Old Dominion Monarchs football
| Old Dominion Monarchs football | |||
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| First season | 1930 (restarted in 2009) | ||
| Head coach |
Bobby Wilder 9th year, 67–30 (.691) |
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| Stadium | Foreman Field at S.B. Ballard Stadium | ||
| Seating capacity | 20,118 | ||
| Field surface | AstroTurf GameDay Grass 3D | ||
| Location | Norfolk, Virginia | ||
| Conference | C-USA | ||
| Division | East | ||
| All-time record | 109–66–4 (.620) | ||
| Bowl record | 1–0 (1.000) | ||
| Playoff appearances | 2 | ||
| Playoff record | 2–2 | ||
| Consensus All-Americans | 7 (since 2009) | ||
| Colors | Slate Blue, Silver, and Light Blue |
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| Fight song | Victory for Old Dominion | ||
| Mascot | Big Blue (lion) | ||
| Website | odusports.com | ||
The Old Dominion Monarchs football team is the college football program for Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. The first iteration of the team created in 1930 was known as the William & Mary Norfolk Division Braves. The current Monarchs founded in 2009 compete at the FBS level. Beginning in the 2011 season, they joined the Colonial Athletic Association and added conference games to their schedule, prior to 2011 the team was Independent. On July 1, 2014, Old Dominion football joined Conference USA, FBS, (their other sports joined on July 1, 2013).
According to sports historian Peter Stewart, in September 1930 a reporter asked Coach Tommy Scott whether the Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary should have a football team. Scott answered that he had not thought of having one, but within two days a team was "put together hurriedly" and began playing other small colleges. In late December 1932 the team played the University of Miami Hurricanes in Miami, after the four-year college sent an invitation to William & Mary which the two-year Norfolk Division accidentally received. The college played football for eleven seasons (1930–1940), with a record of 42–36–4. The program was discontinued due to a rule against freshman players, a $10,000 debt, and accreditation issues. The team lost every game in its last season, attendance was small, and Stewart believes that World War II would likely have forced the program to end regardless of other reasons.
According to Senior Associate Athletic Director Debbie White, ODU had tried several times to restart a football team. The university wanted to improve ties to alumni, who often stated in exit interviews before graduation their wish for an ODU football team, and rarely revisited the campus. On June 14, 2005, the Board of Visitors approved with a 14–0 vote to create a new football team to compete at the NCAA Division I level, along with university's other sports teams, and to begin play in 2009. On February 9, 2007, Athletic Director Jim Jarrett announced that Bobby Wilder, then the associate head football coach at the University of Maine, would be the head coach, and the team signed its first recruiting class in 2008. As is the case with many new football programs, all players in 2008 were redshirted. These players, along with the recruiting class of 2009 and transfer players comprised the initial 2009 roster.
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