Spartanburg Day relaunches football after 41-year absence

The Griffins will play a junior varsity schedule in 2025 and field a varsity program in 2026

Spartanburg Day School fielded a middle school football program this year, but will move to junior varsity in 2025 and play a varsity schedule in 2026. / Spartanburg Day School Athletics Instagram

Ronald Reagan was president the last time Spartanburg Day School had a football program.

That’s about to change.

Spartanburg Day will field a junior varsity team in 2025 and a will play a varsity schedule in 2026, the school announced on Nov. 6.

“We are very excited that the path to varsity football we set out to develop is coming to fruition,” said head of school Dave Skeen in a news release. “We have a great teacher-coach in Patrick Moffitt and are excited to be offering this type of educational experience in a school that demands a lot of its student-athletes through our rigorous academic program.”

Spartanburg Day, already a member of the South Carolina Independent School Association in other sports, will play football in that organization as well.

The process of building the program began in May 2024 when the school hired Moffit and started a middle school team. Spartanburg Day went 3-3 in middle school football in the just completed season. The Griffins played two games each against Christ Church Episcopal School, Southside Christian School and St. Joseph’s Catholic School. They scored wins over St. Joseph’s (24-0 and 52-0) and Southside Christian (34-6).

“It was exciting to watch the growth and development of every one of the football players in the program this past fall,” Moffitt said in the news release. “Their hunger to learn and compete is what made this past season a success. I can’t wait to continue to build with them every step of the way as we continue to grow.”

Moffitt was previously the football coach at St. Andrews School in Middletown, Delaware. He played quarterback for Williams College, where he was a three-year starter.

Spartanburg Day opened its doors in 1957 and has had success in athletics, including back-to-back baseball state championships in 2001 and 2002.

Perhaps the Griffins’ best-known alumnus is New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson, who led the basketball team to three consecutive SCISA state championships from 2016-18. Williamson played one season at Duke and was the No. 1 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft.

Spartanburg Day plays in the 2-A classification of SCISA. The Griffins last won the boys basketball state championship in 2022.