By Harry Minium
First, let's celebrate the good news. There will be men's and women's basketball this season at Chartway Arena.
Old Dominion hasn't played a game or match in any sport since early March, when the COVID-19 pandemic shut down much of the nation and, for a time, all of NCAA college sports.
That was eight long months ago.
Although students returned to campus this fall, ODU officials made the difficult decision to shut down all fall sports. But winter approaches and that inactivity ends on Wednesday, Nov. 25, when the ODU men's basketball team travels to the University of Maryland, the University announced late Thursday.
Three days later, the Monarchs open at home against William & Mary on Saturday, Nov. 28.
ODU plays eight non-conference games with six on the road, including Dec. 2 at Norfolk State and a two-night stop at VCU on Dec. 12-13 in Richmond that includes a game against the Rams and another against George Mason.
ODU men's basketball scheduled announced
The ODU women open at home on Thursday, Dec. 3, also against the Tribe, and will play their first seven games at home, including Saturday, Dec. 5, against VCU (the Monarchs might add one more opponent).
That Dec. 3 game will be historic because it will mark DeLisha Milton-Jones' debut as ODU's coach. It will be intriguing to see the changes she's made. Hint: in practice, they have been playing relentless defense and an up-tempo offense.
The transition to a new head coach, a new system, a different personality running the show, has all been hampered by the pandemic and some lingering injuries, but Milton-Jones said the team has made great progress.
"I want our fans to be excited about the product that we put on the court," she said, adding that in spite of the pandemic, "we need the support of our fans in a big way."
ODU women's basketball schedule announced
Both the men and women had anticipated playing very difficult schedules but the pandemic set everything back a year. Most games originally scheduled for this season will be played in 2021-22 instead. That forced both coaches scramble to find games.
The ODU men return to Maryland in two seasons and Norfolk State also plays a return game at Chartway Arena in 2022-23. The two-game series with both the Terps and Spartans make financial sense. Maryland will send ODU a check for both games in College Park and no money is being exchanged for the home-and-home series with NSU.
ODU usually pays an MEAC school about $50,000 for a home game, so when the Spartans return to Norfolk, the Monarchs will save $50,000, plus have an opponent who sold out Chartway Arena the last time the teams met there.
The men only have two home games before the New Year, but the second is one I've long waited to see on ODU's schedule: Virginia Wesleyan University, a Division III school astride the Norfolk-Virginia Beach border that has won a national title. The teams have never met except in exhibitions.
Division III schools neither help nor hurt your NET ratings, which is used to help determine NCAA tournament bids. To the NET, it's as if those games don't exist.
ODU coach Jeff Jones thought it was a good time to add the Marlins to the schedule. Wesleyan was part of the schedule before things were scrambled by the pandemic and Jones said he plans to play the Marlins in future years as well.
That game, to be held Dec. 22, will be preceded by a women's game against VWU.
ODU will be heavy favorites in both games, but I think it's a great gesture to welcome the Marlins to Norfolk.
"There are a lot of Virginia Wesleyan fans who are also our fans," Jones said.
Speaking of fans, because COVID is still a factor – in fact, infections have been growing nationally – state rules will restrict crowds to a maximum of 1,000 across the state. That means there will be 7,500 empty seats at every ODU men's and women's home game.
That left ODU officials with some difficult choices. ODU annually averages about 7,000 fans per game in men's basketball, meaning 6,000 will be left out of every game.
For months, ODU officials pondered how to fairly distribute those 1,000 tickets. I was part of those discussions and what Athletic Director Wood Selig eventually agreed upon was the best thing for our most loyal fans.
Donors and season-ticket holders will get first choice in purchasing tickets, based on their Old Dominion Athletic Foundation points – which takes into consideration, for instance, how long you've been a season-ticket holder.
Jones agreed that was the right thing to do.
"Some of our fans have had season tickets for 35 years," Jones said. "We want to make sure those folks get into our arena."
If you're a season-ticket holder, you can purchase four tickets apiece for between three and five games beginning next week.
Because the demand for women's basketball season tickets isn't quite as robust, some season tickets are on sale, as well as a 7-game mini package.
You should have received an email on Thursday if you are eligible to purchase tickets for either team.
Conference USA also put together a really smart league schedule that limits travel at a time when revenues are limited. It also limits the time teams will spend in planes, airports and hotels on the road, and thus potential exposure to the coronavirus.
The 18-game schedule for both the men and women include four two-game road trips and four two-game home stands that include Friday and Saturday night games against the same opponent. The men and women will also play Charlotte home and home.
The scheduling model C-USA adopted is one of the best I've seen anywhere.
However, I would add a ton of caution to everything I've written above.
COVID is still not under control. More than 50 Football Bowl Subdivision games have been postponed or canceled this fall. Many FBS games have been played with teams short of players because they were infected or had been exposed to the virus. Although COVID death rates have fallen dramatically, as many as 100,000 people per day have been diagnosed with the disease recently.
Football teams have 85 scholarship players and as many as 20 or 25 walk-ons. Basketball teams generally have 13 or 14 players and imagine what happens if five or six test positive.
In football, that would not be a problem. In basketball, it means a team likely won't play a game for two weeks.
"I believe there are going to be a lot of two-week interruptions for a lot of teams this season and a lot of missed games," Selig said.
You must play a minimum of 13 games to compete for postseason play and Dr. Selig said Conference USA has done all it can to keep players safe, from the new scheduling model to mandating three tests per week for every basketball player, coach and other staff member.
"You want to minimize your risk," he said. "And our schedules are designed to do that."
Even if you wear a mask and clean your hands regularly and social distance, you can get infected going to the grocery store. But the chances of getting infected are drastically reduced if you cut out the social life we've all been accustomed to, including parties, going out to restaurants or spending time with friends at a bar.
In the end, how many games ODU will play this season will come down to the players being responsible.
"What we're asking our players to do is just abnormal," Jones said. "College is a time to study and learn but also a time to have fun and your social life is a big part of it. We're asking our guys to forego those kinds of things. And that's a tough thing.
"Our guys want to play and in order to do that, they've got to do the abnormal."
There will be changes that fans will notice in Chartway Arena, included mandated social distancing and the possibility of purchasing fan cutouts that will not only all you to support the program, but also see yourself on TV. I'll write more about that next week.
But for now, it's time to feel a little joy. ODU basketball is returning.
It will soon be time to turn off your TV and go to a game in person. And for me, as I'm sure it's the same for many of you, that can't happen too soon.
Contact Minium: hminium@odu.edu
Minium: Monarch Basketball Returns to Chartway Arena in a Few Weeks and That's Reason to Celebrate
