Dec. 6, 2011
NORFOLK, Va. - Old Dominion head coach Bobby Wilder was named National Coach of the Year and punter Jonathan Plisco (Newport News, Va.) was named Second Team All-American by College Sports Madness, it was announced Tuesday.
In just the third season of the program and first in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA), Wilder helped the Monarchs rank as high as No. 9 in the national polls and tie for second place in the CAA after being selected 10th in the pre-season coaches poll. A nominee for the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year award, Wilder has guided the winningest start-up FCS program in history to a 27-8 overall mark in his three seasons at the helm.
Wilder's Monarchs earned regular season wins over Campbell, Georgia State, Hampton and CAA foes James Madison, William and Mary, Villanova, Massachusetts, Richmond and Rhode Island, while falling to Delaware and CAA champion Towson in games where the Monarchs held leads late into the fourth quarter. ODU garnered its first ever FCS playoff birth in year number three as the Monarchs defeated Norfolk State in the first round of the post-season before advancing to play Georgia Southern in the second round.
After the team earned no individual preseason All-CAA honors, Wilder's team earned 11 all-conference distinctions led by CAA Defensive Player of the Year Ronnie Cameron.
Plisco earns All-America status again after receiving three All-America distinctions as a freshman - First Team All-American by the Associated Press, a Second Team All-American by The Sports Network, and earned Honorable Mention status by The College Sporting News. One of four Monarchs named First Team All-CAA, Plisco leads the CAA and ranks second in the nation averaging 46.2 yards per punt. Of his 51 punts on the year, 20 went the distance of 50 yards or more and 12 were placed inside the opponent 20.
Click here to see the College Sports Madness All-American teams.