The Old Dominion Monarchs field hockey team represent Old Dominion University in the Big East Conference of NCAA Division I field hockey.

History

The Old Dominion field hockey program initiated as the Norfolk Division Braves of the College of William & Mary in 1930, competing with local high school clubs and trade schools prior to its independence. Once the independent Old Dominion College was established after governor

Albertis Harrison Albertis Sydney Harrison Jr. (January 11, 1907 – January 23, 1995) was an American politician and jurist. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party associated with Virginia's Byrd Organization, he was the List of Governo ...

dissolved the William & Mary college system in 1962, the field hockey program began competitions with other local, independent college clubs. Competitions expanded past the local level after the hiring of head coach

Beth Anders Elizabeth Rambo "Beth" Anders (born November 13, 1951 in Norristown, Pennsylvania) is a former field hockey sweeper from the United States, who was a member of the national team that won the bronze medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angele ...

in the early 1980s. Under her 30-season tenure as head coach, the Monarchs achieved nine NCAA tournament championship titles, producing six

Honda Sports Award The Honda Sports Award is an annual award in the United States, given to the best collegiate female athlete in each of twelve sports. There are four nominees for each sport, and the twelve winners of the Honda Sports Award are automatically in th ...

winners and 17 competitors in the Olympic Games. Anders helped the U.S. field hockey team win bronze in the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...

, won 12 CAA Coach of the Year awards, and was the winningest coach in NCAA history upon her retirement. The Monarchs hired former Canadian forward Andrew Griffiths following Anders' departure. Griffiths remains as ODU's head coach as of the 2023 season. The Monarchs previously competed in the

Colonial Athletic Association The Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I whose full members are located in East Coast states from Massachusetts to South Carolina. Most of its members are public universi ...

from 1991 to 2012 prior to Old Dominion's move to the FBS. While

Conference USA Conference USA (C-USA or CUSA) is an intercollegiate athletic conference whose current member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. C-USA's offices are l ...

served as ODU's primary conference starting in 2013, they did not sponsor field hockey as a sport. The field hockey program joined the new Big East Conference as an associate member following its conference realignment.

Stadium

The Monarchs play their games at the Powhatan Sports Complex on ODU campus in

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

, which permanently seats 1,500 and holds an

AstroTurf AstroTurf is an American subsidiary of SportGroup that produces artificial turf for playing surfaces in sports. The original AstroTurf product was a short-pile synthetic turf invented in 1965 by Monsanto. Since the early 2000s, AstroTurf has m ...

playing surface. The venue has received national attention through its hosting of three NCAA field hockey championships. The Old Dominion field hockey program previously played at Foreman Field (now

S.B. Ballard Stadium S.B. Ballard Stadium, formerly Foreman Field, is a 21,944-seat multi-purpose stadium on the campus of Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. It opened in 1936 with a football game between the University of Virginia and the College of Willi ...

) prior to the establishment of the sports complex in 2008. Three previous NCAA tournament championships were played at Foreman Field, including the 2000 championship won by Old Dominion.

History

Stadium

All-time record

Individual honors

See also

References

External links