ATLANTA (AP) -Georgia State is ready for some football.

The downtown Atlanta university called a news conference Thursday and was expected to announce it will start a football team in 2010. The Panthers will play in the NCAA's Division I Football Championship Subdivision, formerly known as I-AA.

The announcement has been in the works since the school launched a fundraising campaign and got approval for an increase in student fees, which went up $85 per semester to launch football, add new women's sports and start a marching band.

School officials declined comment until the news conference, but the final step in starting a program was approval by the state board of regents on Tuesday.

The school intends to play home games at the 70,000-seat Georgia Dome, about a mile from the school's downtown campus, and plans to build new practice and training facilities.

Georgia State, long known as a commuter school for older students, is trying to boost the image of its sterile, urban campus. The recent opening of a large dormitory has more students living downtown, and there are plans for additional residential units.

Officials feel football will help to build interest in the athletic program, which has struggled to attract fans to sports such as basketball and baseball. The school plays in the Colonial Athletic Association.