NCAA Division I FBS Location Norfolk, Virginia | Athletic director Camden Wood Selig Varsity teams 18 | |
University Old Dominion University Conference Conference USA
Mid-American Conference (wrestling)
Big East Conference (field hockey)
Atlantic Sun Conference (women's lacrosse)
Big 12 Conference (women's rowing)
Coastal Collegiate Sports Association (men's swimming) | ||
The Old Dominion Monarchs and Lady Monarchs are composed of 18 teams representing Old Dominion University in intercollegiate athletics, including men's and women's basketball, golf, soccer, sailing, swimming & diving, and tennis. Men's sports include baseball, football, and wrestling. Women's sports include field hockey, lacrosse, and rowing. The Monarchs compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and are members of Conference USA (C-USA).
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For the 2012-13 academic year, under bylaws of its previous conference, the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA), ODU was ineligible for conference championships in team sports in 2012–13. The football team played one season as an independent as part of the transition to FBS and began competing as a football-playing member of C-USA in 2014.
Old Dominion's field hockey team competes in the Big East Conference. The field hockey program had previously announced that it would join the original Big East for the 2013–14 school year. However, following the split of the original Big East, the two successor conferences, the new Big East and the American Athletic Conference, agreed that The American would not sponsor field hockey, and the new Big East would take in all of The American's programs in those sports as associate members.
The women's lacrosse team spent the 2013-14 academic year as an independent before joining the Atlantic Sun Conference as an associate member effective July 1, 2014. At the same time, the women's rowing team became an associate member of the Big 12 Conference, which effectively took over sponsorship of that sport from C-USA.
Following the move to Conference USA, the men's swimming and diving team competed for two years as an independent, as C-USA does not sponsor the sport. On July 16, 2015, the team announced it would join the Coastal Collegiate Swimming Association, later renamed the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association, for the 2015–16 season.
Teams
A member of Conference USA, Old Dominion sponsors teams in eight men's and eight women's NCAA sanctioned sports:
Field hockey
The ODU Monarchs field hockey team is one of the most successful college field hockey programs in the nation. Overall the team has won 17 regular season conference titles and 15 conference tournament titles including eight straight CAA regular season and tournament titles from 1996-2003. The team has also won a NCAA field hockey record nine national titles. From 1990-1993 the Monarchs won 66 straight games including three national titles. As of 2013, 50 different Monarchs have been named All-Americans.
Note that field hockey is one of two ODU women's sports that uses "Monarchs" as its nickname instead of "Lady Monarchs", the other being lacrosse. The coeducational team in the non-NCAA sport of sailing also uses "Monarchs".
NCAA team championships
As of July 2, 2016, Old Dominion has 10 NCAA team national championships.
Wrestling
Old Dominion Monarchs wrestling was established in 1957. The school's departure from the CAA forced the wrestling team to become an associate member of the Mid-American Conference, as Conference USA does not sponsor wrestling. It also was a catalyst that caused the CAA to stop sponsoring the sport. The Old Dominion head wrestling coach is Steve Martin, currently in his tenth season with the program. Practice takes place at the Wrestling Facility and dual meets & tournaments are held at the Ted Constant Convocation Center located on campus.
Former Monarch wrestlers who went on to compete in mixed martial arts include Brandon Vera (formerly UFC) and Shanon Slack (Bellator)
Old Dominion Monarchs Wrestling team accomplishments: