Search the Community

Freshman Dajon Williams made his first start at quarterback and could not have had an easier debut, completing 11-of-14 passes for 176 yards and three touchdowns and rushing four times for 68 yards and two touchdowns. The Mean Green averaged 11.9 yards per pass attempt and 8.5 yards per rush, and also notched two pick sixes and one punt return for a touchdown. Ironically, the Conference USA single-game points record North Texas tied was set against… North Texas. Rice set the record back in 2008 by demolishing then-Sun Belt member North Texas 77-20. read more: http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/09/21/old-dominion-north-texas-made-conference-usa-history-on-saturday/

Old Dominion coach Bobby Wilder was in a peculiar situation just four years ago with a BCS title-winning coach sitting in his office. Forget the fact that he was still piecing together his plans for his football program, which at the time was just a year old, because he was more worried about the man in front of him — Larry Coker. Coker, who at the time was nine years removed from winning a national championship at Miami, was in Wilder’s office in Norfolk, Virginia for some advice on how to start a football program. A year earlier, Wilder and Old Dominion put the wheels in motion on the school’s new program, and Coker was looking to do the same at Texas-San Antonio. Weird coming from a coach who was once at the pinnacle of college football? Wilder thought so. Read more http://www.thenewsstar.com/article/20140730/SPORTS/307300040/UTSA-blueprint-paves-way-ODU-Charlotte

IRVING, Texas Payback can be hell. A week after Old Dominion cancelled a football game at UNC Charlotte slated for 2014, the 49ers retaliated by cancelling a game at ODU scheduled in less than four months. Charlotte officials called off a Nov. 16 game at ODU on Monday, said sources who attended Wednesday’s Conference USA football media day in suburban Dallas. Adding insult to injury, Charlotte replaced ODU on its schedule with James Madison, the Monarchs’ archrival the last two seasons in the Colonial Athletic Association. Charlotte and JMU will play on Sept. 21 in Harrisonburg and then in Charlotte in 2014, reported the Harrisonburg News Record. Meanwhile, Eastern Michigan and ODU have apparently agreed to a 2-game series. Eastern Michigan’s press guide indicates ODU will host the Mid-American Conference team on Sept. 13, 2014, then travel to Eastern Michigan on Sept. 5, 2015. ODU now has three of four non-conference games scheduled for both 2014 and 2015, including a home and home series with North Carolina State. ODU athletic director Wood Selig and coach Bobby Wilder declined comment on the Charlotte game. Charlotte coach Brad Lambert said he had no information on the 2013 game. However, the football press guide ODU distributed to the media Wednesday morning listed the opponent for Nov. 16 as “TBA” and did not list Charlotte among ODU’s opponents. The cancellation leaves ODU with the difficult task of finding a team to play on short notice. No Division I teams appear to have an open date on Nov. 16, so ODU may be forced to schedule a Division II or NAIA school. Read more: http://hamptonroads.com/2013/07/unc-charlotte-pulls-out-nov-game-against-odu

Old Dominion’s football program could receive a verbal commitment this week from a big-time prospect in Virginia Beach. Christian Byrum, a 3-star safety and wide receiver from Tallwood High School, is attending ODU’s team camp this week and said he may commit during camp. If so, it seems likely he would commit to ODU. Byrum would be the most highly-recruited prospect ever to commit to the Monarchs. When Byrum trimmed his list of finalists to six two weeks ago, many thought he included ODU as a courtesy. North Carolina State, Boston College, Syracuse and Duke of the ACC have offered him, as has Wisconsin of the Big Ten. So have East Carolina and Cincinnati of the American Athletic Conference. It’s not often that a Conference USA school – ODU joins C-USA in 2014 – beats four ACC teams for a recruit. It would be a first for ODU. Read more: http://hamptonroads.com/2013/07/odu-may-get-commitment-bigtime-recruit

Old Dominion has canceled a 2014 football game at UNC Charlotte, one of its future rivals in Conference USA, in an effort to strengthen its schedule, officials said on Tuesday. ODU is scheduled to host Charlotte on Nov. 16 in its final home game this season. ODU had been scheduled to play a return game in Charlotte on Oct. 25, 2014. However, ODU exercised a cancellation clause in the contract on Monday and must pay Charlotte $60,000, said ODU senior associate athletic director Bruce Stewart, who handles football scheduling for ODU. Stewart said when the two-game series was signed, both programs were slated to be in the Football Championship Subdivision in 2014. Read more: http://hamptonroads.com/2013/07/odu-cancels-2014-football-game-vs-charlotte

Let me start this by saying it’s very early in the college football recruiting process. Old Dominion has eight commitments so far from high school players, and the Monarchs hope to sign approximately 20 players this winter. So it’s hard to judge the class of 2014 with much accuracy. But so far, at least, ODU is doing what it needs to do to be competitive in Conference USA – it’s luring good recruits away from peer schools. ODU’s class is ranked among the best in Conference USA and, considering that ODU has yet to enter the Football Bowl Subdivision, surprisingly high among FBS schools. The 247 Sports recruiting Web site has ODU ranked 71st out of 118 FBS schools and third among the 16 schools in C-USA, behind No. 59 Rice and No. 70 Tulsa. ODU will join Conference USA and begins playing FBS football in 2014. While the Monarchs technically will be in the same NCAA classification as the ACC, SEC and the other power conferences, C-USA schools rarely beat the big boys for recruits. C-USA is at the same level as the American Athletic Conference (formerly known as the Big East), the Mid-American Conference, the Mountain West, and to a lesser extent, the Sun Belt. Those conferences largely compete for the same pool of players. Two years ago, ODU rarely beat a Big East or MAC team for recruits. ODU was content to snare the best recruits in the Mid-Atlantic away from Delaware, James Madison and Towson. However, half of ODU’s eight recruits this spring and summer had offers from American Athletic Conference and/or Mid-American Conference schools. The other half were recruited largely by FCS schools. Without speaking to individual recruits – something he can’t do under NCAA rules – recruiting coordinator Ron Whitcomb said the biggest difference between this year and last “is that we’re beating some teams that in the past we haven’t beaten very much. “We had a tough time against some of them.” Read more: http://hamptonroads.com/2013/07/odu-recruiting-well-against-its-football-peers

NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) - The countdown is now officially over. As of July 1, 2013, Old Dominion University begins a new era in its athletic history as a member of Conference USA. Gone is the Colonial Athletic Association. The Monarchs are one of eight institutions joining CUSA today, bringing the league’s membership for 2013-14 to 16 teams. Joining ODU as new members are Middle Tennessee, Louisiana Tech, Charlotte, Florida Atlantic, Florida International, North Texas and Texas San Antonio. East Carolina, Marshall, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Southern Mississippi, Tulane, Tulsa, Texas El Paso and Rice comprise the rest of the league membership. New Old Dominion basketball coach Jeff Jones stopped by the Hampton Roads Show to discuss the importance of this historic move for ODU. link to video interview: http://www.wavy.com/dpp/hr_show/odu-moves-up-to-cusa

Old Dominion is celebrating its ascent into Conference USA today by blasting e-mails to 50,000 alumni and fans, distributing cookies to the media and unveiling a new website. Men's basketball coach Jeff Jones will make rounds to local radio and television stations beginning at 6:30 this morning to promote ODU's new conference. He and senior associate athletic director Debbie White will also deliver cookies to area TV and radio stations and newspapers. At 12:01 this morning, e-mails were to be sent to 50,000 people who have purchased tickets to ODU events, alerting them to the conference change. Conference USA, meanwhile, has spent $7,350 to rent three billboards in Hampton Roads to welcome the Monarchs - on Interstate 64 in Hampton near the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel, on I-64 in Chesapeake near in the intersection with I-464 and on Monticello Avenue near downtown Norfolk. The video board at Nauticus has been welcoming Conference USA to Norfolk for nearly a week. Read more: http://hamptonroads.com/2013/06/odu-making-sure-its-move-cusa-gets-noticed

Current Monarchs in the pros ODU has produced arguably, the best pitcher in Major League Baseball. Justin Verlander, who finished his college career as ODUs all-time strikeout leader, has been playing for the Detroit Tigers since 2005. The seven-year, $180 million deal he signed with the Tigers this past March makes him the highest paid pitcher in MLB history. Verlander has had quite the prolific MLB career so far. He led the MLB in strikeouts in 2009, 2011 and 2012 and won Rookie of the Year in 2006, among many other accolades. Arizona Diamondbacks starter Daniel Hudson is also an ODU alumnus. But following two successful campaigns in 2010-2011, Hudson has been unable to stay healthy for the last two years. Since last July, he has undergone Tommy John Surgery twice. As for the basketball program, Kent Bazemore is one of the most notable alumni. In 2011, he won the Lefty Driesell Awardan award given to the best defensive player in the NCAA. After graduating, he went undrafted and now plays for the Golden State Warriors. Bazemores career highlight thus far came in the 2013 playoffs, where he scored a go-ahead basket in the final seconds of double overtime against the eventual Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs. Background Located in Norfolk, VA, ODU has an undergraduate student body of over 18,000. The schools name stems from one of the states nicknamesThe Old Dominionwhich was given to Virginia for remaining loyal to the Englands King Charles II during the English Civil War. The Monarchs spent 22 years as one of the most recognizable schools of the CAA. Read more: http://eastcarolina.scout.com/2/1303996.html

The most far-reaching change in Old Dominion University's athletic history began with a relaxed conversation on April Fool's Day 2012 in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Athletic Director Wood Selig and his counterpart at Virginia Commonwealth, Norwood Teague, were in the lobby of the Marriott Hotel between rounds of the men's basketball Final Four when Teague's face suddenly grew serious. He leaned toward Selig and hit him with the news: VCU would likely be leaving the Colonial Athletic Association to join the Atlantic 10, and so might George Mason. "I didn't want you to be blindsided." At the time, ODU was firmly committed to the CAA, where it had been a member since 1991. The league had four strong rivals in Virginia, and ODU's men's and women's basketball teams had thrived. Moving to the top tier of NCAA football was something ODU officials figured eventually would happen, though not for many years. Now, Selig was learning that the league Old Dominion considered home was about to unravel. VCU and George Mason weren't just strong rivals; both had recently sent their teams to the men's basketball Final Four. "The nature of the conference, of the people we would compete against in the future, was about to change," Selig said. Teague's revelation set off a frenetic 6-1/2 weeks in which ODU officials would reassess the school's entire athletic future. In that short span, they reached out to half a dozen prospective new conferences, met commissioners and quietly flew league officials into Norfolk to keep their search for a new home secret. Whatever the school decided would potentially affect 26,000 students, 120,000 alumni, 4,500 employees and tens of thousands of residents of Hampton Roads. Yet, the decision ultimately would fall on the shoulders of just one man: ODU President John Broderick. And in the end, Broderick made the bold choice to join a far-flung league that offers both potential and risks. Read more: http://hamptonroads.com/2013/06/lot-work-not-much-time-odus-big-move

NORFOLK Old Dominion athletic director Wood Selig says he's been encouraging Conference USA officials to invite James Madison to join the league, a possibility that seems more plausible now than even a few weeks ago. C-USA commissioner Britt Banowsky told CBS Sports on Monday the league is considering expanding by two to 16 schools in 2014. "We've modeled it at 16, and it does kind of create some divisions that are a little more geographically connected," Banowsky said. "I think, personally, a larger conference is better because you get some efficiencies." Media reports have indicated that Arkansas State and Louisiana-Lafayette from the Sun Belt Conference are the most likely C-USA expansion candidates. However, Selig said he supports expansion only if it results in at least one more member from the Southeast. JMU is the only likely candidate from this region. JMU officials also appear more open to leaving the Colonial Athletic Association and moving up to the Football Bowl Subdivision. JMU officials said they were committed to the CAA last year when ODU and Georgia State announced they were leaving to move up to FBS and Virginia Commonwealth exited for the Atlantic 10. But after the recent announcement that George Mason was also leaving for the A-10, JMU officials announced they had hired a consultant to assist in creating a "comprehensive strategic plan" for JMU's athletic future. The consultant's report isn't expected to be finished until this summer. "I'm not going to pretend that I know what's best for JMU," Selig said. "This is an issue for JMU's leadership to decide. But from the outside looking in, they appear to have everything that an institution needs to be successful in FBS. "When I've been asked by other athletic directors within Conference USA about James Madison, I have been very supportive of JMU. They've been casual conversations. A lot of people in Conference USA don't know a lot about JMU. As we continue to try and add a presence in the southeast in Conference USA, JMU seems like a natural." Read more: http://hamptonroads.com/2013/04/odu-eyes-jmu-potential-future-conference-usa-invite

Losing East Carolina, which along with Tulane announced earlier this week that it was joining the Big East, was a huge blow to Conference USA. There’s no way to sugarcoat that news, and frankly, most C-USA officials didn’t try. The Pirates have the most rabid football following in the league, who loyally fill Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium’s 50,000 seats. The Pirates have a long tradition of winning. And for Old Dominion, especially, it was a tough loss. ECU is the closest Football Bowl Subdivision team to Norfolk. Officials envisioned a spirited rivalry between the two schools when the Monarchs begin playing C-USA football in 2014. Yet C-USA officials reacted quickly, adding Middle Tennessee State and Florida Atlantic on Wednesday, and in the process, improved the league's television profile. The league added two pretty good football programs. Middle Tennessee has the Sun Belt’s best team. The Blue Raiders have won the Sun Belt Conference all-sports trophy eight times and their football team, 8-3 entering its regular-season finale on Saturday, upset Georgia Tech in Atlanta. Florida Atlantic, also from the Sun Belt, opened a breathtakingly beautiful $70 million, 30,000-seat stadium on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean in 2011 and although 3-8 this season, has won two bowl games. Neither has the football resume of ECU, but both programs will be stronger than Tulane, a C-USA bottom feeder whose games at the Louisiana Superdome draw embarrassingly small crowds. Big East officials touted the New Orleans media market when they welcomed the Green Wave. But having lived in New Orleans as a child, and having visited there a dozen times since, I can tell you that Tulane is but a footnote in New Orleans market. The Saints and Hornets and LSU football are all the rage in the Big Easy. Read more: http://hamptonroads.com/2012/11/conference-usa-responded-well-it-could-have

Read more: http://www.dailypress.com/sports/teel-blog/dp-teel-time-odu-basketball-cusa,0,1403162.story?track=rss

Read more: http://www.dailypress.com/sports/dp-spt-teel-column-odu-cusa-20120506,0,4331219.column

Read more: http://boards.caazone.com/showthread.php?120338-How-a-21-year-old-would-view-this-potential-jump-to-CUSA

Five schools set to join Conference USA have scheduled news conferences for today, when the league is expected to announce expansion plans that will increase membership to 13. Texas-San Antonio's move was approved Thursday by University of Texas System regents. People familiar with the league's plans said North Texas, Charlotte, Louisiana Tech and Florida International also would be joining. A potential 14th member, Old Dominion, won't be part of the unveiling, sources said late Thursday. School officials have requested time to mull an offer that would provide many benefits - most notably a higher national profile and membership in a Football Bowl Subdivision conference - but also a jump in expenses. It was unclear Thursday how long C-USA's offer might remain on the table. A source within the conference said conference officials are likely to say today that they would like to add a 14th member but won't identify whom they are considering or how long it might take. Timing could be tricky for ODU, which had begun thinking in general terms about a move from the Colonial Athletic Association and the Football Championship Subdivision to FBS down the road but hasn't had time to complete a detailed analysis of the pros and cons when the offer was tendered, sources said. Read more: http://hamptonroads.com/2012/05/five-say-yes-odu-still-says-maybe-conference-usa

Old Dominion is studying a move to a reconfigured Conference USA, sources say, and has discussed membership with a number of different leagues, according to athletic director Wood Selig. ODU recently has hosted Conference USA officials on campus as part of discussions about joining the all-sports league, which presently stretches from the mid-Atlantic region south to Florida and Alabama and west to Texas and Oklahoma. Sources confirmed that a CBSSports.com report that had ODU among six schools joining Conference USA wasn't entirely accurate. Conference USA is losing four members to the Big East Conference, leaving the league with eight members for 2013, including East Carolina. But C-USA officials want to expand to 14 schools. By the end of the week, they plan to announce the addition of five schools: Charlotte of the Atlantic 10, Florida International and North Texas State of the Sun Belt and Louisiana Tech and Texas San Antonio of the Western Athletic Conference. Conference USA is losing four members to the Big East Conference, leaving the league with eight members for 2013, including East Carolina. But C-USA officials want to expand to 14 schools. By the end of the week, they plan to announce the addition of five schools: Charlotte of the Atlantic 10, Florida International and North Texas State of the Sun Belt and Louisiana Tech and Texas San Antonio of the Western Athletic Conference. Old Dominion, a member of the Colonial Athletic Association since 1991, is on the table. But a source said that the Monarchs were granted an extension in order to allow the school's leadership, including the Board of Visitors, to weigh a possible conference jump. The length of the extension is unclear, but C-USA officials have other potential targets for the 14th member. Middle Tennessee State of the Sun Belt Conference is most often mentioned. Read more: http://www.dailypres...0,4681537.story

Let's hear your thought Mean Greeners!

All across the country there will be seven celebratory press conferences Friday to announce a school is moving to another conference in 2013. Florida International, North Texas, Texas San Antonio, Louisiana Tech and Charlotte are joining Conference USA in 2013, while San Jose State and Utah State are headed to the Mountain West. While those seven are moving on up, Old Dominion remains undecided whether to upgrade from the Colonial Athletic Association to Conference USA. An ODU spokeswoman told CBSSports.com Thursday afternoon the school would not be holding a press conference Friday related to its conference future. Later in the day, the school released the following statement: "Recent reports of conference realignment across the country have heightened our attention to focus on one of the primary goals of our intercollegiate athletic strategic plan, which is to continually assess the changing landscape of Division I athletics," the statement said. Read more: http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/blog/brett-mcmurphy/18954539

Read more: http://boards.caazon...s-to-go-to-CUSA

Old Dominion Wiki Link Official University Site Official Athletics Site Fan Site