Salem – Roanoke College will be entering the world of Division III college wrestling--beginning competition in the fall of 2021, with the search for a coach beginning immediately.
“We’ve been studying lots of sports to add to our repertoire just so we’d be ready if we were ever in a position where we would want to move forward with additional sports. It gives us another opportunity and another offering for our students and not only recruit students to Roanoke College but retain them,” Roanoke College Athletics Director Scott Allison says.
The Maroons would become the 4th ODAC school to sponsor wrestling, although the conference does not sponsor the sport as of yet. Roanoke College will join Washington & Lee, Shenandoah, and Ferrum as conference schools to offer the sport.
The sport has hit the limelight recently in SW Virginia, thanks in large part to the resurgence of Ferrum’s wrestling program. The Panthers have served as hosts for NCAA South Regionals, and most recently the Division III Nationals at the Berglund Center this past February.