Located 15 miles outside of Atlanta, Georgia, Kennesaw State is one of the largest “small” schools in the country, owning a fall 2023 enrollment of 45,152. To put that into perspective, the University of Georgia had an enrollment total of 41,615.
Kennesaw State has proven that size (of enrollment) doesn’t matter when it comes to on-field success and will begin their first season of FBS play this fall. And they’re ready for whatever comes their way.
Kennesaw State Ready to Start Swinging With the Big Dogs
Despite its size and hotbed location, the Owls didn’t have a football team for the first 50 years of their existence. However, the program came out swinging in its first season in 2015, defeating East Tennessee State 56-16.
That victory commenced one of the greatest starts for a program in college football history, as Kennesaw State went 61-18 through its first seven seasons (2015-21), making four FCS Playoffs (2017, 2018, 2019, 2021) and winning three Big South Conference Championships (2017, 2018, 2021).
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Yet, the Owls have come back down to Earth in the last two years, going 5-6 in 2022 and 3-6 in 2023.
They left the Big South for the ASUN two seasons ago, but after accepting an invitation to join the Conference USA, Kennesaw State became the lone independent FCS team last year. Now, the program will begin its two-year transition into the FBS, and it will be ineligible for postseason competition and conference championships until 2026.
Kennesaw State is now the fifth FBS football program in the state of Georgia, but head coach Brian Bohannon, who has led the program since its inception, is eager to prove the Owls are more than just the new kid on the block.
“Obviously, we want to win,” Bohannon said at CUSA Media Days. “That’s always been a part of what we do. I think, more importantly, to go show who we are, what we’re about, and how we play and how we play our brand of Kennesaw State football.”
What exactly is Kennesaw State’s brand of football?
Over the last four years (38 games), the Owls have completed 2,559 offensive plays – 2,009 of them were runs. That’s some old-school, smash-mouth football that may catch some CUSA defenses off guard.
Perhaps the question isn’t “Is Kennesaw State ready for the FBS?” but rather, “Is the FBS ready for Kennesaw State?” Their opponents better be tough and up to a challenge, because that’s what Kennesaw State will bring.
That’s who Kennesaw State is.
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