NORFOLK, Va. - Old Dominion University President John Broderick has announced that Women’s Volleyball would be added to the athletic department in time for the 2020 fall season. The announcement came Wednesday at the President’s annual State of the University address.
“With the privately-funded Mitchum Basketball Performance Center now online, we have created the space in the Jarrett Athletic Building to move forward with this project”, Broderick stated. “Volleyball will be an exciting addition for our student-athletes, their classmates and the entire community.”
“ODU was the first college or University in the Commonwealth to offer athletic scholarships to women” said Director of Athletics Wood Selig. “We have been a champion for women’s athletics over the course of our intercollegiate athletic history. Adding indoor volleyball is the first step for ODU to join the ranks of Division I women’s volleyball while also joining a very competitive league in C-USA.”
The head coach and two assistants will be hired in January of 2019. The first student-athlete volleyball recruits will be enrolled for the Fall semester of 2019. In all the women’s volleyball program will provide 12 scholarships.
Selig added “We are fortunate to have outstanding high school volleyball locally so we anticipate being able to recruit well within the region, while also enjoying considerable fan and donor support.”
The Monarch volleyball team will play its’ home matches in the gymnasium at the Jim Jarrett Athletic Administration Building or at the Ted Constant Convocation Center. The first action will be in late August of 2020. The team will compete in Conference USA.
Women’s volleyball will become the 10th women’s sport at Old Dominion and the 19th sport overall.