NORFOLK, Va. – The Old Dominion women's basketball program is set to host An Evening with the Lady Monarchs, a sit-down with head coach DeLisha Milton-Jones and ODU Sports Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman emceed by fellow Monarch alum and SportsCenter anchor Jay Harris, in the Big Blue Room of Chartway Arena on Oct. 12 at 8 p.m. The event is free and open to the public, and light refreshments will be provided.
An Evening with the Lady Monarchs will feature an interview of Milton-Jones and Lieberman by Harris before the floor is opened for a question-and-answer session with those in attendance. The night will center on the past, present and future of Old Dominion women's basketball, and the 2021-22 women's basketball team will be introduced at the event.
Fans may RSVP for the event at odusports.com/rsvp with the event code WBBOVERTIME.
The eighth head coach of the storied ODU women's basketball team, Milton-Jones is a two-time Olympic gold medalist and a two-time WNBA champion and is in her second season at the head of the program. The 1997 Wade Trophy winner, she guided the Monarchs to a 13-11 record in her first season. ODU won seven of its last nine games last season, including a road upset of eventual conference champions Middle Tennessee and three-straight wins at the Conference USA Tournament as the No. 6-seeded Monarchs reached the semifinals in dramatic fashion.
"This evening is an evening filled with conversations with legends," Milton-Jones said. "Having Nancy and Jay back home on ODU's campus is a blessing for us to share in the wonderful memories they've made while here and beyond their time spent at ODU. It's always an honor to bring our legends back home and give them their flowers while they can enjoy them."
A 1985 inductee into the ODU Sports Hall of Fame, Lieberman led ODU to back-to-back AIAW National Championships in 1979 and 1980 and is synonymous both with Old Dominion and with the sport of women's basketball. Known as "Lady Magic," she still holds the program record for assists in a career (961). She was the first two-time winner of the Wade Trophy and is a member of both the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame.
"I have so much faith in DeLisha and what she's doing with our program, and I do mean our program," Lieberman said. "All of us who are a part of ODU women's basketball, we're still part of the ODU family. When DeLisha asked us to do this, it was never a question of whether we would. We would do anything we can to help her. She's such a good person and such a good coach. She's passionate, and she's going to turn this program around very quickly. I hope our old fans come out and become a part of the program again. DeLisha needs their support and they're going to love DeLisha's teams."
A Norfolk native and a 1987 graduate of Old Dominion, Jay Harris has been a fixture on ESPN for over 18 years and often anchors the weekend morning editions of SportsCenter. Harris contributed to SportsCenter's Sports Emmy-winning coverage in both 2004 and 2005 and is a recipient of the Silver World Medal from the New York Festival Awards. In 2003, the University honored Harris with the Distinguished Alumni Award.
"I'm a Lady Monarch fan from way back," Harris said. "I love DeLisha. Anything I can do to assist promoting the program I'll do."
Women’s Basketball to Host ‘An Evening with the Lady Monarchs’ Oct. 12
