The Georgia State University Football Program Is Thinking Big

Georgia State University didn't start fielding a football team until 2010. But despite being extremely young when it comes to football programs, the Panthers have ambitious plans. Georgia State, located in downtown Atlanta, permanently took up residence in the old Turner Field, now known as Georgia State Stadium, in 2017. Since moving in the Panthers have added a gleaming new locker room and more recently, a state-of-the-art weight room.

"We just jumped into a situation where growth is sort of the mindset," said Curtis Turner, assistant strength and conditioning coach. "Now we have this great facility, where only five years ago the team was training in a tent outside of their locker room. Now we have one of the top facilities in the nation in our opinion, which is only going to continue to grow. With that growth comes responsibility, and that kind of excites us."

The Panthers' building plan extended to personnel on the coaching staff as well. In early 2019, Georgia State put veteran coach John Sisk in charge of the weight room when it named him the head strength coach. Sisk has a career that spans nearly three decades. He served for seven seasons at Georgia Tech as director of player development, spent a year at Furman in 2011, and coached for 10 years at Vanderbilt.

Improving the culture in the weight room is expected to pay dividends for the team that competes in the Sun Belt Conference. 

"(Players) see it when they walk in (the weight room)," adds Turner. "They know what other schools have and they know that we've stepped up to that level.