By Harry Minium
I work in an office in Koch Hall adjacent to S.B. Ballard Stadium, so it hits home with me every time I come to work just how long it's been since Old Dominion University played a home football game.
The last game was 16 long months ago and we spent most of those 16 months sequestered in our homes because of the pandemic.
The good news is that football returns to S.B. Ballard Stadium in less than four months when the Monarchs host Hampton University in their home opener before what I hope is sellout crowd of nearly 22,000 souls.
And expect S.B. Ballard Stadium to be at full capacity and for the tailgate lots to be open as usual for the entire 2021 season.
Mask and social distancing mandates are falling by the wayside. As my wife and I walked through Ghent recently, restaurants, coffee shops and stores were full of people, including a large number wearing ODU garb.
Life seems to be returning to normal.
The Norfolk Tides, who had been limiting crowds to less than 5,000, will open all 12,500 seats at Harbor Park to fans next month. Chartway Arena has concerts scheduled for this fall.
The number of COVID -19 infections is rapidly declining as more people get vaccinated.
That means things will almost certainly go back to normal when ODU kicks off on Sept 11th against Hampton, which marks the home debut of Coach Ricky Rahne, the former Penn State offensive coordinator.
For fans on the fence about purchasing tickets, not only will the stadium be back to normal, so will tailgating and the many pre-game activities on Kaufman Mall. ODU has plans in the works to juice up the Kaufman Mall experience for fans who choose to tailgate there.
The deadline for existing season-ticket holders to reclaim their seats is June 1. That includes fans who were ticket holders in 2019 but did not renew their seats in 2020. We're still holding a place for you.
Click here for ODU football season tickets
You may have seen recently that ODU re-scheduled a home game with Wake Forest that was postponed in 2020. The Monarchs also announced they will play at Indiana in 2025.
Both announcements were good news.
There were worries among ODU's fan base that the game with Wake Forest would not be rescheduled. Credit Wake Forest for honoring its commitment to ODU. The Demon Deacons will come to S.B. Ballard Stadium in 2023.
Also, I expect in the next few months that the University of Virginia will reschedule its canceled 2020 game at ODU. U.Va. has a first-class athletic administration and the Cavs will benefit from playing in such a fertile recruiting area.
An aside here: ODU would have hosted both U.Va. and Wake Forest in 2020 but did not due to the pandemic.
To put that in perspective, consider that ODU was one of only two Group of 5 schools with two home games scheduled against Autonomy 5 opponents in 2020. And no Group of 5 school has more than one home game against an Autonomy 5 opponent in 2021.
In fact, the entire Mid-American Conference has nine home games scheduled against Autonomy 5 opponents over the next 14 seasons. ODU has seven home games, almost as many as all 12 MAC schools, during that same time period.
ODU fans will have the opportunity to watch the Monarchs play home games against four major opponents for three consecutive seasons.
Virginia Tech comes to ODU in 2022, Wake Forest in 2023 and the Hokies return again in 2024, as does East Carolina.
ECU is closer to Norfolk than any other FBS program and has a good fan base in the region.
Very few Group of 5 schools can boast of a similarly attractive home schedule.
And not a school anywhere among the Group of 5 has a ten-year, home-and-home schedule with a program as storied as Virginia Tech.
Central Florida has one of the nation's best programs, but neither Florida nor Florida State have ever played the Knights in Orlando.
Deputy AD Bruce Stewart
"We have a bold vision as to where we want to take our football program," said Deputy Athletic Director Bruce Stewart, who handles football scheduling for the University.
"We have used our great location and fan base to help secure these home opportunities against attractive Autonomy 5 programs within our region."
The Hokies are coming to Norfolk five times over ten seasons. That shows the respect that Tech Athletic Director Whit Babcock and Coach Justin Fuente have for ODU.
Stewart has a difficult job. Hitting the right balance between providing fans with attractive non-conference home opponents, producing needed revenue and helping the program grow is hard to do.
And it's an area in which Stewart excels.
Stewart crafted ODU's early schedules when the program began in 2009. He scheduled enough good opponents to be attractive to players and fans, but also games that a start-up program had a reasonable chance to win.
Like virtually every Group of 5 school, ODU must go on the road every so often to play an Autonomy 5 school in return for a financial guarantee.
Stewart has scheduled prudently, balancing road and home games. At no time will the Monarchs play less than six times at home.
Yet when ODU goes to a bowl game, you will know the Monarchs have earned it. The schedules are challenging, and that's by design. Only by playing a schedule of good opponents can Rahne continue to recruit elite players.
Rahne's goal is not only to win a Conference USA title, but also get the Monarchs into the Top 25.
He's made a great start on recruiting the talent he needs to get there. His first two recruiting classes were ranked among the top half in Conference USA and the two best ODU history, according to 247Sports, which tracks C-USA recruiting. And many of those recruits had offers from ACC schools.
Ricky Rahne during April's spring scrimmage
Stewart said he wants recruits who are excited about the challenge of playing Wake Forest, Virginia Tech, South Carolina and Indiana, et. al., and if they come here with a chip on their shoulder, "that's even better."
Since moving into FBS, ODU has signed home-and-home agreements with Virginia, Virginia Tech, North Carolina, North Carolina State and Wake Forest.
That's simply amazing for a university heading into just its seventh FBS season.
ODU will generate $3.6 million in revenue from guarantee games from 2023 through 2025, including $1.3 million from the trip to Bloomington, Indiana. And that money will be poured back into ODU's athletic program.
ODU's trip to Indiana in 2025 will be the school's first game against a Big Ten school, and will give the Monarchs a chance to make a splash nationally.
The Monarchs will also venture to South Carolina in 2024 in only their second game against an SEC team.
Rahne, who as a coach has been to South Carolina and so many other big-time stadiums, says he's looking forward to the challenge of playing the Gamecocks in one of college football's finest venues.
"My personal experience is that Williams-Brice Stadium is one of the most electric atmospheres in college football and I'm confident that energy will bring out the best in our players," Rahne said when the game was announced.
Obviously, ODU will be an underdog. But what a terrific chance to line up and play in that environment before a national audience.
A breakdown of ODU's schedules the next four seasons:
2021
Friday, Sept. 3, at Wake Forest
Saturday, Sep. 11, Hampton
Saturday, Sept. 18 at Liberty
Saturday, Sep. 25, Buffalo
Saturday, Oct. 2, at UTEP
Saturday, Oct. 9, at Marshall
Saturday, Oct. 16, Western Kentucky
Saturday, Oct. 23, Off
Saturday, Oct. 30, Louisiana Tech
Saturday, Nov. 6, at FIU
Saturday, Nov. 13, Florida Atlantic
Saturday, Nov. 20, at Middle Tennessee
Saturday, Nov. 27, Charlotte
Rahne's head coaching debut at Wake Forest will be seen by a ton of people. It most likely to be televised by the ACC Network, which is expected to reach more than 90 million of the nation's 121 million households by this fall. There will be a lot of national media attention paid to the former Penn State offensive coordinator's first game. Hampton is a local foe located 30 minutes up the road and has a number of ODU ties. The Monarchs play two good non-conference opponents, at Liberty and at home against Buffalo. Both won bowl games and finished in the Top 25 last season. UTEP is a long way from Norfolk, but has one of the most scenic stadiums in college football. It is surrounded by mountains and offers a view of Mexico from portions of the stadium -- the Mexican border is a few hundreds yards away. ODU has had some contentious games with Western Kentucky, the Monarchs' C-USA home opener. And the next game against Louisiana Tech may be the most attractive home game of the season, one I hope will be televised by a national outlet. LA Tech is a perennial contender for the West Division title. The last time ODU and LA Tech played, the Monarchs won in overtime. Florida Atlantic is coached by Willie Taggart, the former Florida State coach. ODU finishes against Charlotte, the Monarchs' closest C-USA rival.
2022
Saturday, Sept. 3, Virginia Tech
Saturday, Sept. 19, at East Carolina
Saturday, Sept. 17, at Virginia
Saturday, Oct 1, Liberty
* Conference USA schedule, TBA
This will be the most challenging schedule in ODU history, and what way to open the season. It will be Virginia Tech's first game at ODU since the nationally ranked Hokies were upset by the Monarchs, 49-35, in 2018 on national television. If you were there, it was a game you will never forget. Watching thousands of students storm the field, and so many long-time ODU officials trying in vain to hold back tears, was more than awesome. The Monarchs then head 2 ½ hours down the road to take on East Carolina, which has also become a rivalry game for the Monarchs. ECU has won the last two games against ODU by a whisker, and both games turned on difficult-to-swallow, critical calls made by the referees. Both were closely contested, back and forth slugfests, and drew large crowds. The Monarchs then travel to Virginia, and ODU should have a good following at Scott Stadium. If you recall, ODU led the Cavaliers in the fourth quarter when the teams last met in 2019. Then after a week off, ODU hosts Liberty University in another game that should draw a great crowd. ODU and Liberty are the state's only two Group of 5 schools.
2023
Saturday, Sept. 9, at Virginia Tech
Saturday, Sept. 16, Wake Forest
Saturday, Sept. 23, Buffalo
Saturday, Sept. 30, at Liberty
* Conference USA schedule, TBA
The Monarchs open the season for the first time ever with back-to-back games against ACC opponents. Virginia Tech offers one of the ACC's best venues and the tailgating experience is fabulous. Fans party with gusto and they were friendly to ODU fans the last two games there. Wake Forest likely will attract national TV cameras, as well as a sellout crowd, to S.B. Ballard Stadium. Buffalo won the Mid-American Conference title last season. Liberty will pay ODU $800,000 for coming to Lynchburg, and what a sweet day it would be if the Monarchs could not only take home a big check, but also the victory.
2024
Saturday, August 31, at South Carolina
Saturday, Sept. 7, East Carolina
Saturday, Sept. 14, Virginia Tech
* One non-conference game and Conference USA schedule TBA
The first three games provide ODU with a ton of exposure and likely three sellout crowds. Columbia, South Carolina is a 5 ½-hour drive from Norfolk. That means that ODU fans will have an opportunity to not only travel to support the Monarchs, but also a chance to experience one of college football's finest stadiums and most unique tailgating experiences. The atmosphere at USC's Williams-Brice Stadium is the finest I saw in my many years of covering college football. It seats 80,000 people and has the look and feel of an NFL facility. USC will pay ODU $1.5 million, one of the biggest payouts ever negotiated by a Group of 5 school. The Monarchs then return home to face a great regional rival in ECU and then host the Hokies for the second time in three seasons.
Expect ODU to announce more games in the next few months, and perhaps sooner than later. I can't yet mention any names yet, but die-hard ODU fans are going like some of the names Stewart is working on adding to future schedules.
Minium worked 39 years at The Virginian-Pilot, where he was twice nominated for the Pulitzer Prize and won 26 state and national writing awards. He writes news stories, features and commentaries for odusports.com and odu.edu Follow him on Twitter @Harry_MiniumODU, Instagram @hbminium1 or email hminium@odu.edu
Minium: Expect S.B. Ballard Stadium to Allow Full Capacity When ODU Football Returns This Fall
