Cheryl Levick will go down as the athletic director who brought football to Georgia State University. And while she’s just as passionate about the Panthers’ 17 other sports, she’s OK with that identity.
Levick is reminded how important it was to create a football program at the school in the heart of Atlanta almost every time she encounters an alum.
“I knew there would be a lot of excitement around football here, but what I didn’t expect were the alums, typically older, graying, who touch my arm and have tears in their eyes,” Levick said. “They’ve waited for decades to have a football team of their own that they can brag about at the office. It just touches my soul every time that happens.”
Levick, who came to Georgia State in 2009, has spent the better part of 25 years in athletic administration at several schools, but being at the forefront of so much change in an urban campus environment has been an experience unlike the rest.
“We really are at the pulse of the city,” Levick said. “We utilize every part of being here, and our students like the fast pace. I love it.”
— Michael Smith
