By Harry Minium
NEW ORLEANS – Cargo ships and tugboats pushing barges could be seen plying down the Mississippi River through windows behind the podium as Old Dominion football coach Ricky Rahne approached the dais.
Dozens of reporters sat along 14 long tables, each adorned with a logo from Sun Belt Conference teams. Sun Belt banners and signage were everywhere on the eighth floor of the Sheraton New Orleans Hotels – one of the snazziest places to stay in the Big Easy.
In an adjacent room, a dozen or so radio reporters were broadcasting live as they interviewed players and coaches at Sun Belt Football Media Days. Further interviews were held in "breakout" rooms.
Every interview on stage was broadcast live on ESPN+.
Later in the day, 14 players and seven coaches from the East Division were ferried to the Superdome, where they sat down for live TV interviews in the Sun Belt Conference studios. The Sun Belt built the studio, and makes its headquarters, in the Superdome.
It was, in every way, a big-time event, comparable to media days I've seen the ACC host in Charlotte.
And it was a symbol of the reason ODU joined the Sun Belt – to move into a more competitive league with higher aspirations.
Tuesday's media days was ODU's first formal participation in a Sun Belt event since joining the league on July 1, and for Rahne, it confirmed every reason why the Monarchs made the jump.
"This has been an unbelievable event. Everything about this is first class," he said.
His wife, Jen Rahne, texted him early Tuesday morning to wish him good luck. She added that she hoped it wasn't too early in the day.
"I'm on my sixth interview, so it's not too early," he replied.
Rahne had little time to himself, as Eric Bohannon, ODU's senior associate athletic director for broadcasting and communications, ferried him from reporter to reporter.
"I've been impressed with the organization that's gone into each and every event that we've had with the Sun Belt," Rahne said. "I've been impressed with the messaging and branding of our conference, with how first class everything is. It doesn't surprise me. But it's refreshing."
Sun Belt Commissioner Keith Gill opened the event with his annual preseason speech and brought good news.
He announced the Sun Belt and ESPN have redone their long-term agreement. It will presumably provide the league with more money "and more games on TV," he said. That includes men's and women's basketball and baseball.
He was unable to provide details, such as how much more money, because some details are private. But he said, "more details will be announced soon. We had hoped to announce more today but it's not quite finalized."
He also announced that the Sun Belt will soon add a sixth guaranteed bowl bid for the 2022 season. He said the bowl game will be named within days. The league is guaranteed teams in five bowls, including the R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl and the Myrtle Beach Bowl, where ODU played last season.
Given the elasticity of current bowl agreements, it's unlikely that any eligible Sun Belt team won't go bowling. But the latest bowl agreement makes it certain that at least six will.
The theme of the day was the same from all seven East Division coaches – the West coaches appear on Wednesday. Because the league has improved over the last decade, and because recently added ODU, Marshall, James Madison and Southern Miss through expansion, the league arguably is the best among the Group of 5.
"The Sun Belt will maintain its record of postseason success and continue to lead FBS in bowl winning percent," Gill said. "The Sun Belt will be the best non-autonomy conference in the country."
Coaches echoed his comments, especially when it comes to the East Division, in which ODU joins Appalachian State, Coastal Carolina, George State, Georgia Southern and James Madison.
"I think the East Division is better than some Power 5 divisions, quite frankly," said App State coach Shawn Clark, who said he's thrilled that ODU joined the Sun Belt.
"ODU adds value. They've had some success there. They beat Virginia Tech at home a few years ago. Our institution and their institution, we mirror each other in some ways as far as doing it the right way."
Coastal Carolina coach Jamey Chadwell said he was impressed when ODU brought 5,000 fans to the Myrtle Beach Bowl, which was hosted in Coastal's Brooks Stadium.
The addition of all four schools has put us in the position where we can be the top conference in the country in G 5. I believe that. All four have great traditions.
"With Old Dominion, with the success they had in FCS, with the fan following that they have, we're excited about that. They brought 5,000 people to Myrtle Beach so that tells you they travel and care about the team.
"They're going to bring one great brand of football and a good tradition and that helps the Sun Belt as we try to develop regional rivalries."
Yet there were some indications that ODU isn't yet completely appreciated.
Rahne returns 10 starters on offense and seven on defense from the team that won its last five regular-season games and earned a bowl bid. Yet the Monarchs were picked last in the East Division by coaches and the media.
ODU was chosen to finish seventh behind No. 6 JMU, which will be playing its first season in FBS.
Of course, if you recall, ODU was picked to finish last in the Conference USA seven-team East last season and finished tied for second.
Rahne said that preseason predictions are meaningless, that no one can really know enough to accurately predict where teams will finish.
"Preseason polls aren't worth the paper they are printed on or not worth the megabytes they use to put them out there," he said. "They are there to create excitement in college football.
"Every year there's a Top 10 team that wins five games and doesn't go to a bowl game.
"I know we have higher expectations for ourselves and that's really all that matters. You look at Old Dominion, that's who we are. We're a group that other people set certain expectations for. We set a whole other level of expectations.
"As a group, three out of the last four semesters we had over a 3.0 GPA as a team. People didn't have those expectations for our kids. Our kids did. They were able to accomplish that, hard work and hard work of athletic staff."
JMU coach Curt Cignetti, whose Dukes are playing a transition season, and thus are ineligible for a bowl bid, said being picked ahead of ODU might be "bulletin-board material" for the Monarchs. While not directly addressing those comments, Rahne added: "We're not going to use (preseason predictions) for motivation. If we're at a place where we need that intrinsic motivation, what are we going to use when we're picked first?"
ODU tight end Zack Kuntz, who transferred to ODU from Penn State two years ago, said it's understandable that mistakes are made in preseason rankings, as was certainly the case last season when one prominent web site tagged the Monarchs as the second worst team in FBS.
"The transfer portal makes it harder to figure out how good a team is going to be," he said. "As a transfer, my impact could have been different than it was."
It was considerable as Kuntz was second on the nation last year in receptions by a tight end.
"Someone," he added, "has to be in the last spot."
Senior safety R'Tarriun Johnson said regardless, he's excited about playing in the Sun Belt.
"The East Division is going to be so good," he said. "I'm excited to playing these guys. Let's go have some fun."
Rahne was asked about his schedule, which could be the most difficult in the Group of 5. The Monarchs open at home against Virginia Tech on Friday, Sept. 2, and also host Liberty and play at Virginia and East Carolina.
"We're going to be the first team in the state of Virginia to play all four state" FBS schools, he said. "That's something that's going to be great for the state of Virginia.
"It gives us an opportunity to showcase ourselves. That first game is going to be a great thing for the commonwealth, to be able to showcase Virginia football at a national level."
The game is the first of 10 over the next 10 years against the Hokies, including five in Norfolk and five in Blacksburg. No other Group of 5 school has a comparable agreement with a big-time Power 5 program.
Two Sun Belt coaches, who will remain anonymous, expressed surprise and envy when I told them about the home-and-home deal with the Hokies.
"Our kids want to prove themselves against best and they get to lay two ACC opponents and play in the toughest Group of 5 division in college football," Rahne said.
"It shows our commitment to what college football should be. It should be about regional powers playing each other and letting our fans experience that."
ODU will gain an instant archrival in JMU. Although the schools haven't met in football in 10 years, when both played in the CAA, the animosity between fans online of both schools is palpable.
ODU leads the series, 2-0. It will be renewed on Nov. 12, when the Monarchs host the Dukes in their final home game of the season.
"I know I'm not supposed to use this word, but in college football hate is good," Rahne said. "Hate is passion. Indifference is terrible. Unfortunately, our fans were a little indifferent about who we played in our former conference. That's not their fault. It's not the conference's fault. It's just emotion.
"When I get up in the morning and go through Larchmont and take a walk with my wife and my St. Bernard, I see flags of a bunch of these schools. That's how college football is supposed to be. I'm excited that's what our conference is all about."
The trip to New Orleans was a whirlwind event that lasted less than 24 hours, yet the Monarchs were able to take in some of the ambiance of historic city.
Rahne took the ODU entourage to dinner to the Oceana Grill in the French Quarter Monday evening. Afterwards, Johnson and Kuntz spent some time with Appalachian State quarterback Chase Brice and defensive back Steven Jones Jr.
"They're good guys," Kuntz said. "We had a good time with them."
Kuntz, a 6-foot-8, 250-pound junior from Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, is considered a potential NFL draft pick. He said this trip was different than road trips in that he and Johnson were allowed to spend time exploring the city.
Aside from bowl games, road trips are all business, with players heading directly to the hotel and from there, to the stadium the next day. Kuntz snapped photographs of the architecture and the unique culture he found in the French Quarter.
"It was interesting," he said of Monday night. "Football has given me opportunities to travel to a lot of places and see different things. I'm going to take it all in and share the experience with all the family. It was pretty awesome."
Awesome also described the scene when Johnson's family crashed the party at Oceana. They drove 90 minutes from Mississippi to spend a little time with R'Tarriun.
His mother, Renika Johnson, stepfather; Shea Martin; brother, Grayson Martin; and sister, Jala Martin, lit up when they saw him.
"It meant a lot, just seeing their faces being that I'm so far away from home," R'Tarriun said.
It also meant a lot to Rahne.
"This is a great atmosphere right here," he said. "But my favorite moment of this trip is when his family drove one and a half hours each way to see him for 30 minutes last night.
"That was an awesome deal."
As was the entire day.
Minium: First Sun Belt Football Media Days A Breath of Fresh Air for ODU
