FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Gary Holden, Sports Info. Director
(540) 365-4366

May 17, 2005


Ferrum College to Host 50th Anniversary Football Reunion
Nearly 300 Alumni Players Expected for May20-22 Festivities

FERRUM, VA -- Ferrum College will host its 50th Anniversary Football Reunion on campus May 20-22.  With less than a week left before the event, the College expects nearly 300 alumni football players for the reunion, celebrating a program which won four national junior college championships and has qualified for the NCAA playoffs four times.

          Ferrum Football Reunion Weekend

Hank Norton will be on hand for the weekend's festivities.  In 34 seasons at the helm of the Ferrum football program, Norton posted an incredible 244-77-1 coaching record.  Norton was named NCAA Division III Coach of the Year in 1988 by Pigskin Preview Magazine.

Ferrum won National Junior College Athletic Association championships in 1965, 1968, 1974 and 1977.  The Panthers were national runners-up in 1966.  Ferrum won NJCAA Region X titles in 1971, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980 and 1982.

The College became a four-year institution in the mid-1970s and eventually moved to the NCAA Division III ranks in 1985.  The success of the Panther football program did not stop.  Ferrum qualified for NCAA Division III playoffs four times from 1987 through 1990, reaching the national semi-final game in 1988 and 1989.   The College has had 85 All-Conference honors, including 11 Conference Player of the Year awards, and 52 Academic All-Conference honors.

A total of 51 former football players have gone on to play some form of professional football.  Additionally, Ferrum has had 59 All-Americans.

The football reunion weekend will open Friday, May 20, with a golf outing at Westlake Golf & Country Club beginning at 1 p.m.  Dinner at Westlake follows at 6 p.m. and there is also a reception at Stoney Creek Grill in Ferrum from 6-10 p.m.

On Saturday, May 21, the day's activities include campus tours, which will give alumni updates on the new facilities being built and/or renovated, a football program review, special presentations, and team photos by year.  The day will culminate with a banquet Saturday night at the College's Fitness Center beginning at 6 p.m.

The weekend will wrap-up Sunday with a breakfast and Sunday morning service.  For more information, please contact Ferrum College Assistant Sports Information Director John Faircloth at (540) 365-4480.
 

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