Photo courtesy of Laura Moat
Kalamazoo College football kicker Madison Barch ’24 came to K knowing 48 wasn’t a famous number in sports. Jokingly she said to Head Coach Jamie Zorbo, “maybe I’ll be the one to make that number famous.” Then she made NCAA history with it.
Barch became the first woman on record to score a non-kicking point for any division in college football, during the last game of the season against Trine University on November 11, 2023. Three years prior, she made history being the first woman to score for Kalamazoo College football.
Barch went onto the field in the last minute of the Trine University game this season, knowing it would be the final kick of her career. When attempting to kick the extra point, a bad snap led quarterback Josh Nichols ’24, to call an emergency play. Nichols rolled out looking for any open receivers, instead spotting Barch in the end zone with no defenders around her. Nichols sent the ball to the end zone for the catch, with Barch immediately throwing her arms up in celebration after.
“I don’t remember moving my body or anything. It was a very out of body experience. I caught the ball, but I don’t remember catching the ball,” she said.
“I always get asked if that was planned. It was not,” she laughs.
Even though the team lost 42-29 that day, her teammates came running from the sideline celebrating as though they just won the national championship. She ran through a tunnel of teammates celebrating her, looking up to her mom staring back in awe.
Her parents have always been her biggest supporters since starting football in 7th grade, even flying out to Greenville University in Illinois this season to watch her play. After being one of three players invited to a Top Prospect camp in Nashville, TN the summer before her senior year. Barch remembers saying “oh maybe I do have the potential,” after being the first female ever invited.
Knowing she has made history doesn’t even cross Barch’s mind: “Just being able to play the game and celebrate those moments with my family and teammates—I think that’s the best part of it.”
Barch’s love for football connected her with a program called “Athletes in Action,” a Bible study group for athletes that helped her create a community within her team. Barch grew up Catholic, but said faith became a bigger part of her life once she made the transition to college, giving her a community of faith within her team.
Photo courtesy of Laura Moat
“They definitely helped me grow in my faith and make it the first and foremost part of my life,” she said.
She described her pre-game ritual with her teammates that keeps her centered and focused during the game: “We would say the Lord’s prayer before each and every game, which is probably a highlight of pre-game and warmup: To take that minute or so to just pray with the guys.”
Barch earned the respect from her teammates and coaches in a sport long dominated by men when she received the Marigene Arnold Award, named in honor of Kalamazoo College’s biggest football fan. It’s given each year to the Hornet football player who exemplifies the characteristics and qualities most desired in a player. She was grateful to be recognized for her hard work, saying she has been blessed with an amazing coaching staff at K, especially head Coach Jamie Zorbo.
“He’s treated me as one of the guys in the sense of earning the spot, never given any special treatment,” she said.
Though Barch has wrapped up college football, she is excitedly looking forward to hopefully working in the forensics division within the Michigan State Police department, following her father’s footsteps into law enforcement. Her ultimate dream is working for the FBI. She laughs as she says, “me and my mom watch a lot of crime shows or like cold cases, all those. The analysis they do and going through school, I’m understanding more of it as I watch.”
She once again has her sights set high after graduation with what she calls a “side quest,” to eventually obtain her private pilot’s license, “just for the heck of it.”
Barch ended the season with more than just field goals— a place in the record book. Inspired little girls always ask for pictures with her after games, reminding her of why she does this.
“It’s very humbling. Like oh wow, I guess this is a bigger than me kind of thing. I’m just playing this game because I like to kick a ball through uprights. It brings it into perspective after games.”
She wishes she could have told her younger self “Practice a little more because you never know how far you can take it.”
The Kalamazoo College Football team ended the season 5-5.
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