WINSTON-SALEM, NC — The 2025 season hasn’t even kicked off yet, but WSSU head coach Robert Massey has already set the tone. His words during the team’s Week Zero press conference left no room for doubt: “Championship or bust.”
For Massey and his program, this year is not about incremental improvement. It’s about winning titles, restoring WSSU to its championship tradition, and reminding the broader HBCU football world that the Rams remain a force in Division II.
WSSU looks back to look forward
Massey pointed to last season’s painful but valuable lessons as the reason for the bold claim.
“You look at what we’ve done a year ago and we just reflect,” he said. “When you look at Virginia Union, who’s the eventual champion, I mean, we fumbled five times and three of them were in the red zone. Take those back, different ballgame.”
The Rams also let a winnable contest against Johnson C. Smith slip away. Those stumbles, Massey believes, were the difference between simply competing and playing for a championship. “This is the year. This is our chance. This is our moment,” he said.
That perspective shows why WSSU is approaching 2025 with a sharpened edge. Massey knows the Rams have enough returning talent and maturity to not just participate in the CIAA race, but to control it. It will face both teams again later in the year.
Growth of Daylin Lee at quarterback
One of the main reasons for optimism lies under center. Sophomore quarterback Daylin Lee, who started as a freshman, has grown both physically and mentally. Massey praised his development as a leader.
“It’s kind of hard to tell the senior offensive linemen to shut up if you’re a freshman in the huddle,” Massey said. “But now you can do that. He’s grown in all facets. He seems to be like a coach on the field.”
Massey even went a step further, calling Lee “one of the best quarterbacks in all of Black college football.” With Lee’s progression and command of the offense, WSSU believes it has the kind of field general that championship teams are built around.
Balancing respect and aggression
Massey knows the opening game against Tuskegee won’t define the entire season, but he views it as a measuring stick. The Golden Tigers bring back key talent, and Massey acknowledged their status as the winningest Division II program among HBCUs. Still, he emphasized the Rams won’t back down.
“We’re going to respect, but we’re not going to fear anyone,” Massey said. “When you got a problem, you solve that with aggression. And we got a pretty good aggressive team.”
That aggression, he believes, is the formula to break through the slow starts and missed opportunities that plagued recent seasons.
Carrying the weight of the WSSU
“Protect the legacy” has become the rallying cry for WSSU football. For Massey, that means living up to a tradition built by HBCU legends and defined by championships. It also means representing the CIAA and showing the wider HBCU football community that North Carolina programs can play with anyone.
“Historically we hadn’t done well on these national television games. So that’s one that we have to get over,” Massey admitted. “But the mission is to protect the legacy. And that legacy is winning championships.”
With fan support expected to travel strong to Montgomery for the opener, and with a maturing roster led by veterans and rising stars, WSSU enters 2025 fully aware of what’s at stake.
The bottom line
Massey’s “championship or bust” mantra may sound bold, but it reflects both urgency and opportunity. The Rams have learned from past mistakes, developed their quarterback, and set the bar high.
For WSSU fans and the wider HBCU football audience, that mindset signals one thing: the Rams are done rebuilding. The time to win is now.