You don't need an "academic citation" to recognize the logical meaning behind something, unless you are totally illogical.

First, I am convinced that the universe exists.

Second, either the universe has always been in existence, or it had a beginning.

If the universe has always been in existence, then (according to known and proven laws of science), the universe would have died out by now.

The fact that the universe is still here only demonstrates that the universe isn't old enough to have died out.

If the universe isn't old enough to die out by now, that implies that the universe has NOT always been here.

The fact that the universe IS here, and has NOT always been in existence implies that there was a time in which the universe did NOT exist.

If there was a time in which the universe did not exist, then the universe would continue to not exist.

If the universe DOES exist, which it does, then either nothing had to create everything, or something (or SomeOne) who transcends this universe, exists outside the framework of our MEST universe (MEST = Matter, Energy, Space and Time) must have existed outside of time and it was this Someone who created the universe.

Therefore, either the universe does not exist, or nothingness created everything, or God created everything. Since the atheist doesn't believe in God, then the only other option is that nothing created something.

LOGIC!