Ferrum College will honor the Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2022 during a ceremony on Saturday, November 12, 2022, which will be held at 10 a.m. (registration begins at 9 a.m.) in the Blue Ridge Mountain Room in Franklin Hall on campus. This year’s honorees, which include three former football players, a three-sport student-athlete, and a golfer, are:
Members of the Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2022 will also be introduced at halftime of Ferrum’s Old Dominion Athletic Conference football game against Averett University later that day.
Register to attend this year’s Sports Hall of Fame Ceremony here.
John Sutyak
Below, Director of Athletics John Sutyak outlines Ferrum College’s spectator policy for the upcoming spring sports season.
Happy New Year to all members of the Ferrum Community and our spring 2021 opponents.
As we eagerly approach the return to athletic competition in January, I wanted to reach out in regards to fan attendance at Ferrum home athletic contests this upcoming season. I know our students, alumni, faculty, staff and fans on campus, as well as our opponents, are excited to resume competition here at Ferrum.
While our coaches, staff and student-athletes are preparing to compete, we continue to work toward ensuring a safe environment that adheres to federal, state, NCAA and Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) standards. In doing so, I wanted to update you on how we will proceed with spectators at Ferrum College athletic events this spring.
In regards to indoor sport competition (basketball, swimming, volleyball and wrestling), attendance will be limited to team personnel and event management staff at this time. Unfortunately, this means no spectators will be allowed on campus for any indoor events.
This decision has been made in accordance with the Commonwealth of Virginia’s limit on social gatherings, as well as the ODAC stance on spectators for indoor events. We will continue to monitor federal, state, NCAA and ODAC guidelines in working to make the most prudent decision in regards to fans at indoor events as the season progresses.
A decision on outdoor events has not been made at this time and we will continue to monitor all federal, state, NCAA and ODAC guidelines in making that decision before our first outdoor event on February 13 when men’s lacrosse welcomes Methodist University to Adams Field.
We are committed, as an athletic department, to live stream all home events so that everyone can continue to support our Ferrum athletic teams. You can access our live stream home page here.
I understand that many of us in Panther Nation will be disappointed in this decision to prohibit attendance at home events. These decisions are never easy, but are made in an effort to keep everyone in the Ferrum College community and the surrounding communities in Franklin County safe.
We are all eager to put this pandemic behind us, and welcoming back athletic events is a step in that direction. I look forward to when we all will be able to enjoy Ferrum athletics, in person, together.
I will work to update everyone as we progress through the season and more information becomes available. In the meantime, thank you for your patience and understanding.
Best Wishes,
John Sutyak
Director of Athletics
Additionally, Sutyak is planning to host a virtual athletics town hall meeting on January 25, 2021. More information regarding this meeting is coming soon.
For the latest news and events concerning Ferrum Athletics, please visit here.
Director of Athletics John Sutyak has written the following letter to the Ferrum College community announcing Ferrum Athletics’ updated plans for fall 2020:
Dear Ferrum Community,
In conjunction with the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) announcement this afternoon, Ferrum College will not compete in any external athletic competition before January 1, 2021, due to the ongoing health and safety concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Although we will not bring students back for pre-season early in August, Ferrum College intends to move forward with on-campus training, conditioning and practices within our athletic programs to the full extent that will be allowed under NCAA rules and regulations throughout the fall semester. We intend for our fall sport programs to compete in regular season competition in the spring of 2021, alongside our traditional winter and spring sports.
Since last spring, the entire athletics staff has been preparing for the safe return of our student-athletes. We had worked to ensure best practices using a combination of resources, notably the NCAA Core Principles of Resocialization of College Sport. However, with the growing public health threat posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the new NCAA best practices of how to safely provide a full intercollegiate experience, it became clear that we could no longer adequately deliver the full experience that our student-athletes deserve this semester.
It is important to note that Ferrum is not canceling sports this fall. In working to provide proper training, conditioning and practice opportunities we will continue to utilize best practices that are laid out by the NCAA, CDC and other health agencies. The Ferrum College administration has every intention of having our student-athletes return to competition after the new year as allowed within NCAA and ODAC rules and assuming local, state and national regulations allow us to do so. We will continue to work with our colleagues in the ODAC, and all of Division III, to explore all of the opportunities that will be possible for our student-athletes.
This has been an unprecedented, and challenging year. Like all of you, we here at Ferrum yearn for the return of collegiate athletics, especially here on Ferrum Mountain Road. Although this is a setback that we had hoped would be avoidable, the Ferrum athletics staff will now shift its focus into providing the best student-athlete experience we can this fall, with our eyes on returning to outside competition in the spring.
The greatest joy I have as an athletic director is watching our student-athletes compete and work toward achieving their goals. It hurts that for the second time in the past five months I am delivering the news that we won’t be competing as we had intended. It can be tough to find the silver lining in this news, however I continue to be bolstered and encouraged by the passion and energy of the coaching, athletic training and administrative staff within Ferrum College athletics, as well as all around campus. Despite what seems like the longest “off-season” in the history of collegiate athletics, it is that energy and enthusiasm that encompasses who we are and why we will continue to remain Ferrum Strong!
Stay healthy, stay safe and Go Panthers!
Sincerely,
John Sutyak
Director of Athletics
Director of Athletics John Sutyak
Director of Athletics John Sutyak reflected on his first two months in his new role with a letter of introduction to Ferrum College alumni.
Dear Ferrum Panther Alumni,
As I sit in the Norton Center, it is hard to believe that I have been here now over two months as the Director of Athletics at Ferrum College. It is also unfathomable that I would be sitting here in the last half of March with no contests being played and the season suspended indefinitely. The events in our world due to COVID-19 have certainly forced us to reevaluate how we live and work. It has been a life altering experience for all.
With that said, I couldn’t be more thankful to be a part of the Ferrum family during these turbulent times. The welcome I have received from alumni, faculty, and staff upon my arrival was nothing short of tremendous and has only solidified the feeling I experienced when I first came to Ferrum on my interview. This truly is a special place and I am so glad to have joined the Ferrum community.
My initial days on Ferrum Mountain Road were filled with an enormous amount of support from campus leadership, faculty, and staff. It is clear how important the intercollegiate athletic experience is on campus and I am honored to have the opportunity to work with so many talented coaches and staff members. I have been intentional in engaging our athletics and campus staff, faculty, and student-athletes to learn what it is that makes the Ferrum athletic experience special. Additionally, I have learned how we can further enhance our work as a department, and college, in delivering a student-athlete experience that is second to none.
Being present as Ferrum announced the start of a track and field program was a great way to begin my tenure here and I am thankful for the work that Head Cross Country Coach Mark White and Interim Athletic Director Gary Holden did in getting that program started. Since then, I had the privilege to experience some fantastic performances on the playing surfaces. I was able to witness numerous school records in the pool at the ODAC swimming & diving championships, observe Alisha Elizalde ’20 become our first all-American in women’s wrestling, see the men’s wrestling team win a fifth consecutive Southeast Wrestling Conference championship (and have two men qualify for the NCAA championship), watch men’s basketball advance to its first ever ODAC playoff at the Salem Civic Center, and experience the softball team achieve a national top-25 ranking. I have no doubt that with the support of the campus, and you all as our alumni, we will continue to witness great things out of future Panther teams in the years to come.
I won’t lie: the last few weeks have been an emotional roller coaster. While we all know that suspending the season under the blanket of a global pandemic was the right thing to do, it has been difficult for all of our student-athletes, coaches, and staff to see the spring season suspended indefinitely. Despite the current disappointment, I have been inspired by the level of resilience and perspective of our student-athletes, coaches, and staff. They all know that it is OK to be disappointed at a season being disrupted, but they also haven’t lost sight of the seriousness we face as a world right now and that the health and safety of everyone is of the utmost importance.
Our President, Dr. David Johns, likes to remind us that “Ferrum” means “iron”. And it is in that vein that I remind us that all Ferrum Panthers – past, present and future – are resilient, strong, and tough as iron. My pledge to you is that we will work nonstop to continue to the proud tradition of Panther athletics, even in these tough times. As things go back to a more normal pace in the near future, my hope is that I will have the opportunity to interact with all of you, our alumni. I look forward to meeting many of you and learning about your Ferrum experience in the coming months.
Stay safe and healthy out there and Go Panthers!
John Sutyak
Director of Athletics
Mark White will serve as Ferrum College’s track and field coach.
Ferrum College has announced the addition of men’s and women’s track and field programs, slated to being in the fall 2020 semester.
Mark White, who is in his second year as head coach of the Ferrum men’s and women’s cross country teams, has been appointed to serve as head coach for all four track and field teams. White previously served as assistant track and field coach for nine years at Radford University, from 2007-2015.
“Track and field is such a great fit for Ferrum College for a number of reasons,” said President David Johns. “We appreciate the leadership and innovation of Coach Mark White for helping make this happen, and are excited to see how the program grows over the coming years.”
“It is extremely exciting that we announce the addition of men’s and women’s track and field as a varsity sport at Ferrum,” said Director of Athletics John Sutyak. “Track and field consistently has been one of the largest growing high school sports in the country, so adding the sport will allow us to not only complement our cross country program, but also take advantage of the large pool of prospective college students that already participate in the sport.”
“To say I’m excited for Ferrum to begin a track and field program is an understatement,” said White. “It is a great day for Panther Nation, and I am honored to begin this new chapter. I look forward to building this program brick by brick, and we will no doubt add quality student-athletes to Ferrum and our athletics community.”
Read more on the Ferrum College athletics webpage, here.
Ferrum College’s own head lacrosse coach Michael Baggetta was one of four U.S. coaches chosen to mentor the 2019 Beyond Sports USA College Men’s Lacrosse Tour Team, which represented the USA in Australia on a 12-day tour from June 10 – 21.
Coach Michael Baggetta (right) stands with Australian host and tour guide Adam “Squizzy” Taylor.
The USA team, which encompassed 21 student-athletes from 12 different Division II and Division III higher education institutions across the States, competed in three exhibition games against local and national Australian teams. Their tour in Australia was undefeated, 3-0.
When they weren’t playing lacrosse games, the team toured various destinations including Sydney Opera House, Darlington Harbor, Melbourne, Queen Victoria Market, and the Botanical Gardens of Cairns. They snorkeled around the Great Barrier Reef, enjoyed some time with kangaroos and koalas, and even played a bit of Australian football, called “footy” or “Aussie rules football.”
“This was truly an unbelievable experience,” said Baggetta. “Lacrosse is such an amazing sport. Through the game the guys were able to compete against good clubs, develop great friendships, and experience a world unfamiliar to them. They represented themselves, their schools, and the United States with such class, making the entire trip unforgettable!”
Read more about the experience in Coach Baggetta’s post on the Ferrum College blog.
Learn more about Beyond Sports Tours here.
Learn more about Ferrum College men’s lacrosse here and more about all Panther athletics here.
