University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Getting to Know...Old Dominion
7/12/2016 12:00:00 AM | Football
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- The countdown is on as your Golden Eagles prepare for the 2016 Football season! The Golden Eagles and Monarchs take the field in Norfolk, Virginia on Foreman Field at S.B. Ballard Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 12 at 2:30 p.m. CT.
This is the third installment in a series of getting to know the 2016 Southern Miss football opponents that will run until the start of the football season.
Getting to Know...Old Dominion
General Information:
Location: Norfolk, Va.
Founded: 1930
Enrollment: 24,942
Nickname: Monarchs
President: John R. Broderick
Athletics Director: Dr. Camden Wood Selig
Colors: Slate Blue, Silver and Light Blue
Athletics Website: www.ODUSports.com
Institution Website: www.odu.edu
Twitter (Athletics): @ODUSports
Twitter (Football): @ODUFootball
Football Information:
Primary Offense: Spread
Primary Defense: 4-3
Letterwinners (Returning / Lost): 42/14
Starters (Returning / Lost): 19/7
Offense: 9/2
Defense: 8/3
Specialist: 2/2
Head Coach:
When he was hired on February 13, 2007, Bobby Wilder's goal was to "AIM HIGH" in everything he did in resurrecting the Old Dominion football team from a 69-year absence. From 2009-2013, the Monarchs competed in the FCS going 38-10 under Wilder's leadership. In his 6th year, Wilder's Monarchs crossed over into FBS in the C-USA Eastern Division going 6-6 on the season and 4-4 in conference play. In 2015, the Monarchs went 5-7 overall and 3-5 in conference play.
Impact Players
Offense: Junior RB Ray Lawry is the difference maker for the Monarch offense. He splashed onto the scene in only his second game as a freshman with three touchdowns and 71 yards rushing against NC State. That game set the tone for his next two years as a Monarch. In 2014, he averaged 78.9 yards a game and 7.1 yards per carry while racking up 968 yards on the season with 16 touchdowns. He set the school record for single-season rushing yards and was named the Conference USA Freshman of the Year. In 2015, Lawry accumulated 1,165 yards on the season in 194 attempts. He averaged 103.3 yards per game with 5.9 yards per carry and 11 touchdowns on the season. He is a workhorse forces the defense to stay home and open up passing lanes for Bentley or Washington. While the Monarchs try to establish one of their quarterbacks, Shuler Bentley (So.) or David Washington (Sr.), Lawry provides stability and identity for the offense.
Defense:
Senior LB TJ Ricks is the heart of the ODU defense. After walking on as a redshirt freshman, he has played in all of Old Dominion's games since 2013. He is fourth in school history with 221 career tackles. He led the Conference with 123 total tackles (47 solo/76 assists) in 2015 and was later named Second Team All-Conference USA along with being named a Semi-Finalist for the Brandon Burlsworth Trophy. He recorded six tackles against the Golden Eagles in their last meeting and will be a key factor in this year's game.
Football Stadium:
Foreman Field at S.B. Ballard Stadium was named after Norfolk attorney A.H. Foreman, a member of William and Mary's board of visitors and one of the founders of the Norfolk Division of William & Mary, which later became Old Dominion University. Originally intended as the home of the Norfolk Division football program, it found new life as the home to other college and community sports programs when football was originally dropped in 1941. Built in 1936, with state and federal funds provided during the Great Depression, Foreman Field underwent a $24.8 million dollar renovation in 2008-09 with the help of SB Ballard Construction Company and Clark Nexsen Architecture and Engineering.
About Norfolk:
Old Dominion is located in an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia, Norfolk. Norfolk is the second-most populous city in Virginia and is one of the nine cities and seven counties that constitute the Hampton Road metro area. The city is bordered to the west by the Elizabeth River and to the north by the Chesapeake Bay. Norfolk is rich in history and the city is known as a strategic military and transportation point. The largest navy base in the world, Naval Station Norfolk, is located within the city as well. The city was burned down during the Revolutionary War and, after the war, the town was rebuilt in Federal style based on Roman architecture. The city is also rich in art and culture with museums and major performing arts companies. Old Dominion students can relax on the weekend while having a picnic, or walking the beautiful Town Point Park.
Notable Alumni:
*Ben Bailey -- Host of Cash Cab
*Kent Bazemore -- Member of the Atlanta Hawks
*Michael Bloomfield -- Space Shuttle and ISS Astronaut
*Cal Bowdler -- Former first-round draft pick of the Atlanta Hawks
*Anne Donovan -- Women's basketball player; 1983 Naismith College Player of the Year (the first female to win that award); gold medalist as a player in the Summer Olympics in 1984 and 1988; coached the gold medal team in 2008; inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1995
*Justin Verlander -- Pitcher for the Detroit Tigers, Cy Young Award winner and six-time All-Star
*Nancy Lieberman -- women's basketball player, inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1996, Silver medalist in the 1976 Summer Olympics and two-time (1979 and 1980) Wade Trophy recipient
