SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Southern Conference will host its 2023 Football Media Day on Thursday, July 27, at the Hotel Hartness in Greenville, South Carolina. All nine league head coaches and two student-athletes from each school will be on hand to meet with the media and preview the upcoming season.
 
First-year SoCon Commissioner Michael Cross will speak at the afternoon’s luncheon. WSPA Sports Director Pete Yanity will conduct one-on-one interviews with the league’s head coaches and players during the afternoon’s media session, with those interviews slated to air live on ESPN+ starting at 1:30 p.m. ET Thursday. He will be joined on the broadcast by Jason Patterson, who will offer insights on each team. A team-by-team schedule is below.
 
The league’s preseason all-conference teams and polls will be unveiled at the event, which will also see head coaches Maurice Drayton of The Citadel, Danny Rocco of VMI and Shawn Watson of Wofford make their SoCon Media Day debuts.
 
Five of the nine SoCon programs appeared in the national rankings at some point last season, with Samford and Furman finishing in the top 10 of both the AFCA and Stats Perform polls. The Bulldogs, who won their first-ever outright SoCon title, finished seventh in both polls and earned the No. 6 national seed in the NCAA Division I Football Championship, while the Paladins finished 10^th in both polls. Mercer and Chattanooga also finished the season ranked in both polls, while ETSU spent three weeks in the national rankings.
 
The SoCon had three finalists each for the Walter Payton Award and the Buck Buchanan Award last season, with four of those six returning this year. All three Payton finalists are back, including Samford quarterback Michael Hiers, the defending SoCon Offensive Player of the Year who finished fourth in the Payton voting last year. Also returning are Mercer wide receiver Devron Harper and Chattanooga running back Ailym Ford. After finishing eighth in the Buchanan voting last year, Chattanooga defensive lineman Jay Person returns seeking a second straight SoCon Defensive Player of the Year honor.
 
Also returning is Western Carolina running back Desmond Reid, who finished sixth in the voting for the Jerry Rice Award as the top freshman in the FCS.
 
Fifteen SoCon players earned All-America honors last season, with seven of them returning this season.
 
The Southern Conference enters the 2023 campaign seeking its ninth FCS title. The league’s eight are the second-most all-time in the subdivision.
 
Southern Conference Football Media Day attendees
The Citadel: Head coach Maurice Drayton; Tyler Cherry (WR); Wilson Hendricks III (DB)
ETSU: Head coach George Quarles; Noah West (TE); Sheldon Arnold II (DB)
Furman: Head coach Clay Hendrix; Tyler Huff (QB); Matt Sochovka (DT)
Mercer: Head coach Drew Cronic; John Thomas (OL); Lance Wise (DB)
Samford: Head coach Chris Hatcher; Michael Hiers (QB); Joseph Mera (DL)
Chattanooga: Head coach Rusty Wright; Ailym Ford (RB); Jay Person (DL)
VMI: Head coach Danny Rocco; Chance Knox (WR); Alex Oliver (DB)
Western Carolina: Head coach Kerwin Bell; Tyler Smith (OL); Va Lealaimatafao (LB)
Wofford: Head coach Shawn Watson; Kyle Pinnix (WR); Brandon Maina (DL)
 
ESPN+ broadcast schedule (Thursday, July 27; all times Eastern)
1:30 p.m. – Southern Conference Commissioner Michael Cross
1:45 p.m. – VMI
2:00 p.m. – Samford
2:15 p.m. – Chattanooga
2:30 p.m. – Mercer
2:45 p.m. – The Citadel
3:00 p.m. – Western Carolina
3:15 p.m. – ETSU
3:30 p.m. – Furman
3:45 p.m. – Wofford