Tuesday will mark the 20-year anniversary of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, one that changed the city, state and most importantly for Panther fans, Georgia State, forever. The impact the Olympics in Atlanta had on Georgia State University and the Sports Arena was quite a story and left lasting footprints.

History can show that 15 Olympic medals were officially awarded in the GSU Sports Arena on Aug. 1, 1996, those being the five gold, silver and bronze medals for badminton competition.

History will document that the Marathon race, run on the last day of the Olympics on Aug. 4, ran right past both sides of the Sports Arena, heading down Piedmont Avenue on the way from Olympic Stadium, then heading back up Courtland Street on a path back into the Stadium. In the current set-up, our football staff and academic staff could have looked out the windows of the Courtland Street office and waved, or handed water, to each of the runners. Technically then, Georgia State is the only college campus in America to have the Olympics run through its “campus.” The marathon ran past the Rec Center, freshman dorms, and turned right on Auburn Avenue.

History will note that GSU's students then became the first occupants of the Olympic Village dorms when Georgia State was given that facility upon the completion of the games. GSU later sold those dorms to help with funds to build the new Commons housing units.

GSU students currently park their cars in the Olympic Stadium parking lots where old Fulton County Stadium sat as it hosted the baseball games as today's students ride the shuttle buses to campus daily from that spot. The Olympic Flame holder sits at that corner with the Olympic Logos stretched above the roadway.

The home of GSU football, the Georgia Dome, was used for Olympic men's basketball and for gymnastics finals.

As Georgia State has built a nationally recognized beach volleyball program, it is only fitting that the sport made its Olympic debut in Atlanta in 1996. Those events were held in Clayton County, in Jonesboro, south of the city.

Atlanta Olympic Committee CEO Billy Payne visited the campus in 1995 to help promote the event and sell bricks to the nearby Centennial Olympic Park. There is another connection to GSU in that fact since the original GSU building and classroom was located in the area where the Centennial Olympic Park now sits.

Olympic signage was present all over the outside and inside of the building. A sign and plaque on the inside of the Sports Arena remains a constant after 20 years.

GSU actually shut down classes that summer to allow for all the activities. Olympic badges were issued for access as the Olympics completely took over the building. One of the few who actually “stayed” was former Sports Information Director Martin Harmon, who was press venue chief with the badminton competition and media, along with Peter O'Reilly, his assistant at GSU and assistant venue chief. The pair even slept on couches in the SID offices.

Former Recreation Department staffer John Krafka was hired to do the P.A. for the event, an unenviable task with all the international names. Many other GSU staffers assisted in many ways with the Olympics. Sherman Day, former GSU Director of Athletics, was managing director of Legacy and Olympic Programs for the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games (1992-1996).

The Olympics officially arrived in Atlanta with the Opening Ceremonies on July 19, while badminton competition in the Sports Arena took place from July 24-August 1 before the Closing Ceremonies on August 4. Badminton was making its second appearance on the international stage, after debuting in 1992.

Among the celebrities who watched the competition in the Sports Arena was former President and Mrs. Jimmy Carter; then current President's Bill Clinton's first daughter, Chelsea Clinton; Princess Anne of England, the daughter of current Queen Elizabeth and sister of Prince Charles; and movie celebrity Paul Newman. The Indonesia and South Korea fans kept the Olympic gym loud and full of energy.

So even as Georgia State continues to grow, it should always be remembered how important the 1996 Summer Games were to the city and those proud to wear the blue and white of GSU.

Thank you to former Assistant A.D. Charlie Taylor for contributions to this story.