football and caused other universities great pause when considering starting football.

These costs alone of starting football are significant, but the hurdle becomes greater when one considers the cost implications of remaining Title IX compliant, which Dr. Papp has rightfully indicated is non-negotiable. A FCS-scholarship football program (65 football scholarships) will require KSU to field multiple additional women's sports to account for 65-100 additional female scholarships necessary for Title IX compliance.

We are very fortunate to have our committee led by Vince Dooley, whose experience and acumen as an athletic director will help us better understand the impact of football on the athletic department and the university before making such an important decision.

While starting football might ultimately be the committee's recommendation, it is clearly an unknown as we embark on our work.

Richard M. Franza, Ph.D.
Chair, Department of Management and Entrepreneurship
Member, Football Exploratory Committee
Kennesaw State University