A Salem native, Byington played on Salem High’s first state basketball championship team in 1994. He went on to play at UNC-Wilmington and then began a coaching career that began at Hargrave Military Academy in Virginia under William Byrd graduate Chad Myers, while also making later stops at both Virginia Tech and Virginia, where he earned his master’s degree in sport psychology in 2003. Mark was at UVA as a Graduate Manager from 2002-04, then served as the Cavaliers’ Director of Basketball operations for the 2004-05 season.
Byington was hired as assistant coach at the College of Charleston in 2005 and remained there through the 2011-12 season, serving as the top assistant under legendary head coach Bobby Cremins. He was also named interim head coach for the last month of the 2011-12 campaign when Cremins took a leave of absence, guiding the Cougars to a 7-4 record in their final 11 games.
The following year he took a job at Virginia Tech under coach James Johnson. After one year in Blacksburg he was hired as head coach at Georgia Southern, where he remained until he was hired by James Madison last week. At Georgia Southern Byington had six winning campaigns and averaging nearly 12 league wins per season while posting a 100 percent graduation rate and recording the 10 highest team grade point averages in program history across the last five years.
The Roanoke Valley Sports Club meets once a month at the Salem Civic Center, with a guest speaker and catered dinner. New members pay an annual membership fee of $40, which includes two family members, and $17.50 discounted tickets for the dinners featuring sports personalities. There is a raffle for door prizes at the end of their meetings with the proceeds going towards programs, speakers, and recognitions for the student athletes.
The club welcomes new members and also guests for their monthly dinners. For more information on the Roanoke Valley Sports Club visit https://roanokevalleysportsclub.com or check out their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/roanokevalleysportsclub.
