SALEM, Va. – New Roanoke College director of athletics Curtis Campbell spoke to a crowd of dozens at the Roanoke Valley Sports Club Monday night. The Pulaski County native touched on his personal life, his journey to and through college athletics, and of course the hot-button topic: the newly reinstated Roanoke College football program.
“We’re getting our facilities on campus ready– locker room, weight room, training room, coaches offices,” Campbell said in an interview with 10 Sports.
While it’s been an exciting time, Campbell says it has been stressful. While he has more than 2 decades of experience in collegiate athletics leadership, this is the first opportunity he’s had to lead the start of a football program.
“The goal is to be ready to play by the fall of 2025,” Campbell said.
As Campbell fielded questions, he shed some insights on the head coach search and more. There were over 100 applicants for the head coaching job but an in-house search advisory board of 7-8 individuals, has narrowed it down to 4 finalists – all of them active working coaches. Campbell said interviews will be held soon with the goal of naming a head coach in November after that coach’s respective season has ended. Roanoke aims to hire 4 full-time assistant coaches initially and add part-time coaches and volunteers.
Regarding interest in football, Campbell noted that there are some current Roanoke College student-athletes who have inquired about being part of tryouts when the time comes. The college is hoping to have about 40 student-athletes by next spring with the goal of holding scrimmages in the fall of 2024.
As for Campbell, he’s excited to be back close to home. The Pulaski County native has had a whirlwind of a journey to get where he is today – with his most recent stop being at Morehouse College where he has been since 2020.