Manning, 45, had originally turned in his resignation last July.
The school announced that Rankin Cooter will serve as interim athletic director and a search committee will begin the process of finding a successor.
``We respect Greg's decision and thank him for the outstanding work he has done over the past five and a half years,'' said Tom Lewis, vice-president of external affairs. Georgia State has come a long way under Greg's leadership and we must continue that growth rate as we move into our new conference. We understand his desire to move on and appreciate all he has accomplished.''
Georgia State, a member of the Atlantic Sun Conference, is moving into the 12-member Colonial Athletic Association next summer.
Cooter has been involved at Georgia State for 30 years and once served as the Athletic Director for six years (1985-1990) as well as the women's basketball coach in the 1970s. Cooter has recently been the interim director of development for athletics since September after retiring from his teaching career that included serving as head of the masters program for sports administration at GSU. He will not be a candidate in the search for a new AD.
Manning came to Georgia State in 1999 from the University of Maryland and helped oversee a program that claimed 20 conference championships, 13 NCAA tournament berths, and claimed five conference yearly all-sports championships since coming to Georgia State.
The student-athlete graduation rates rose as well. The men's and women's basketball teams earned four NCAA berths and two postseason NIT berths with a combined seven 20-win seasons.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2004/12/145072