Athletic director reports participation gains, funding shortfall and new partnerships

The division athletic director gave a detailed update on participation, finances and initiatives in Nottoway athletics. He said there were 165 unique student athletes at the high school this year out of 502 enrolled students — about 33.9 percent — and 308 total team memberships across all sports; athletes averaged a 3.4 GPA. The director noted gaps in female participation (no girls on golf or cross country teams this year) and said increasing female participation is a priority.

He told trustees officials’ costs for the year totaled $33,853 while game-day ticket sales totaled $15,794, leaving a substantial shortfall for officials’ expenses. The department raised roughly $2,700 from a golf tournament and coaches helped raise about $3,400; the director said the district will push for more team-specific and department-level fundraising next year.

The director described program developments: reintroducing JV football and JV baseball programs, creating a student‑athlete handbook and a coach’s handbook (under review with human resources), starting emergency action plans for athletic facilities (none had been in place since 2018), and adopting GoFan and NFHS Network for livestreaming and limited revenue generation. He also noted local partnership efforts with the Blackstone Chamber of Commerce and a move to vet music played at events through Neptune Radio.