In a powerful display of faith, 31 football players from Carson-Newman University were baptized in Mossy Creek, right on their campus in Jefferson City, Tennessee. This event marked the largest group baptism in the school’s history.
The baptisms took place on August 21, just after the team finished practice. Carson-Newman, a part of Tennessee Baptist Mission Board isn’t just known for its strong Christian values – it’s also got a great football team.
The team has won five national championships in the NAIA and has played in several NCAA Division II championship games. But on this day, something even more special than winning games was happening.
Ashley Ingram, the team’s new head coach, was thrilled to see so many players take this step. He said, “I told the guys today that, obviously, we want to win a lot of games, and we want to win championships, but we won the ultimate championship today.” Ingram believes that helping his players grow in faith is just as important as helping them improve on the field.
Ingram is new to Carson-Newman, having just joined the school in December after coaching at Navy for 16 years. When he took the job, he made it clear that he wanted to help players grow in their faith. He explained, “I said if we could bring kids here that don’t know Christ, it could have eternal ramifications.”
“To see 31 guys give their life to Christ this morning and to publicly profess that is really special,” Ingram said.
We raise a BIG hallelujah because 31 student-athletes were baptized in Mossy Creek today!
The Lord continues to move in mighty ways on our campus, and we are so excited for these students’ decisions to follow Christ! @CN_Eagles @cnfootball pic.twitter.com/fQDimyjvTj
— Carson-Newman University (@carson_newman_u) August 21, 2024
Carson-Newman has been baptizing players in Mossy Creek for several years now. It’s become a special tradition for the team. The creek runs right through the campus, making it a perfect spot for this meaningful event.
When the school hired Ingram, they were looking for someone who understood what Carson-Newman is all about. The university’s president, Charles A. Fowler, said they wanted a coach who matched “the heart, head, and history of the program.” He praised Ingram’s football skills and his strong faith, saying, “He is a man of deep and expressed faith in Jesus.”
Fowler has high hopes for the football program under Ingram’s leadership. He believes Ingram will help the team win games, but more importantly, he’ll have “a Gospel impact on the lives of young men.” This baptism event shows that Ingram is already making good on that promise.
The school was so excited about the baptisms that they shared the news on social media. On X (which used to be called Twitter), they simply wrote, “Praise Jesus.” It was a short message, but it said a lot about how much this event meant to the school.
Praise Jesus ✝️@cnfootball x #TalonsUp x @carson_newman_u pic.twitter.com/hQaX3fGWev
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) August 22, 2024
Carson-Newman’s football team has a long history of success. Before they joined NCAA Division II, they won five national championships in the NAIA. Even after moving up to Division II, they’ve done well, making it to the championship game three times and the semifinals once. Now, with Ingram as coach, they’re hoping to add more wins while also growing in faith.
Ingram brings a lot of experience to Carson-Newman. At Navy, he helped the team get to 10 bowl games and beat Army 10 times. Now, he’s using that experience to help Carson-Newman’s players both on and off the field.