Football kit for the opening media day of the Southern OVC association

NASHVILLE, Tenn. With the 2023 football season just around the corner, the defending Big South Champions will head to Nashville, Tenn., for the first-ever Big South-OVC Football Association Media Day on Tuesday, July 25.

The Runnin’ Bulldogs Submit 2022 South Coach of the Year Tre Lamb and All-America Nominees Ty French and Shit Gaither to the Sheraton Music City Hotel in Nashville for the event. Live coverage of the event begins at 9:10 a.m. ET on ESPN+, with the Runnin’ Bulldogs taking the podium at 9:30 a.m. ET. Coach Lamb also appears on The Greg Pogue & John Burton Show on WNSR radio at 10:40am. Additional videos and social media content can be found on Twitter at @BigSouthOVCFB or on Instagram at @bigsouthsports.

Reigning Big South Football Coach of the Year Tre Lamb returns to Gardner-Webb after leading the Runnin’ Bulldogs to their first Big South championship in 20 years and their first postseason appearance since 1992. Under Lamb’s leadership in 2022, the Runnin’ Bulldogs finished 5-0 in the Big South Playoff Eastern Conference. The ‘Dawgs also pushed top FBS foes to the breaking point, falling to Liberty 21-20 and Sun Belt Runner-Up Coastal Carolina. As GWU’s offensive signal-caller, Lamb averaged 441.5 yards per game and scored 32.2 points per game, both tops in the Big South Conference.

French was a finalist for the Stats Perform FCS Buck Buchanan National Defensive Player Award, the Ted Hendricks Award and the first Runnin’ Bulldog to be voted Big South Defensive Player of the Year since 2008. He finished the regular season leading the Big South in sacks with 11.5, which tied the league’s single-season record. He totaled 72 tackles, 15 tackles for loss, one interception and one forced fumble. France is ninth in domestic sacks per game (0.88) and 44th in TFLs per contest (1.2). French had 4.5 sacks in three games against FBS opponents this season and snapped a three-game streak with 2.0 sacks. In a five-game Big South season, French led the way with 5.5 sacks, tied for sixth with 6.5 TFL and totaled 23 tackles. He posted a tackle-for-loss in 10 of 13 games, along with a sack in nine games.

Gaither returns to Gardner-Webb after earning First Team All-Conference honors last season. The Rock Hill, SC native played in nine games as a running back last season, posting 1,019 yards on 154 carries and seven touchdowns. In the FCS playoffs, Gaither rushed for 245 yards and two touchdowns at Eastern Kentucky. The mark is the second-most rushing yards by a GWU player in program history and the most by a Gardner-Webb player in a Division I season (since 2000). Gaither also rushed for more than 100 yards in five games during the 2022 season.

The Runnin’ Bulldogs open the 2023 season on Saturday, September 2nd at Appalachian State before playing their home game on Saturday, September 9th at 6:00 PM at Spangler Stadium against Elon. Fans can purchase season tickets at gwusports.com.