Early history: Tommy Scott era (1930–1940) According to sports historian Peter Stewart, in September 1930 a reporter asked Coach
Tommy Scott whether the
Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary should have a football team. Scott answered that he had not thought of having one, but within two days a team was "put together hurriedly" and began playing other small colleges. In late December 1932, the team played the
University of Miami Hurricanes in Miami, after the four-year college sent an invitation to
William & Mary which the two-year Norfolk Division accidentally received. The college played football for 11 seasons (1930–1940), with a record of 42–36–4. The program was discontinued due to a rule against freshman players, a $10,000 debt, and
accreditation issues. The team lost every game in its last season, attendance was small, and Stewart believes that World War II would likely have forced the program to end regardless of other reasons. The Monarchs were outscored by a total of only eight points in their two losses. Wilder's inaugural team finished the year ranked in the top ten in five FCS statistical categories, including second in sacks allowed, third in scoring offense, turnover margin and net punting. The 2009 Monarchs were ninth in rushing offense. Season tickets for the Monarchs' inaugural season sold out quickly and the school had to refund 1,065 orders. Foreman Field, formerly the ODU
field hockey and women's lacrosse teams' home venue, was renovated to accommodate the new football program. Field hockey and women's lacrosse were relocated to the Powhatan Sports Complex. In its first three years of competition after its rebirth, Old Dominion compiled a 26–7 record and earned a berth in the 2011 FCS playoffs, hosting and defeating its crosstown rival
Norfolk State. Also in 2011, after playing 27 games in its "modern era", ODU received its first Top 25 ranking on October 3, coming in at No. 21 in
The Sports Network poll. The Monarchs were ranked among the Top Ten after competing in 33 games.
CAA years: 2011–2012 In 2011, ODU completed their first season in the CAA with a 9–2 record and a second-place finish in the conference. Most media had picked ODU to finish near the bottom of the conference. However, ODU outperformed those predictions and ultimately hosted a first round FCS playoff game. On 26 November 2011 the ODU Monarchs beat their crosstown rivals, the
Norfolk State Spartans, 35–18 to advance to the second round of the 2011 FCS playoffs. ODU then traveled to Georgia to play the
Georgia Southern Eagles in the second round of the playoffs, where they lost 55–48. Following the season, the Monarchs finished 10th in the final poll. In April 2012, several reports linked ODU to possible realignment in FBS conferences
Big East and
Conference USA (C-USA) with possible conference play that begin as soon as 2013. The Big East reports were silenced with the addition of schools
University of Houston,
University of Central Florida,
Southern Methodist University, and
University of Memphis. However, the C-USA was still interested in ODU after adding five new schools including
University of North Carolina at Charlotte,
Florida International,
University of North Texas,
Louisiana Tech, and
Texas-San Antonio. In May 2012, it was officially announced that ODU would join C-USA for all sports effective July 1, 2013. Despite being voted ineligible for the conference automatic bid and conference title, the Monarchs finished atop the CAA with a 7–1 in conference record. By finishing the regular season 10–1, the Monarchs won an at large bid into the 2012 NCAA Division I FCS Playoffs. The Monarchs lost to Georgia Southern 49–35 in the quarterfinals of the playoffs after the Eagles mounted a comeback by out-scoring the Monarchs 28–0 in the fourth quarter. During the loss to
Georgia Southern, sophomore quarterback
Taylor Heinicke passed
Steve McNair for the most passing yards in a single season by an FCS quarterback with 5,076 yards. He also became the first quarterback to eclipse the 5,000 yard mark in a season as well as setting the record for most completions in a season with 398.
Move to FBS ODU began its transition to the
NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) at the conclusion of the 2012 season. The Monarchs spent 2013 as an FCS independent team. Originally, the 2014 season was to be spent as an FBS independent before being fully accepted into the C-USA with both bowl and championship eligibility. After a vote by the C-USA, it was changed so that the program would be eligible in 2014 for the conference title and a bowl berth. The Monarchs won the final 3 games of the 2014 season to finished the season 6–6 and tied for 3rd in the east division of C-USA. 2014 was also Heinicke's final year at ODU. In 2015 ODU football team competed fully bowl eligible. On September 19, 2015, North Carolina State played at Foreman Field. It was the first
ACC and Power 5 school to play Old Dominion in Norfolk. Prior to the 2016 season, Old Dominion announced that it would redevelop Foreman Field in two phases: Phase I would increase the capacity from 20,118 to 22,130 after rebuilding the east and west grandstands between the 2018 and 2019 seasons. Phase II would increase the capacity from 22,130 to 30,004. A timeline for Phase II has not been announced. After a 10–3 season in 2016 (7–1 in C-USA play), Old Dominion made it to their first bowl berth, defeating Eastern Michigan in the
2016 Bahamas Bowl. On September 22, 2018, Old Dominion shocked then No. 13 Virginia Tech by defeating them 49–35 at home in front of a record crowd of 20,532. This game marked the first Monarch victory over both a
Power 5 and ranked opponent. The stadium is also known as "The Castle" to fans. On April 26, 2019,
Oshane Ximines became the first Old Dominion player selected in the NFL Draft. He was drafted by the
New York Giants in the third round with the 95th overall pick in the
2019 NFL draft. 49–35. Jeremy Cox (pictured, No. 35) rushed for 130 yards, including a 40-yard run that sealed the win late in the fourth quarter. On December 2, 2019, Wilder resigned as the head coach of Old Dominion.
Ricky Rahne era (2020–present) Ricky Rahne, former Penn State offensive coordinator, was announced as the next head coach on December 10, 2019. Amid the
COVID-19 pandemic, the university announced that the 2020 football season for the Monarchs was canceled due to concerns about the safety of athletes and coaches. Rahne coached his first full season in 2021. After a 1–6 start ODU went on a 5 game winning streak to end the regular season 6–6; while becoming Bowl eligible for the second time in program history. ODU played in the Myrtle Beach Bowl, but lost to Tulsa. The 2022 season had some big changes. As the Monarchs across all sports moved into the
Sun Belt Conference in July of that year, leaving C-USA (along with Southern Miss and Marshall). The 2022 season got off to a rough start when offensive coordinator Dave Patenaude resigned just two weeks before the season opener. Despite his departure ODU would start with an upset win over Virginia Tech by a final score 20–17. The Monarchs would go on to have a disappointing season, finishing 3–9. The 2023 season showed improvement, as the Monarchs finished the regular season 6–6 and earned a berth in the Famous Toastery Bowl, where they lost to Western Kentucky to close the year at 6–7. In 2024, Old Dominion went 5–7 in the regular season, with a three game losing streak late in the season effectively ending their bowl eligibility for the year. The 2025 season began with a milestone victory, as ODU defeated Virginia Tech 45–26 in Blacksburg, the Monarchs’ first road win over a Power Four opponent. ==Conference affiliations==