Building a football program from scratch isn’t measured in months. It’s measured in years.
Barton College is entering just its seventh season since reviving football in 2020, but the Bulldogs have already shown they can be competitive. They won six games in both 2021 and 2024, helping lay the foundation for what coach Chip Hester hopes becomes a program that is a perennial factor in Conference Carolinas.
After taking a step back with a 3-8 record last fall, Barton has pieces in place to move forward again. The Bulldogs return a more experienced roster, navigated the portal a little better than previous years and enter 2026 considered one of the upper division teams in their new league home.
Barton Football At A Glance
2025 Record: 3-8
2025 Conference: 3-3
2026 Season Opener: Barton at Virginia State | Thursday, Aug. 27
Head Coach: Chip Hester (7th year here)
Record: 22-37 at Barton, 92-86 overall
Offensive Coordinator: Jazz Vinson, Chip Hester (co-offensive coordinator)
Defensive Coordinator: Kim Brown, Quayon Gilbert (co-defensive coordinator)
Predicted Finish in Conference Carolinas: 3rd out of 7 teams
Preseason Conference Carolinas Watch List:
- WR Jaidan Lee
- LB Zayvion Brady
- DB Zy-Hir Williams
Seven Things to Know About the Barton Bulldogs
1. Barton football is both young … and old
The Bulldogs revived their football program in 2020 under coach Chip Hester, but the school’s gridiron history dates back more than a century. The first team for what was then Atlantic Christian College suited up in 1920 under coach Casey Blackburn, earning a 2-7 record.
The football program played for a decade, dissolved in 1930, restarted in 1945 and then was discontinued once again from 1951-2019. This will be year seven of the modern era.
2. Barton (Atlantic Christian College) is the lone remaining charter member of what is now Conference Carolinas
It was fitting that Barton played in the first Conference Carolinas football game last September, as the league relaunched the sport for the first time since the 1970s.
Barton, then Atlantic Christian College, was part of the first year of the Old North State Conference in 1930 – the precursor to what is now known as Conference Carolinas. A lot of teams have come and gone over the last century, but Barton is the only founding member still around.
3. The Bulldogs believe they can take the next step
While new programs often spend years finding their way, Barton has been competitive from the start. The Bulldogs won six games in their second season (2021) and went 6-5 again in 2024. The 2025 team went 3-8 as it navigated growing pains from a young roster, but this year’s bunch has been projected to finish third in Conference Carolinas – behind only the two teams that played in last year’s league title game (North Greenville and UNC Pembroke).
4. Coach Chip Hester calls himself “old school” but has embraced new ways too
Barton head coach Chip Hester has been around D2 football in North Carolina since the 1990s. He’ll be the first to say that he relishes the now-fading system where a high school prospect commits to a school and stays until graduation. But Hester isn’t grumpy that players are more mobile and yearly roster rebuilds are now the norm.
Barton lost roughly 15 players to the transfer portal in the off-season but confidently added 16-17 newcomers.
“We at Barton were a little more prepared for it this year,” Hester said during Conference Carolinas media day in July. “I’ve been around a long time and so my my preference would be to coach a guy for four years but that’s not the world we live in, so what we’ve got to do is make the best of this team.”
5. Running back has been a position of strength
Barton has already had a generational running back in Jordan Terrell, a former Eastern Randolph High standout who became a D2 All-American and went on to the CFL after 2023. Jackson Parrish took the baton last season, rushing for 1,095 yards and 10 touchdowns (including a pair of 200-yard games).
With Parrish departed, the Bulldogs will need another back to step into the lead role this fall. Hester pointed to Dakauri Davis, Jayden Brown, Jeremy Johnson and Tobias Joyner as four strong candidates.
“We’ve got what we feel like is a good group, a good room of guys and we’ve got some guys coming in as well,” Hester said. “We feel like we’ve got the kind of talent that we need and now it’s just in these next couple of weeks coming up in training camp to see who is going to step forward and who is going to take charge and make plays.”
6. Hester isn’t ready to announce a starting QB yet – be he has one
The Barton coach said at media day “we have a starting quarterback and we feel really good about it” but wasn’t ready to provide the name just yet.
UNC Pembroke transfer Cam Estep had a strong spring. Hester also mentioned Nazir Garrett and Brandon Quinn after the Bulldogs’ spring game in April as showing promise. Al Lee, a former Reidsville High state champion, played for Barton the past two seasons but missed the spring with an injury.
“That quarterback room is really talented,” Hester said. “We’ve got some experience, we’ve got a little swagger in that room. We’ve got some guys that can run in that room and some young guys that I think will be factors before it’s all over with. I’m pretty excited about that position group as a whole.”
7. The football coach is also now the AD
Effective Aug. 1, Hester assumed the role as Barton’s Director of Athletics as well as head football coach. He replaces Ken Tyler, who left the AD role to become a senior associate athletics director at Towson University.
Barton Players To Watch
Zayvion Brady, LB
Former Whiteville High standout has been with the program since 2022 and is an emerging leader on the defense. He recorded 20 tackles last season, including 3 TFLs, and has spent the off-season working on his speed to the ball.
Whoever wins the QB job
Jaquan Lynch left his mark on the position from 2020-2023, passing for more than 4,500 yards and rushing for another 1,100+. He accounted for 56 total touchdowns. But since Lynch’s departure, Barton hasn’t really had a quarterback seize the position and make it theirs. Hester believes this could be the year that changes.
Jaiden Lee, WR
The Mallard Creek alum caught 27 passes for 286 yards last season, finishing the year with 11 catches over the past two contests. He’s poised for bigger things this fall.
Zy-Hir Williams, DB
The Newark, NJ native saw the field plenty as a freshman, playing in all 11 games, logging 37 tackles and picking off a pass. He made 10 stops in Barton’s game against Shorter.
Carson Jenkins, FB
Local prep standout from Northern Nash is moving from linebacker to offense for 2026 and also can help in special teams. “You talk about the consummate teammate,” Hester said. “We said, ‘Carson, we could use some help at fullback’ and he said, ‘Yes, sir. Where do you want me to go.’ … These are the type of guys we want to lead our football team.”
Games That Could Define The Season
Barton at Chowan | Saturday, Sept. 19
Chowan has been a regular on the Bulldogs’ schedule, even before the two were paired as conference mates last year. Barton won the first four meetings, but lost to the Hawks for the first time in a November rematch last fall. This year’s game will set the tone in the conference race for both squads.
UNC Pembroke at Barton | Saturday, Oct. 17
UNC Pembroke set the standard for North Carolina teams in the new Conference Carolinas a year ago. Barton gets the Braves on home turf with a chance to make a statement of its own.
North Greenville at Barton | Saturday, Oct. 24
Barton’s regular-season home finale will come against the defending Conference Carolinas champions a week after the UNCP matchup. Will the Bulldogs still be in the title hunt by this point?
Quotable
“I’ve talked with some of the other coaches in the league and I think all of us are of the same mindset – all of us have changed. We’ve all lost guys, brought guys in. The team that comes together and makes the strongest bonds and has some perseverance and some stick-to-itiveness and some cohesiveness in a team, and that gets developed pretty quick, I think you’ll have a chance to be successful.” – Barton coach Chip Hester.
“If coach asks you to do something, at the end of the day you do what’s best for the team … It was an adjustment – I was like, fullback? – but you know what coach I got you, I’ll be happy to do it. Now that I’m playing fullback, I’ve been really enjoying it and having a great time over there playing fullback.” – Carson Jenkins on moving from linebacker, where he has played since he was 10, to fullback.
The Final Word
Barton has reached an interesting point in the life of its football program. The Bulldogs are no longer simply trying to establish themselves. They’ve done that well. Now, they are trying to become regular contenders.
The growing pains of 2025 may ultimately pay dividends if the young players who were forced into bigger roles last season take the expected step forward. Chip Hester also believes the transfer additions have filled several key needs, giving Barton a roster capable of competing with the top teams in Conference Carolinas.
North Greenville and UNC Pembroke remain the measuring sticks after leading the pack in 2025. But the Bulldogs don’t appear that far behind.
If Barton can settle the quarterback position, find another productive running back and continue to mature on defense, don’t be surprised if the Bulldogs are still playing meaningful games when the calendar hits November.
🔗 More Coverage
- 2026 Barton football schedule
- Conference Carolinas football standings
- North Carolina D2 football schedules
- North Carolina D2 football scoreboard
