FAU's success makes impression on Herbstreit

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http://www.palmbeachpost.com/sports/content/sports/epaper/a1c_fau_0805_1.html

FAU's success makes impression on Herbstreit

By MARCUS NELSON

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Tuesday, August 05, 2008

BOCA RATON  College football analyst Kirk Herbstreit can recall vividly being part of the ESPN2 crew that broadcast the Florida Atlantic-Oklahoma State game at Dolphin Stadium three years ago.

"I remember a lot of orange seats," Herbstreit said Monday at National City's College Football Kickoff held at FAU.

But Herbstreit wasn't taking about Oklahoma State fans in the announced crowd of 16,421 that night. It was the large number of empty seats that certainly didn't look good on TV screens across the county.

"In my opinion, for this program to go that next level they have to get their own facility," Herbstreit said. "That was embarrassing."

It may have felt like there were more fans at FAU on Monday than at Dolphin Stadium that night in 2005.

More than 1,000 people showed up to listen and ask questions of Herbstreit, the former quarterback at Ohio State and a popular analyst on ABC and ESPN as part of the College GameDay crew.

FAU coach Howard Schnellenberger said he thinks Herbstreit will be back soon, bringing GameDay to Boca Raton if a proposed on-campus stadium is built by 2010.

"It will be pretty **** quick," Schnellenberger said.

Herbstreit predicted FAU would draw larger crowds for games on campus in Boca Raton instead of the Owls' current home of Lockhart Stadium in Fort Lauderdale.

"For this program to take that next step they need a smaller stadium, that's more realistic and create a better atmosphere," Herbstreit said. "Once they get a stadium I can only imagine how far they'll go."

The Owls lost to the Cowboys 23-3 in '05, but Herbstreit could see the program wasn't far from being competitive.

"It's amazing to think how far they've come in seven years," Herbstreit said.

The Owls went 8-5 last season, winning their first Sun Belt Conference title before beating Memphis in the New Orleans Bowl.

"The biggest change I've seen here is that it's not just vision but actual concrete evidence," Herbstreit said. "Now it's to the point you have a team that won a bowl game and a better team coming back next year."

Herbstreit was at FAU as part of a promotion sponsored by National City, an Ohio-based bank with several local branches, and ESPN Radio 760-AM.

FAU Athletic Director Craig Angelos was impressed with the turnout.

"It was a great event and we got a lot of people who wouldn't normally be on our campus," Angelos said.

"It's a lot more people than I expected and it was great to see people lining up before it started and all we had to do was provide the venue."