SALEM, Va. – Roanoke College’s football program has gone from a decades-long dream to reality, with the Maroons preparing for their first official season since 1942.
“I can’t imagine anybody starting it at a faster pace than we did,” said Roanoke College athletic director Curtis Campbell. “And to start it relatively successfully in such a short time period.”
Head coach Bryan Stinespring, his staff and a roster loaded with local talent are back to work after a successful 2024 club season that saw Roanoke go 4-0. Now, they face a full varsity schedule as a member of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference, with more than 60 players set to make history.
“We just got to improve from day to day out here,” Stinespring said. “We talk about practice, stacking days, and we cannot afford to back up at all. We’re already behind, and we know that, so there’s an urgency about everything we do right now.”
Senior linebacker Davis said the team’s standard is clear. “We have our little checklist of when the outs, and we know how to stand up to those,” he said. “It goes outlast, outwin, outcompete, out everything, you know, and we know the standard. We set the foundation for how to be a Roanoke Maroon.”
Fellow senior Landon Altizer said toughness will define the program’s identity. “We’re a new team. We got a target on our backs, you know, we represent the 540, so everybody knows we’re coming, so we just need to build that mental fortitude and especially the physicality piece.”
The Maroons open their season Sept. 6 against Virginia University of Lynchburg.