General information
Location: Norfolk, Va.
Founded: 1930 (as the Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary)
Enrollment: 24,753
Nickname: Monarchs/Lady Monarchs
President: John R. Broderick
Athletics Director: Dr. Wood Selig
Football Facility: S.B. Ballard Stadium (20,068)
Basketball Facility: Ted Constant Convocation Center (8,472)
Media Market: No. 43 Norfolk-Portsmouth-Newport News (718,750 TV households)
Sponsored Sports: 17
Men (8) — baseball, basketball, football, golf, soccer, swimming & diving, tennis, wrestling
Women (8) — basketball, field hockey, golf, lacrosse, rowing, soccer, swimming & diving, tennis
Coed (1) — sailing
On the Web
University: odu.edu
Athletics: ODUSports.com
Facebook: ODUSports
Twitter: @ODUSports
Prominent facts
· Old Dominion has an enrollment of 24,753 and sponsors 17 intercollegiate sports.
· The Monarchs football program has sold out every game since restarting the program in 2009 after a 69-year absence.
· ODU invested more than $55 million for the startup of football in 2009, including a $24 million renovation of Ballard Stadium and construction of a 800-car parking deck; $17.5 million for the Powhatan Sports Complex, which includes offices, strength & conditioning, athletics training and two Field Turf practice fields; and Title IX enhancements, including the start up of women’s rowing and the construction of the ODU Boathouse, as well as field hockey and lacrosse offices and playing facilities.
· The football program is the most successful start-up in Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) history, posting a 9-2 record in 2009, 8-3 mark in 2010 and 10-3 ledger in 2012 while advancing to the second round of the FCS playoffs.
· Old Dominion has had 42 alumni and coaches represent the United States or their native country in the Olympics since 1960.
· The Folkes-Stevens Tennis Center, completed in 2008, was voted the No. 1 tennis facility in the state of Virginia in 2011.
· The Ted Constant Convocation Center opened its doors in 2002 and it has served as the site of six NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournaments, including the 2012 NCAA Women’s Basketball Regionals. The arena was voted among the top mid-size arenas in the world in 2011.
· ODU has a long history of hosting NCAA events and it hosted the NCAA Field Hockey Final Four in 2012 and '13. It also has served as the site of the first two NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournaments in 1982 and '83. Alumnae Anne Donovan and Nancy Lieberman are both inductees in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Notable alumni
· Ben Bailey — Host, Cash Cab
· Cal Bowdler — Former National Basketball Association player and first-round draft pick
· Michael Bloomfield — Space Shuttle and ISS Astronaut
· Anne Donovan — First Women’s Naismith College Player of the Year in 1983, 1995 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, two-time Olympic gold medalist — both as a player and coach — and current Women's National Basketball Association Coach
· Chris Gatling — Former National Basketball Association player and first-round draft pick
· Mills E. Godwin Jr. — Two-term Governor of Virginia
· Jay Harris — ESPN SportsCenter anchor
· Wilbert James Jr. — President, Toyota Motor Manufacturing
· Nancy Lieberman — Women's basketball player and coach, 1976 Olympics silver medalist, 2000 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee
· Tommy Newsom — Assistant director of The Tonight Show band
· Beth Polson — Emmy award-winning producer of the Barbara Walters Specials
· Oliver Purnell — Head men’s basketball coach, DePaul
· Kenneth Samet — President & CEO, MedStar Health, which is the largest not-for-profit health care delivery system in the Baltimore/Washington, D.C. region
· Deborah Shelton — 1970 Miss USA and actress
· Anna Tunnicliffe — 2008 Olympic gold medalist for USA Sailing
· Justin Verlander — Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player, American League Cy Young Award-winning and All-Star pitcher for the Detroit Tigers
· Mark West — Former National Basketball Association player and current Vice President of Player Programs for the Phoenix Suns