The Official Site of the Ferrum College Panthers

Early History

• 1920s: Ferrum Training School has limited sports for men and women
• 1950s: Ferrum Junior College begins playing men's sports in NJCAA
• 1955: Ferrum's first football season
• 1965: Football wins first of four national championship (also in 1968, 1974, 1977)
• 1966: Football NJCAA national runner-up
• 1972: Men's basketball NJCAA national runner-up
• Mid-late 1970s: Women's sports begin to compete in NJCAA
• 1974: Ferrum College becomes a 4-year school
• 1985: Ferrum reclassifies to NCAA Division III

Affiliations

• 9/1/71: Ferrum classifies as a Junior College, joins NJCAA, begins membership in Coastal Conference
• 9/1/85: Ferrum reclassifies to NCAA Div. III
• 9/1/88: Ferrum begins membership in Dixie Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (eventually became USA South Athletic Conference)
• 8/1/98: Ferrum begins membership in Atlantic Central Football Conference (remains three seasons before beginning football competition in Dixie Conference 2001)
• 7/1/18: Ferrum begins membership in Old Dominion Athletic Conference
• 7/1/25: Ferrum reclassifies to NCAA Div. II, begins membership in Conference Carolinas

 
National Championships, Runner-Up & National Semifinalist Finishes

• 10/30/1965: Ferrum wins NJCAA football national title, beat McCook JC 16-0
• 11/25/1966: Ferrum NJCAA national runner-up, lost to Kilgore JC 28-7
• 10/26/1968: Ferrum beats NJCAA defending football national champ NW Oklahoma A&M 29-19
• 11/29/1968: Ferrum wins NJCAA football national title, beat Phoenix JC 41-19
• March 1972: Ferrum NJCAA men's basketball national runner-up
• Nov. 1974: Ferrum wins NJCAA football national title (declared champions, no title game)
• Nov. 1977: Ferrum wins NJCAA football national title (declared champions, no title game)
• 9/10/1988: Ferrum beats NCAA Div. III football defending national champ Wagner 40-13
• 12/3/198: Ferrum competes in NCAA Div. III football national semifinals, lost to Ithaca 62-28
• 12/2/1989: Ferrum competes in NCAA Div. III football national semifinals, lost to Union 37-21
• 2003: Dixie Conference changes name to USA South Athletic Conference
• 2017: Zach Beckner posts national runner-up finish (125 lbs) at 2017 NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships

 
Miscellaneous

• 11/14/1970: Eight members of Ferrum's 1968 NJCAA national championship team \killed in the Marshall University football plane crash ... Thomas Brown, David Griffith, Patrick Norrell, James Patterson, Art Shannon, Jerry Stainback, Coach Rick Tolley, Tommy Zborill
• 12/13/1977: Former men's basketball coach Bobby Watson killed in Evansville University men's basketball plane crash (Watson in first season as EU head coach)
• 4/22/1990: Chris Warren drafted by Seattle Seahawks (4th round, #89 overall)
• Spring 1992: Billy Wagner sets NCAA single season record for strikeouts per nine innings (19?)
• 6/1/1992: Eric Owens drafted by Cincinnati Reds (4th round)
• 6/3/1993: Billy Wagner drafted by Houston Astros (1st round, #12 overall)
• 11/6/1993: Hank Norton coaches last football game at ferrum, retires after 34 seasons as head coach (244-77-11 record)
• Fall 2020: Liz Adams named Ferrum's first Academic All-American (women's soccer, basketball, tennis)
• 5/5/2012: Ferrum opens new athletics facility, Hank Norton Center
• 2025-26: Ferrum begins women's flag football, wins 2026 Conference Carolinas regular season title, finished runner-up at post-season championship

Ferrum, NCAA Playoffs

• Baseball: 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 2005, 2007
• Men's Basketball: 1992
• Women's Basketball: 1995, 2012, 2013, 2014
• Football: 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 2005 (national semifinals 1988, 1989)
• Men's Golf: 1995
• Men's Golf individuals
      1993 Matt Jordan
      1997 Ed Alvarez
      2017 Brandon Bailey
      2018 Lance Keiser
• Softball: 2002, 2005, 2012, 2016
• Men's Track & Field
      400m: Dazon Harrison, 2021 (D3)
      100m: Jamaari Blackburn, 2024 (D3)
      100m & 200m: Jahmal Jones, 2025 (D3)
• Wrestling individuals
     2014 Logan Meister (141 lbs)
     2016 Logan Meister (157), Paul Biggs (149)
     2017 Zach Beckner (125), Collin Saunders (149), Logan Meister (157)
     2018 Andrew Tolbert (165) Antavian Leary (197), Alveno Matthews (285)
     2019 Levi Englman (133), Mario Vasquez (141), Blake Rosenbaum (174)
     2020 Levi Englman (133), Braden Homsey (197)
     2023 Braden Homsey (197), Rayshawn Dixon (285)
     2024 Zach Beckner (133), Rayshawn Dixon (285)
     2025 Zach Beckner (125), Rayshawn Dixon (285)