I am honored to be the Head Football Coach at NC Wesleyan and I am humbled every day to lead the men of our program. From the first day driving in the front gates of campus, I was excited about what NC Wesleyan had to offer and the diamond that it can become. That optimism led me to strive to turn a football program, with such a short history, back to the success that it once had. That same excitement exists today as we continue every day to become better than we were yesterday.

We just finished my seventh season, fell one game short of the conference title, but the steps forward have made the program stronger than it has been in the past. I had the opportunity on November 16th to watch 22 seniors honored and play their last game in the Navy and Gold. It was a sad day, but one very gratifying because the previous six years the senior class was lucky to hit double digits. The importance of football here continues to grow and with that importance, the retention of our players within the program grows.

I mention the importance of the program because that is its lifeline. Our Lifeline as a football program is the Players and their retention within the program. Success on and off the field is predicated on the players role and their feeling of worth. How weve grown over the past few years to enhance this worth has been a step process each year.

Every year since weve been updating the practice field thanks to the support of the administration and some loyal program donors. Significant upgrades, things a player or recruit can see or touch that we currently have but were not present at the time I arrived are: Blocking Sleds, Blocking Chutes, Jugs throwing machine, privacy slats in the fencing, more signage, state of the art film towers, permanent goal posts and catch nets. We are inching every year to become that diamond that I spoke about earlier.

We were fortunate this past year to play a couple of home games here on campus after converting the practice field into a temporary playing field. And it was an overwhelming success. There are hopes that one day soon our football program will have a state-of-the-art, permanent football facility on campus. By doing so, it puts an importance on the football program at NCWC. Many of our players actually leave a high school with better football facilities than we currently offer, so doing this would be a huge step, more like a leap, forward as a game-changer for the program, players, fans and recruiting efforts.

That stadium is our goal, but heres how you can help football immediately! Following last season and the year-ending meeting, one request that the team has is to purchase new uniforms. Our current Navy and White uniforms are six years old and our Gold uniforms are over ten years old all need updating or replacing. That will be our funding focus moving into the fall of 2020 season. We are looking for any and all support to make this happen.

I am proud of the growth of our players both on and off the field. We had four players recognized nationally as All-American or All-Region Players and we had the most Academic All-Conference Players this past year. The excitement to be a part of the Bishop Football Program continues to grow and with your support, the sky is the limit. In my heart of hearts, I believe this program can compete for the national title.

Coach Ski

Jeff Filkovski, Head Football Coach