By Harry Minium
NORFOLK – When he was inaugurated as president of Old Dominion University Friday morning at Chartway Arena, Brian O. Hemphill, Ph.D., was extolled for the progress ODU has made academically in his short tenure here.
President Hemphill has been a bold leader who is focused on turning ODU into the best maritime university in the country and a state leader in health care.
ODU is discussing cooperation with Eastern Virginia Medical School and Sentara Healthcare that could lead to a merger.
Under President Hemphill's direction, ODU joined hands with the private sector to begin the ODU Maritime Initiative to expand the University's role with the port, offshore wind energy, shipbuilding and the Navy. In June, ODU announced it would create a School of Supply Chain Logistics and Maritime Operations.
Designated a Carnegie R-1 Research Institution last year, reserved for the nation's elite research colleges and universities, ODU is also moving ahead with a planned $180 million biology building that will continue to stamp the University as one of the state's leaders in the sciences.
But I hope everyone affiliated with ODU's sports programs appreciate that his leadership in athletics has been just as bold.
Although he's only been in Norfolk for a year and three months, President Hemphill altered the University's athletic trajectory when ODU joined the Sun Belt Conference this past summer. That bold move was mentioned several times by speakers during Friday's ceremony.
"We would not be in the Sun Belt Conference," said Wood Selig, ODU's director of athletics, "were it not for President Hemphill's leadership and vision."
Almost exactly a year ago, ODU's league affiliation looked precarious. Six Conference USA schools announced they were leaving to join the American Athletic Conference. For a while, all of us who love ODU athletics worried we would be left in a truncated and weakened Conference USA.
Selig conferred with President Hemphill early on and often. "'Let's not be dictated to,'" Selig recalled the President saying. "'Let's be bold and aggressive.'"
"He was instrumental in reaching out to the Sun Belt and making that happen. Joining the Sun Belt has set the stage for our athletic future in a dramatic way."
ODU fans have seen that this fall. The Sun Belt is the best Group of 5 football league in the nation, and has a far better TV profile than Conference USA has or ever will have. Three of ODU's six football games have been on national television, including dramatic victories over Virginia Tech and previously unbeaten Coastal Carolina. Two were televised on ESPNU under the Sun Belt's contract with ESPN.
Attendance is booming. ODU sold out its opener with Virginia Tech and the regular-season finale against James Madison. ODU will surely set a per-game average attendance record this fall, something that would not have happened in Conference USA.
ODU baseball and men's soccer are competing in the Sun Belt, which is among the highest-ranked conferences in the nation. Men's and women's basketball will play their conference tournaments in Pensacola, Florida, located much closer to Norfolk than Frisco, Texas, and in a much more desirable location.
And all ODU men's and women's basketball games will be on an ESPN network.
President Hemphill's impact goes far beyond league membership. He has been a driving force behind the $20 million fundraising effort to refurbish Bud Metheny Ballpark.
I'm sure you recall that in 2020, ODU was a No. 1 seed but could not host an NCAA Regional because the Bud didn't have adequate facilities. So, ODU went on the road to the University of South Carolina, where the Monarchs defeated the Gamecocks at home, but lost to Virginia in 10 innings in the finale.
President Hemphill met with a group of alumni and local business leaders who were determined to raise money a new stadium and began making fund-raising calls, including the big one. He reached out to local businessman Dennis Ellmer and secured a $2.5 million donation. The facility will be renamed the Ellmer Family Baseball Complex.
President Hemphill and First Lady Marisela Rosas Hemphill, Ph.D., have also brought a personal touch to ODU athletics rarely seen in college sports.
For each of the last two falls, they have invited all 500 ODU athletes and coaches to their home.
"I don't know how many college presidents invite 500 student-athletes to their to wish them well at the start of the season," Selig said. "But I can't imagine there are very many, if any."
The President and First Lady have also been visible at dozens of ODU athletic events, and few root with such outward enthusiasm as does President Hemphill.
Nor do many lead with his humility. Whenever he speaks at an event, he puts others first. He thanks nearly everyone in the room and credits them for the University's success. He did the same Friday during his inauguration speech.
In a world where college enrollment is shrinking, "innovation must become the new normal," President Hemphill said.
"Students will be at the heart of every decision we make. . . . We will propel ODU to national and international prominence. . . . We will face challenges, but we will embrace those challenges. We must embrace change."
As ODU did when faced with conference realignment a year ago.
"President Hemphill has rejuvenated ODU in so many ways," Dr. Selig said. "He has such great energy and an aspirational belief that we can accomplish anything we desire. There's a feeling of camaraderie, of trust, of teamwork and of pride. You can see peoples' enthusiasm every day on campus.
"He's all about results and he's willing to work just as hard, if not harder, than anyone on our campus. I just think it's so refreshing and rewarding to have the kind of leadership that President Hemphill provides every day on campus."
We will get to taste some of the fruits of his leadership Saturday when ODU's football team hosts Georgia Southern in its homecoming game at 3:30 p.m.
The Monarchs would not be playing Georgia Southern, Appalachian State, Coastal Carolina or JMU were it not for President Hemphill's resolve to get ODU into the Sun Belt Conference.
For that alone, he deserves a hearty thank you from every ODU fan.
Contact Minium at hminium@odu.edu or follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram
Minium: President Brian O. Hemphill, PhD., Has Altered the Trajectory of ODU Athletics
