Cullowhee, N.C. – Excitement for the return to the football gridiron ramps up on Tuesday, July 23, as The Southern Conference again converges on the Hotel Hartness in Greenville, S.C., for the 2024 SoCon Football Media Day. The SoCon's 2024 preseason all-conference team and the official preseason poll from the league's head coaches will be unveiled as a part of Tuesday's event, followed by on-site interviews with media members.
 
All nine league head coaches and a pair of student-athletes from each school will be on hand to preview the upcoming season. In addition to the Catamount's fourth-year head coach, Kerwin Bell, WCU will be represented by junior quarterback Cole Gonzales and senior defensive back CJ Williams.
 
Gonzales threw for 2,803 yards and tossed a school single-season record 28 touchdown passes as a part of earning first-team All-SoCon plaudits and the Roy M. "Legs" Hawley Offensive Player of the Year honor from the voting media last season. Williams, a transfer from the Univ. of Alabama ahead of the 2021 season, enters his fourth year in Cullowhee after converting from wide receiver to cornerback entering 2022.
 
Tuesday's media day festivities include conference meetings in the morning, officially kicking off with a media day luncheon at Noon with comments delivered by SoCon Commissioner Michael Cross ahead of the media availability.
  
SoCon Associate Commissioner for Brand Strategy and Broadcast Dave Friedman conducted one-on-one interviews with the league's head coaches, and those interviews are slated to be released on the conference's website and social media platforms beginning at 10 a.m. ET tomorrow, July 23. WCU is scheduled for the 1:30 p.m., time slot.
 
Catamount fans are invited to keep tabs on and join in the conversation about 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.
 
The Southern Conference enters 2024 seeking its ninth NCAA FCS Football title with the league's eight currently ranking as the second-most all-time in the subdivision. WCU was among five of the league's nine teams to appear in the NCAA FCS national rankings a season ago and is one of three ranked in the various national polls entering this season – No. 10/11 Chattanooga, No. 16 Furman, and No. 16/23 Western Carolina.
 
The SoCon had three finalists for the Walter Payton Award and two for the Buck Buchanan Award last season. Western Carolina quarterback Cole Gonzales, the reigning Roy M. "Legs" Hawley Offensive Player of the Year as voted on by SoCon media members, finished 17th in the Payton voting last year.


Opening the season on the Thursday (Aug. 29) before Labor Day weekend on the road at North Carolina State, Western Carolina's football student-athletes officially report for the 2024 preseason fall camp on Monday, July 29, with the first helmet-only practice set for Tuesday, July 30.
 
Season tickets for Western Carolina's 2024 five-game home schedule are on sale now through the WCU Athletics Ticket Office by phone at (828) 227-2401 and in person through the box office on the first floor of the Ramsey Center, or online at CatamountSports.com. Ticket options include general admission, reserved bleacher bench, and chairback seats, with a Family Zone four-pack in Section FF. A $10 transaction fee will be charged for all season ticket orders including credit card, cash, and check.
 
Single-game ticket sales for the home-opening "White Out Whitmire" game against instate foe Campbell on Sat., Sept. 7, begin this Thurs., July 25. Individual game ticket sales for the remaining four home dates begin a week later, on Thurs., Aug. 1.
 
Keep track of everything related to Catamount football and WCU Athletics through its social media outlets on Facebook (fb.com/CatamountSports), Twitter (@Catamounts, @CatamountsFB), and Instagram (wcu_catamounts).

  
2024 Southern Conference Football Media Day attendees:
The Citadel: Head coach Maurice Drayton; Johnathan Bennett (QB); Javonte Graves-Billips (WR)
ETSU: Head coach Tre Lamb; Jaylen King (QB); Chris Hope (DB)
Furman: Head coach Clay Hendrix; Joshua Harris (WR); Evan DiMaggio (LB)
Mercer: Head coach Mike Jacobs; Ken Standley (LB); Isaac Dowling (LB)
Samford: Head coach Chris Hatcher; Noah Martin (LB); DJ Rias (WR)
Chattanooga: Head coach Rusty Wright; Jay Gibson (TE); Reuben Lowery III (DB)
VMI: Head coach Danny Rocco; Hunter Rice (RB); Tahj Summey (DB)
Western Carolina: Head coach Kerwin Bell; Cole Gonzales (QB); CJ Williams (DB)
Wofford: Head coach Shawn Watson; Anthony Garcia (OL); Maximus Pulley (DB)