2025 SoCon Football Media Day Set for Monday and Tuesday

Cullowhee, N.C.  – Coming off a runner-up finish last year in the Southern Conference race and a second-consecutive seven-win season, Western Carolina football and the eyes of the league turn to Greenville, S.C., and the Hotel Hartness on Monday and Tuesday, July 21-22, 2025, as all nine league head football coaches and select student-athletes take part in the 2025 SoCon Football Media Day.
 
Both the official preseason All-SoCon teams and the predicted order of finish, as voted on by the league’s head coaches, will be unveiled as part of the festivities. SoCon Commissioner Michael Cross will also address those in attendance to kick off the afternoon’s interview sessions.
 
Along with WCU fifth-year head coach Kerwin Bell, the Catamounts will be represented this week by a pair of all-conference hopefuls along the defensive line in graduate student Micah Nelson, who enters his seventh year in Cullowhee, and fifth-year senior defensive end Caleb Fisher. Nelson, a preseason All-SoCon selection back in 2023, recorded 26 stops last fall with 10 solo and 6.5 TFLs with a pair of sacks, while Fisher was credited with 37 total tackles with 23 solos and seven for loss with 2.5 sacks a year ago.
 
Among the 18 student-athletes slated to attend the SoCon’s Media Day, five are defensive linemen and five are quarterbacks. The group also includes two defensive backs, two offensive linemen, a pair of linebackers, and two from special teams.
 
Monday’s events include availability for the head coaches and student-athletes at the state-of-the-art 98C studios, as well as conference meetings. The student-athletes will have a special reception at Spare Time in Greenville, while the coaches and ADs have a dinner on-site at the Hotel Hartness.
 
Tuesday’s media day includes conference meetings in the morning for the coaches and athletic directors, and officially kicks off with a media day luncheon at Noon that includes comments delivered by SoCon Commissioner Michael Cross ahead of the media availability.
 
Catamount fans are invited to keep tabs on and join in the conversation about 2025 SoCon Football Media Day through WCU’s social media outlets, including Facebook (fb.com/catamountsports), Twitter (@Catamounts, @CatamountsFB), and Instagram (wcu_catamounts) using the hashtag #SoConFB.
 
Opening the season at home, under the lights on Labor Day Weekend against Gardner-Webb on Aug. 30, Western Carolina’s football student-athletes officially report for fall camp on Tuesday, July 29, with the first of two helmet-only practices scheduled for the morning of Wednesday, July 30.
 
Season tickets, along with single-game tickets and gameday parking for the Aug. 30 home opener, are currently on sale through the Catamount Athletics Ticket Office on the first floor of the Ramsey Center, by phone at (828) 227-2401, or online at CatamountSports.com/BuyTickets. Tickets and parking for WCU’s remaining five home dates go on sale to the public on Monday, July 28.
 
2025 Southern Conference Football Media Day Attendees:
The Citadel: Head coach Maurice Drayton; Maurice Bonneau (DL); James Platte (P)
ETSU: Head coach Will Healy; Kaven Call (DL); Cade McNamara (QB); Jacolby Criswell (QB)
Furman: Head coach Clay Hendrix; Caleb Williams (S); Eli Brasher (OL)
Mercer: Head coach Mike Jacobs; DJ Smith (QB); Andrew Zock (DL)
Samford: Head coach Chris Hatcher; Quincy Crittendon (QB); Jaden Mosley (LB)
Chattanooga: Head coach Rusty Wright; Jude Kelley (PK)
VMI: Head coach Danny Rocco; Collin Shannon (QB); Stephen Dean II (LB)
Western Carolina: Head coach Kerwin Bell; Caleb Fisher (DE); Micah Nelson (DE)
Wofford: Head coach Shawn Watson; Quincy Hughes (OL); Maximus Pulley (DB)
 

Keep track of everything related to Catamount football and WCU Athletics through its social media outlets on Facebook (FB.com/CatamountSports, FB.com/WesternCarolinaFootball), Twitter (@catamounts, @CatamountsFB), and Instagram (wcu_catamounts, catamountsfb).
 
Important Dates in Catamount Athletics & Catamount Football:
Tues., July 22 – 2025 SoCon Football Media Day – Hotel Hartness in Greenville, S.C.
Wed., July 23 – Catamount Football on-campus media day (Ramsey Center)
Mon., July 28 – Remaining Catamount Football single-game tickets and parking go on sale
Tues., July 29 – Catamount Football officially reports to campus for fall camp
Tues., July 29 – Catamount Soccer begins 2025 practice
Wed., July 30 – Catamount Football – first official practice (helmets only) – 8:30 a.m.
Thurs., July 31 – Catamount Volleyball begins 2025 practice
Tues., Aug. 5 – Catamount Soccer vs. Charleston Southern (Exhibition), 4 p.m.
Fri., Aug. 8 – Catamount Soccer vs. Queens University (Exhibition) – 6 p.m.
Thurs., Aug. 14 – Catamount Football Ladies Night – Whitmire Stadium – 5 p.m.
Thurs., Aug. 14 – Catamount Soccer vs. Appalachian State (Season Opener) – 6 p.m.
Sun., Aug. 17 – Catamount Soccer vs. High Point – 1 p.m.
Fri., Aug. 22 – Catamount Volleyball vs. UNC Pembroke (Exhibition) – 6 p.m.
Sat., Aug. 30 – Catamount Football vs. Gardner-Webb – 6 p.m. (Postgame Fireworks)
Sun., Aug. 31 – Catamount Soccer vs. Tennessee (First Bank Beach Night) – 6 p.m.
Tues., Sept. 9 – Catamount Volleyball vs. UNC Asheville (First Bank Beach Night) – 6 p.m.
Fri., Sept. 12 – The Bob Waters Memorial Golf Tournament – Sequoyah National in Cherokee, N.C.
Sat., Sept. 13 – Catamount Football vs. Elon – 2:30 p.m. (White Out Whitmire! Wear White!)