Georgia State University

Georgia State University operates a 16teams athletics program at the highest level of NCAA competition Division I Football played its first game in 2010 and sand volleyball began as a varsity sport in 2012 Georgia State moved into the Sun Belt Conference on July 1 2013 returning to the league it originally helped form in 1976 The Sun Belt receives automatic bids to three football postseason bowl games and all NCAA championship tournaments In the past year the Panthers earned two conference team championships had three league rookies of the year and had six players earn AllAmerica or freshman AllAmerica status The sand volleyball duo of Lane Carico and Katie Madewell reached the national semifinals of the postseason championship in 2013 the highest national finish in Georgia State history for any team or individual Georgia States history includes eight years in the Colonial Athletic Association CAA after spending 21 years in the same conference the Trans America Athletic Conference changed its name to the Atlantic Sun in 2001 In 196364 Georgia State became a fully accredited Division I athletics program as it provided scholarships for the first time to allow students to compete at the highest collegiate level