Date: November 6, 2025
I need the Rev. Bob Flanagan to give me a lesson. “When Dean Horne was here,” he explained, “we would present the Luther Bowl trophy at lunch.” I was grateful for the lesson. Although this moment has never occurred during my tenure, today we will have the captain of the Friars present the trophy to me.
Sport is fun. Flag football is fun. The range of competitions used to be much greater. For many years, there was an annual basketball game as well as a flag football competition between GTS and VTS. I would love to see the Consortium organize something sports-oriented.
Sport is good for you. Naturally, one must be careful. When I arrived in 2007, several team sports were played on Trotter Bowl—from Ultimate Frisbee to soccer. Indeed, one year we even had a team in an indoor soccer competition in DC. I think we lost every game, but we thoroughly enjoyed participating. Perhaps this is the moment when sport makes its return to VTS.
The Very Rev. Ian S. Markham, Ph.D.
Dean and President of Virginia Theological Seminary and the President of The General Theological Seminary.