Old Dominion football history: seasons, coaches, rivalries, bowls

Zeitgeist statureRegional Program III#151 all-time– holding

Stature and coaches, 2014–2026

The program’s standing over time, with every coach’s tenure beneath it — read down to see who was there for each rise and fall.

Old Dominion is Regional Program today. Never reached Dynasty tier; Regional Program is its high, most recently in 2026.

James MadisonLiberty#1 nationally

DynastyBlue BloodPower ProgramNational ProgramRegional Program

Run↔pass identity, by season

Every coach, tenure by tenure, on the coaching page →

Program outlook

Old Dominion didn't play football for 68 years. In 2025 the Monarchs went to Blacksburg, hung 45 on Virginia Tech, won ten games, and authored the best season in a program that has existed for 17 years. The resurrection is real.

Since Jun 14: W 10-3 at App State; L 15-23 vs Georgia Southern; L 0-26 at Louisiana Tech; L 23-36 vs Marshall. 2-7 this season.

Read the full essay — 3 more paragraphs

The program didn't exist until 2009. Bobby Wilder built it from the first practice — a commuter university in Norfolk's Tidewater with no football culture, no recruiting base, and no reason to think it would become anything. By 2014 the Monarchs were FBS. In 2016 they won the Bahamas Bowl. In 2018 they went to Blacksburg and beat the No. 13 Virginia Tech program 49-35 — a Power Four giant-kill that announced the program had a chip and wasn't afraid to use it. The identity was set: a young program with nothing to protect, built to ambush bigger names with players nobody else trusted.

The 2025 season was the clearest proof yet. Ricky Rahne's sixth-year program went 10-3 — the first ten-win FBS season in program history — with a Sun Belt record good enough to force respect. The Blacksburg trip in September was the program's signature moment: ODU 45, Virginia Tech 26, on the Hokies' own field, the first road win over a Power Four program since the program started playing people. Colton Joseph accounted for three touchdowns. A win that helped cost the Hokies their coach. The Monarchs closed the year with a 24-10 Cure Bowl win over South Florida, a program with resources and history that still lost to the 17-year-old upstart from Norfolk.

Entering 2026, the question is whether ten wins becomes a floor or a peak. The Sun Belt is a real conference now, not a soft landing for mid-majors — winning it outright requires depth, portal acumen, and the ability to beat Sun Belt programs that can also recruit. The fanbase fracture is clean and generous: the dream-bigger room wants ODU treated as a genuine Sun Belt contender with upward trajectory; the grateful-for-everything room is still quietly amazed the program exists at all. Both are right, and 2026 is where the distinction matters.

On the field

Tidewater-tough and opportunistic: a young program built on the chip of being underestimated, with a scheme designed to create explosive plays out of scheme rather than physical mismatches. Rahne's offense uses spread concepts with a mobile quarterback at the center, manufactured yards-after-contact and manufactured big plays out of designed rollouts and receiver motion. The defense punches above its recruiting level through preparation. The program's best games have come as decided underdogs — the nothing-to-lose brand is not an accident, it is a cultivated identity.

Program outlook · as of Jun 14, 2026

Old Dominion has won 53% of its games since 2009 — 60% at home, 41% on the road.

108-95 all-time · 17 seasons · 2009–2026

Home 59-39

Away 36-52

Neutral 13-4

82%

2000s

56%

2010s

44%

2020s

Era record 63-82 12 seasons

Best season 10-3 2025

Trajectory · quality-score line · AP rank dotted · CFP bids marked · coach regimes ribboned

Program quality AP rank (inverted) CFP appearance

Swipe left for earlier seasons

Chapters · 12 seasons · tap to open the archive

'14 6-6 '15 5-7 '16 10-3 '17 5-7 '18 4-8 '19 1-11 '21 6-7 '22 3-9 '23 6-7 '24 5-7 '25 10-3 '26 2-7

Old Dominion’s 2014–2026 record is 63-82.

Ricky Rahne

Ricky Rahne has held the program for 7 seasons — the era is established.

Era Ricky Rahne · 2020–presentPrev: Bobby Wilder (2014–2019)OC: Kody CookPrev OC: Kevin Decker (2023–2025)DC: Blake SeilerPrev DC: David Blackwell (co) / Grady Brown (co) (2019)

The full CFP-era story →The full coaching lineage →

7 years · era

Moments in Old Dominion history

Old Dominion 34, North Texas 31Nov 10, 2018
Marshall 48, Old Dominion 24Oct 11, 2025
Old Dominion 49, Virginia Tech 35Sep 22, 2018

On this date, Nov 4, 2023: Coastal Carolina 28, Old Dominion 24

2009

Football resurrected

The Monarchs play their first game in 68 years — the founding moment of the modern program

2018

Upset of No. 13 Virginia Tech

ODU 49, Virginia Tech 35 — the program's first win over a ranked Power team and the biggest win in school history

2025

Rout of Virginia Tech in Blacksburg

ODU 45, Virginia Tech 26 — the program's first road win over a Power Four team

Moment of the year · 2026

Won 10-3 at App State

Week 6 of 2026. Won as a 8.5-point underdog — the result the market didn't see coming. It turned on one snap in Q4 — Maurki James, a 42-point win-probability swing.

Old Dominion’s chance to win through the game; the line turns dark at the play.

YOU CAN'T KEEP ODU FROM SCORING A TOUCHDOWN 10 QUARTERS IN A ROW!r/CFB game thread

Upset · was a 8.5-point underdog

2023–2023

Old Dominion has sent 3 players to the NFL Draft since 2023 — none in the first round.

Developing. Pipeline emerging.

3 picks · 0 in round 1

#103 Nick Saldiveri Offensive Tackle · 2023 ·

New Orleans Saints

#209 Tre Hawkins III Cornerback · 2023 ·

New York Giants · #121/322 final season

#220 Zack Kuntz Tight End · 2023 ·

New York Jets · #6/119 final season

the talent factory →

#	Program	Record
1	Louisiana Tech	4-0
2	James Madison	4-2
3	Georgia Southern	3-1
4	App State	2-2
5	Arkansas State	2-2
6	Coastal Carolina	2-2
7	Louisiana	2-2
8	Marshall	2-2
9	South Alabama	2-2
10	Southern Miss	2-2
11	Troy	2-2
12	Georgia State	1-3
13	UL Monroe	1-3
14	Old Dominion	1-5

Old Dominion’s offense and defense, by coordinator

FBS-relative efficiency percentile per season (2014–2026), same population as the Coordinator Mirror board. Dashed vertical lines mark a coordinator change.

Offense2014–2026

2014–2019 · Brian Scott2020–2021 · Kirk Campbell2022 · Kevin Reihner2023–2025 · Kevin Decker2026 · Kody Cook

Defense2014–2026

2014–2018 · Rich Nagy2019 · David Blackwell (co) / Grady Brown (co)2020–2026 · Blake Seiler

Elite (≥70th pct)AveragePoor (≤30th pct)

Gameday customsThe gameday customs unique to this program.

Rituals

Three gameday rituals — the ones outsiders never quite catch.

2009 Football Resurrection

since 2009

Old Dominion football was dropped after the 1941 season + remained dormant for 68 years. The 2009 program resurrection — under Bobby Wilder — produced rapid ascent: FCS in 2009, FBS reclassification in 2014, multiple bowl appearances. The 68-year gap + revival is unique in CFB. The 2009 ODU 'Football Returns' moment is permanent institutional canon.

Bobby Wilder 2009-2018 Era

since 2009

Bobby Wilder — the football resurrection-era head coach — built ODU from scratch through FCS to FBS to Conference USA membership. The 2016 10-3 + Bahamas Bowl championship was the era's peak. Wilder's 2018 retirement opened Bobby Rahne's tenure; Ricky Rahne's 2020-present tenure continues the rebuild.

S.B. Ballard Stadium 2019

since 2019

S.B. Ballard Stadium (built 2019, replacing old Foreman Field on the same site) — Old Dominion's dedicated football venue with 22,000 capacity — anchors the post-2009 era. The Norfolk Tidewater geographic setting + modern facilities + 2019 ribbon-cutting + the brick-and-concrete construction create a venue distinct from the historic legacy programs.

Cultural identityWhat college football loses if this program didn't exist.

BowlsLast 5 bowls 2-2, 2-2 since 2016

Recent postseason (2016-2025): 2-2

Most recent: 2025 Cure Bowl — win 10-24. Last 5 postseason: 2-2.

2025 W 2023 L 2021 L 2016 W

Reddit blowupsThe plays that blew up on r/CFB.

r/CFB moments

886

[Postgame Thread] Old Dominion Defeats USF 24-10

Dec 2025 · r/CFB

560

[Postgame Thread] WKU Defeats Old Dominion 38-35 (OT)

Dec 2023 · r/CFB

107

[Game Thread] Famous Toastery Bowl: Old Dominion vs. WKU (2:30 PM ET)

Dec 2023 · r/CFB

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