FERRUM, Virginia -- Ferrum College and the Department of Athletics mourn the loss of longtime sports reporter Steven Marsh, who passed away on Wednesday, March 21, 2024. He was 59 years old.

Marsh worked the majority of his journalism career as a sports reporter for the Franklin News-Post in Rocky Mount, Virginia. He was hired to the position in 1988 and remained at the newspaper for more than 36 years. Much of his time at the News-Post was spent covering local sports. Marsh would be seen keeping stats and game highlights, snapping photos and interviewing coaches or athletes at middle school, high school of college games.

For many years, Marsh not only wrote and edited sports copy, but also provided sports section formatting for the newspaper before those operations were moved to a central location.

Affectionately known as "Scoop", Marsh spent much of his career covering Franklin County High School, Christian Heritage Academy, Benjamin Franklin Middle School and Ferrum College. Marsh was the life blood of sports at the Franklin-News-Post, covering Ferrum home events and press conferences. He always had a seat in Ferrum's pressbox and/or head table.

Marsh accompanied athletic staff members to numerous pre-season press conferences as well as post-season events, providing valuable coverage. When Panther teams competed in NCAA championship events in baseball, men's and women's basketball, football, men's golf, softball and men's wrestling, Marsh was there. His most recent coverage was at the 2023 NCAA Div. III Wrestling Championships, hosted by Ferrum at the Berglund Center in Roanoke.

Marsh was the recipient of the Wayne LaPierre Sr. Community Service Award in 2010 for his contributions to the promotion of local baseball. Before being hired by the Franklin News-Post, Marsh worked briefly for The Reidsville Review in Reidsville, North Carolina. Marsh graduated from the University of Lynchburg with a degree in journalism in 1986.