By Harry Minium
NORFOLK, Va. - Athletic director Wood Selig stepped to the podium last Thursday night at Virginia Beach Town Center, and without notes, spoke passionately for more than an hour to more than 60 of the University's major donors.
His topic? Old Dominion has to raise more money if the football program is going to be successful. ODU, he said, needs $5 million to supplement the football budget over the next five years.
That wasn't necessarily an easy sell. Donors were a little tapped out after the Old Dominion Athletic Foundation raised $10 million for the $67.5 million renovation of Kornblau Field at S.B. Ballard Stadium.
And ODU was, after all, coming off of a season in which the Monarchs went 1-11.
But it showed that depth of commitment and passion of ODU's fans that Selig received verbal commitments on the spot from several donors for nearly $2 million. Others also pledged to give money, but haven't decided how much just yet.
"It's pretty clear to me that we're going to reach the $5 million we need," Selig said. "Our donors responded in impressive fashion."
Ricky Rahne agrees, and the former Penn State offensive coordinator said that's one of the reasons he agreed to become ODU's next coach.
"That's so impressive," Rahne said. "It shows there is an incredible amount of passion for ODU football in this community."
Rahne (pronounced Ronnie) accepted the ODU job on Monday, and made his ODU debut of sorts during a 90-minute press event Wednesday morning at the Priority Club at S.B. Ballard Stadium.
Speaking before a crowd of more than 300 members of the media, school officials and fans at the luxury club, he said all the right things.
He praised former coach Bobby Wilder, who departed after 13 years at ODU last week, and promised his team would work hard and eventually win championships.
He was humble but self-assured and articulate behind the microphone, and later, when he faced six television cameras and then five members of the print media.
He came across as mature, in charge and psyched about rebuilding ODU football, even at the young age of 39.
And he wasn't afraid to show his emotions, especially when he introduced his family.
He teared up and his voice broke up momentarily when talking about wife Jennifer and sons Ryder and Jake.
Amazingly, he pronounced Norfolk correctly – "Nawfuk."
He said he's committed to helping promote ODU to donors, fans and the community and indicated he plans to stay in Norfolk a while.
"I want to be a part of the 757 community," he said.
Selig said the fund-raising effort is a necessary part of making ODU football competitive again. ODU's football budget has basically been flat in recent years and hasn't kept up with some peer schools in Conference USA.
Of the $1 million, about $500,000 will go to supplement the salaries of assistant coaches, and will increase that salary pool by almost a third. That will bring ODU within the top three schools in the league in total expenditures for assistant coaches.
The rest will go to supplement Rahne's salary with a good chunk of money left over for ODU to spend on recruiting, equipment upgrades and facilities improvements in the L.R. Hill Football Complex.
Rahne will be paid about $750,000 and will receive a five-year deal that will include performance incentives. Most of his salary will come from private funds and no tax money is involved.
Rahne said he was contacted by a consulting group last week about the ODU job – former Virginia athletic director Craig Littlepage and Drew Turner, a former fundraiser at ODAF, were part of that firm.
Rahne fired up his computer and spent hours researching ODU. He already knew a lot about ODU, having been here for several of Wilder's satellite camps.
"I wanted to see if you can win here," Rahne said. "Is it feasible to win here?
"I very quickly found out that you absolutely can win here, that this program has so much potential."
The only question he had, he said, was whether the administration at ODU was savvy and truly committed to football. That question was answered when he visited ODU this past weekend.
He said a meeting with some of ODU's senior athletic employees – Selig, Mike Hermann, Bruce Stewart, Jena Virga, Carolyn Crutchfield and Randale Richmond "sent this over the top for me," he said.
"I knew they were interviewing me, but quite frankly, I was so impressed with them that I could see myself being successful here with their help."
He also met with President John R. Broderick for an hour.
"I was so impressed with the President. He spent an hour with me. I'm not sure people appreciate how knowledgeable he is about athletics."
Broderick joined Selig and Stewart, the senior associate athletic director who oversees football, as a three-person search committee of sorts. He spent hours with candidates and more hours of discussions with Selig and Stewart.
In the end, Selig said, they all agreed that Rahne was the first choice.
"We had a superb list of people interested in this job and we were challenged in a good way to find the best fit," President Broderick said.
"Ricky Rahne checked every box for me. His commitment to his players earning degrees. His commitment to have his players be engaged on campus and in the community and his commitment to build a winning football program.
"We had a difficult choice to make but I'm convinced we found the right man and family to lead this program. I know Ricky Rahne will prove to be the right choice."
Rahne touched on a plethora of subjects and rather than interpret them for you, here's what he said:
Rahne talked at length about his coaching style, which he has often described as "affirmative coaching."
"Football is a tough game played by tough people. But in the end it must be played with passion that can only be created through love.
"I love this game and will surround myself with young men and coaches who feel the same way.
"When a kid drops a ball, you don't yell at him, 'catch the ball.' What kind of coaching is that? Something caused that young man to drop that football. You give him some affirmative coaching in what that player should do next time to succeed.
"Now, it's not all sunshine and rainbows. I'm a pretty fiery person as anyone who's seen me at Penn State practices knows. I'm going to demand that our players have that same fire."
On the four core values of his program at ODU:
"A positive attitude. I believe every situation in our life can be viewed in one of two ways. It's an opportunity or an obstacle.
"The way you look at a situation is a choice. A positive opportunity allows you to attack problems and see them as opportunities to do something worthwhile.
"Work ethic. No one will work harder than me. The ability to work hard is a choice. Hard work allows a person to know they've earned the right to win.
"Compete. I believe in keeping score and the world does, too. We're going to keep score in everything we do. Our players will display a relentless competitive fire in everything they do, from practice to the classroom to community involvement and to Kornblau Field.
"Our players will display a burning fire that will make Monarch Nation proud.
"Sacrifice. Nothing in this world has ever been achieved without sacrifice. We must be able to forego a little pleasure now to be able to win a championship later."
His message to his players, with whom he met Tuesday afternoon:
"This is our program, not mine. I wanted to make sure they knew that. They're not only part of the program, they are the program. They're the guys on the field. I'm not going to be making plays. They are.
"I encouraged them to finish strong in the classroom. I talked to them about how hard I expect them to work. And I told them I want to have an open dialogue. I gave them my cell number. I've been able to meet with some of them individually.
"We've got a great group of young men who are going to be very successful."
How did they react?
"The reaction has been good. A lot of guys have been texting me. I've got to earn their respect. I understand that. They've had a head coach here for a long time that they respected and I understand that.
"But I told them that they've got to buy in if we're going to be successful. If you're half in and half out, it's not going to work."
What should fans expect from ODU next season?
"They're going to see a team that plays very hard and that is very physical. Our players will compete on every single play. And the fans are going to be proud of the team we put out there because of the young men we put on the field but also how hard they will play. They will embody this community.
"I'm excited about filling (S.B. Ballard Stadium) up. My wife said the other day, 'this place is going to be rocking'.
"If we play an overtime game, we will play at the end of the stadium where our students are. We want out students to be involved with the program."
Would he be interested in taking ODU for a game to Penn State and does he believe in general to playing elite Power 5 schools on the road?
"If we play at Penn State, my question is going to be, 'how much are you going to pay us?'
"We'll go there. I want those types of games because our team will be ready for us.
"Playing Penn State would be hard on coach Franklin's kids and my kids. The first thing his children asked coach Franklin when he told them I was leaving was 'are we going to play them because I don't want to.
"But to play in a stadium with 107,000 fans, I guarantee you that's an experience you will never forget. I want our players to have those opportunities."
He was asked about how quickly he wants to fill out his 10-member coaching staff given that ODU is hosting recruits this weekend and the early signing period begins next Wednesday:
"I would rather have an empty spot right now than to bring someone in as a coach who doesn't fit our program or our University.
"There is a second signing period in February and about 35 percent of college recruits don't sign in November.
"We've got to have the right people here both as players and coaches. We're not going to rush. We're going to take our time and make the right choices."
He added that the staff likely won't be complete until early January, when the bowl games and FCS playoff games are complete and the NFL season is nearly over.
Will you consider any of Wilder's assistants, including run-game coordinator and former Virginia Tech offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring or defensive coordinator David Blackwell, who greatly improved ODU's defensive play in 2019:
"I am considering a number of people on the staff. There are some very good football coaches on that staff and I owe it to myself and Old Dominion to go through that process."
Will you coach Penn State's Cotton Bowl game against Memphis and what was PSU coach James Franklin's reaction to him coming to ODU?
"He knows my loyalty now is to Old Dominion. I will always want Penn State to be successful. I hope they win their bowl game by 100 points. But we both knew that I needed to be here right away to start the process here.
"We talk about going 1-0 every day and it's awfully hard to go 1-0 when you're working for two schools.
"Coach Franklin was instrumental in helping me get this job and he made sure Old Dominion knew I can handle this job. I owe an incredible amount to him. He was the exact man he told me he was going to be (when they met 11 years ago) and I'm not sure you can say thing better about a human being than that."
You've never been a head coach. Are you ready for this?
"That's the question you always get asked, are you ready. I'm absolutely ready. But it's a bit like being a parent. You say you are ready and someone hands you a live human being and holy mackerel, I'm responsible for him.
"There are going to be things that pop up that I hadn't anticipated. That's a fact. But there are things that coach Franklin experiences that he hasn't anticipated.
"I have a great moral compass and that's the first place to start. I have a bunch of friends who have already been head coaches that I can lean on. (Nebraska coach) Scott Frost and I were GA's together at Kansas State. I talk with coach Franklin five times per day."
Have you seen game film from the 2019 season yet?
"I haven't had time yet. Some of the others I'm thinking about bringing on as coaches have. They've done deep dives. That's the kind of coaches I'm thinking about bringing on.
"Obviously, I've seen the numbers and there are stats we need to correct.
"We need to do a better job of protecting the football. We scored touchdowns 37 percent of our times in the red zone and that's not going to get it done. We need to be near 72 percent.
"The defense needs to cause a little bit more disruption, more sacks and turnovers. And we've got to be better in red zone defense.
"I believe in explosive plays on offense and our team needs to be explosive.
"Explosive plays are runs of 12 yards or more and passes of 15 yards. We want 15.4 percent of our plays on offense to be explosive and limit that that to less than 10 percent on defense."
On recruiting the 757, something ODU hasn't been able to do well in recent years:
"There is a great deal of talent here and we will focus on that. But we need to recruit all over Virginia.
"All 10 of my assistants will recruit a portion of Virginia. We need to take care of the areas within a six-hour drive from here to Charlotte to the Washington, D.C., Baltimore area.
"And we're going to recruit New Jersey. I know players will come to Old Dominion from New Jersey."
Both Rahne and Broderick paid homage to Wilder, who helped found the program and coached the Monarchs for 11 seasons.
Broderick began the press conference reminding people that while they were there to honor Rahne, they should remember that "the foundation for our new house was built by Bobby Wilder.
"None of us should lose sight of his contributions that really got us to this next evolution where we are today."
Rahne said "I've known coach Wilder for a while and he's a great man.
"I want to thank him for what he's done to build this program into what it is. I look forward to being able to take it to the next level . . . and bringing championships to S.B. Ballard Stadium."
If you are interested in helping ODU's $5 million fundraising effort for football, contact the Old Dominion Athletic Foundation at 757-683-6963.
Contact Minium: hminium@odu.edu
Minium: Ricky Rahne Says His ODU Football Teams Will Play Hard and Will Win Championships
