Good morning Monarchs. There are certain days that all of us remember throughout our lives. Weddings, graduations, birth of a child, core memories that are built over the years.

40 years ago today, one of the greatest ODU athletes ever experienced “one of those days.” It’s a day that will always remembered in Monarch history.

Who and what is it, you ask?

I guess you’ll have to check it out and much more in today’s edition of the Brew!

⚽️ Mark Those Calendars
🏈 Countdown to Kickoff
🏀 On This Day…
👑 And much, much more!

📈 STOCK UP

🔼 Get Out Those iPhone Calendars. The quest for a title begins on Aug. 24 for the ODU men’s soccer team who, this week, announced its full slate for the upcoming fall campaign.

In search of their first conference title since 2017, the Monarchs will take on the likes of Kentucky, VCU, Coastal Carolina, Marshall, UCF and three other opponents in a LOADED home slate of games.

The Sun Belt Conference Tournament begins on campus sites on Sunday, November 5 with the quarterfinals. Semifinal action will be on Wednesday, November 8 and the championship will be on Sunday, November 12.

The Monarchs will return nine starters from a year ago, but six of those were freshman last year and in their first year at the collegiate level.

ODU will boast talented, but young and hungry squad that will challenge its opponents all fall long.

🔼 We Hoopin’. The ODU basketball camp opened this week in Norfolk with student-athletes from both the men’s and women’s team spending quality time making a difference in the lives of youth in our community.

🔼 A Peak Behind The Curtain. Ever wonder what it’s like for the ODU men’s hoops squad to prepare during the summer? Wonder what it’s like to grind when classmates and friends may be at the beach? What’s the mindset during the summer months?

All of that and more will be answered in a brand new “Monarchs In Motion” series that provides a behind the scenes look at the program’s offseason as they prepare for a new look squad, hungry to make some noise.

You don’t want to miss it.

🔼 Powerful Pair. Who wouldn’t want to come to the beach and play some golf for four years? That’s exactly what Svarin Yuenong and Carley Rudolf must be thinking when they signed on to join the ODU women’s golf program next season.

Yuenyong and Rudolf will join a group of new faces that now total five with Puneet Bajwa, Faith Garcia and Sarah Mardani being announced earlier this year.

Yuenyong played the last four years at Elon University, averaging a 77.14 with a +5.30 score versus par through 25 tournaments and 73 rounds. A team captain for the Phoenix, she competed in nine tournaments in 2022-23 and owned an average score of 75.31 with a +3.54 score versus par.

Rudolf, a Virginia Beach native, graduated from First Colonial High School. As a freshman in 2015, she won the Virginia High School League Girls State Championship with a two-day total of 144. She then carded a one-under 143 to earn Co-Medalist Honors at the 2017 VHSL State Championship. Entering her junior year at ODU, she is working towards a communications degree.

🦁 WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

The Verlander name is synonymous with ODU baseball. Sure, Justin turned out to be pretty decent, but younger brother Ben turned in an All-American career himself.

After several years bouncing around the Tigers minor leagues the younger Verlander used his ODU education to gain a meteoric rise through baseball broadcasting and is now one of the most well-known names through FoxSports and MLB Network.

His twitter following has nearly doubled in the past year and his Flippin’ Bats podcast reaches millions across the globe.

🏈 COUNTDOWN TO KICKOFF: 66 DAYS

66 (2x). That’s right, not once, but TWICE that the Monarchs piled up 66 points during the 2013 season that saw them go 8-4 overall and a perfect 6-0 at home that year.

The 66 points is the fourth-highest single game total for ODU with the Monarchs scoring 76 during that same 2013 season.

The 66 points came home wins over Albany (Sept. 28 - W, 66-10) and Rhode Island (Nov. 2 - W, 66-14). Both of which were former CAA rivals.

🤔 MONARCH TRIVIA

On this day, 40 years ago, an ODU Monarch was taken in the NBA Draft.

He went on to play 17 years in the NBA, making him the longest tenured Monarch in the NBA.

Can you come up with one of the all-time greats at ODU?

Hint: His number hangs in the rafters.

Think you’ve got it? Scroll down to the bottom of this email and see if you had the right answer!

🏠 HOME HAPPENS HERE

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📬 STICK WITH US

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🎉 TRIVIA ANSWER

Answer: Mark West

With the 30th overall pick in the 1983 NBA Draft, the Dallas Mavericks selected West on this day 40 years ago.

West played 17 seasons in the NBA with seven different teams. He played in 1,090 games, scored 6,259 points (5.7 ppg), grabbed 5347 rebounds (4.9 rpg) and blocked 1,403 shots.

ODU retired his #45 jersey back in 1984.

Let’s have a great Wednesday!