Minium: Aimee Clark, Other Vets, Still Practice Lessons Learned in the Military for ODU Athletics

By Harry Minium

NORFOLK, Va. – As a captain in the United States Marines, when you are taking your platoon into cold weather training, into the snow and ice with temperatures dipping into the teens, yes, the cold hurts you just like everyone else.

But the 50 or so Marines who followed you up the mountain at the Marine Corps Mountain War Training Center in Bridgeport, California are counting on you to set an example. So, you don’t show your pain. You don’t complain. You smile while your teeth chatter as you bed down in the snow.

It’s hard. It takes willpower. But eventually, you get used to it.

I listened to this story the other day from a former Marine Captain, and you might be surprised to know I was speaking to Aimee Clark, Naval Academy Class of 2014, who fought her way up the chain of command in the Marines.

Clark is now associate director of NIL and rules education for Old Dominion’s athletics department.

I learned she was a veteran by chance when we were driving together two years ago to ODU’s Famous Toastery Bowl football game in Charlotte. When she was talking to her husband on the phone, she said, “roger,” meaning I understand you.

Aimee has been out of the service now for nearly a decade and has two children with a third on the way. But that military jargon hasn’t gone away.

Neither have the organizational skills, work ethic and loyalty that come with having served.

“There is a standard of excellence in everything they do,” said Dr. Wood Selig, ODU’s director for athletics, of veterans who work for ODU. “The vets who serve us in athletics are all outstanding employees. They are disciplined. They are over achievers.”

Last week was ODU’s Military Appreciation Week. ODU paid homage to the military before during and after football and men’s and women’s basketball games. But we didn’t honor those who served who are in our midst.

So, here’s a little shoutout to the four veterans who work for ODU athletics.

Dr. Ron Moses, deputy athletics director for student-athlete advancement, revenue growth and competitive strategy, served nine years in the Army and Army National guard, where, like Clark, he worked in logistics.

In a sense, logistics are still on his plate at ODU. As ODU recently took control of the Pride of ODU, the private collective that had been negotiating and funding Name, Image and Likeness deals, he took over negotiating and signing NIL deals with student-athletes. He has signed more than 100.

“He’s been a beast for us,” Dr. Selig said. “Ron does so many things for us and does them all well.”

Michael Conrad is ODU’s athletics facilities supervisor and if you like the way our baseball and soccer fields look, you can thank “Big Mike,” as we call him.

Conrad served in the Marines in the specialized infantry. The son of a Navy vet, who was a combat veteran of the Korean War, Conrad toted a machine gun around during his time in the Marines.

Each year when the Marines celebrate their birthday, he and Aimee get together with a little cake to toast to their brothers in arms.

Their jobs are very different, but their Marine backgrounds provide them with a camaraderie, a brotherhood, for lack of a better word, that will never end.

Hunter Sims, general manager for ODU football, also served in the Navy. He was a retail service specialist.

A retail service specialist manages and operates a ship's retail and service facilities, which include the ship's store. A Navy website indicates “the role is crucial for maintaining crew morale by providing essential services and amenities.”

It also requires strong customer service and organizational skills

At ODU, Sims now helps to manage the roster and player personnel, which frees up Head Coach Ricky Rahne to focus more on coaching.

He helps oversee the evaluation of players and coordinates with Moses on NIL deals.

Aimee is one of three people who work in compliance, which is headed by Danielle Cohea, senior associate athletic director for compliance, conduct and regulatory affairs. They work with Malcolm Byrd-White, director of compliance for rules and governance.

All of the changes that the transfer portal and NIL have wrought on all of college athletics, have also changed Aimee’s job.

A few years ago, student-athletes could receive only scholarships and compensation for cost of full attendance.

Now, student-athletes are being compensated for endorsing businesses. They are selling clothing lines on-line.

“It seems like the job changes almost daily,” she said. “Basically, our job is to monitor, educate and report.”

Aimee was schooled in athletics and hard work while growing up in Philadelphia. She was a lacrosse standout at Archbishop John Carroll High School. She and a teammate decided to attend the Naval Academy together, and while her friend eventually decided to go elsewhere, “I was hooked,” Clark said.

“I played lacrosse at Navy and had a blast,” she said. Indeed she did – the Midshipmen who won three Patriot League titles while she was playing.

She was stationed in Spain and traveled all over Europe while helping to set up logistics for responding to crisis events in Africa. After getting married, she and Alex decided it was too difficult to be apart. When they were both given assignments in Japan on different islands, she left the corps.

He asked for a reassignment to an American base and now flies E-2 Hawkeyes out of the Norfolk Naval Base. Aimee began working at the College of William & Mary before making the move to ODU.

Aimee said she’s been trying to lose the military vernacular – she catches herself sometimes before saying “roger.” But she will never lose her love for the military and for all those who serve.

“What I did in the Marines, it’s not unlike what I do now," she said. "What’s similar is that you’re working with 18-to-22-year-olds. Almost all my Marines fell into that demographic.

“You’ve got people who raised their hand to do something. They really work hard at it. They are motivated. And that’s like our student-athlete population.

“I love working with these kids because it’s like what I enjoyed about the Marines, to interface with them, and hopefully provide some sort of value to their careers and their lives.

"Working in college athletics has been an equally rewarding experience because of the type of individuals we support every day. I'm lucky to say I’ve held two of the best jobs in the country."

Minium is ODU's Senior Executive Writer for Athletics. Contact him at hminium@odu.edu or follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram

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