Happy Friday Monarchs. Remember the last time an ACC school visited Ballard Stadium?

We figured we’d remind you just in case.

Today, we preview another ACC squad that will visit Norfolk this fall. In addition, our hoops squads learn future opponents and a look back at some NBA draft history.

Check out what else is stirred into today’s Brew!

🏀 Mark The Calendars
🏈 Scouting Report: Wake Forest
⛹️ Some NBA Draft History
👑 And much, much more!

📈 STOCK UP

🔼 Hooiser State, Here We Come. A brand new ODU men’s hoops team learned one of its future opponents this week as the first round of the MAC-SBC Basketball challenge was announced.

The Monarchs will head to Indiana to take on Ball State on Saturday, Nov. 11, the first-ever matchup between the two schools. Ball State finished 20-12 last season and fourth in the MAC.

The second MAC-SBC Challenge contest for each team will take place on Saturday, Feb. 10, 2024 and announced in January. Old Dominion will host a MAC school that day.

Each MAC and Sun Belt team included in the MAC-SBC Challenge, currently scheduled to take place during the 2023-24 and 2024-25 campaigns, is guaranteed one home and one away game each season.

All MAC-SBC challenge games will be carried on an ESPN platform.

🔼 Bring On The Bulls. No, not MJ’s Bulls. The University of Buffalo Bulls.

The ODU’s women’s squad also learned their first round opponent for the MAC-SBC Basketball challenge, the Bulls of Buffalo, scheduled for Saturday, November 11 in Norfolk.

In the first-ever meeting between the two programs, ODU will face a Buffalo squad that is coming off a 2022-23 campaign that saw them finish 12-16 overall and 7-11 in conference play. They would fall to perennial MAC power and eventual league champion, Toledo, in last year’s conference tournament.

Like the men, the women will also learn their second MAC-SBC opponent in January for the Feb. 10 matchup, which will have the Monarchs on the road for that contest.

🔼 Monarchs On A Mission. Our Monarchs are spending plenty of the offseason in the weight room.

On Sunday, it will be a different trip to the weight room as the ODU football team is partnering with Uplifting Athletes for a “Lift for Life” competition.

The competition pairs the offense against the defense in who can raise more pledge money per rep. The money raised will go to Uplifting athletes, a non-profit that helps those battling rare diseases.

🦁 SCOUTING REPORT FRIDAY: WAKE FOREST

Opponent #2: Wake Forest
Date: Saturday, September 16th
Location: Ballard Stadium — Norfolk, Va.
Time: 12:00pm ET
Broadcast Coverage: ESPN2/ESPNU, ODU Sports Radio Network

Last Meeting: Sept. 3, 2021 - Wake Forest 42, Old Dominion 10
All-Time Series: Wake Forest 1, Old Dominion 0

Famous Alumni Battle: 

ODU: Nancy Lieberman (Basketball Hall of Famer), Justin Verlander (MLB All-Star), Taylor Heinicke (NFL QB), Jay Harris (ESPN Anchor), Ben Bailey (host of Cash Cab), William Fallon (Four Star Navy Admiral)
Wake Forest: Chris Paul (NBA All-Star), Tim Duncan (NBA Hall of Famer), Arnold Palmer (Golfing legend), Ross Atkins (GM of the Toronto Blue Jays), Joe Lawson (co-creator of GEICO Caveman commercials), Zach Klein (co-founder of Vimeo)

Two schools separated by less than 300 miles will meet for the second time in two seasons when the Demon Deacons make their first trip to Norfolk.

Wake Forest’s magical 2021 season was kicked off with a victory over the Monarchs en route to an appearance in the ACC Championship Game and an 11-3 overall record and top-15 ranking that season.

The contest was the coaching debut for Ricky Rahne as well as the collegiate debut for this season’s returning QB Hayden Wolff.

Wake Forest has posted seven consecutive winning seasons under Dave Clawson, who has turned the Demon Deacons into a perennial contender in the ACC. This fall, they will be transitioning to a new QB after their starter from last season, Sam Hartman, transferred to Notre Dame.

ODU will have a chance to put up some points as Wake Forest’s defense allowed nearly 30 points a game last fall.

🏈 COUNTDOWN TO KICKOFF: 71 DAYS

71 (Minus 1). September 15, 2012 at Foreman Field. It was a sign of things to come when Taylor Heinicke and the ODU offense lit up the scoreboard en a 70-14 rout of Campbell.

It was the first time that ODU had ever surpassed more than 57 points (they’ve since reached 70+ two other times) in the program’s short history.

On that Saturday, Heinicke went 21-of-29 for 486 yards and SEVEN passing TDs. The Monarchs had six passing plays of 40 yards or more. Heinicke also ran for 46 yards and a score as well.

Rumor has it, the Heinicke guy had a pretty good season that year.

🤔 MONARCH TRIVIA

Last night was the 2023 NBA Draft.

The Monarchs have a storied history with the event, having 13 players selected by NBA organizations.

Can you name the first Monarch to be selected in the NBA Draft?

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

📬 STICK WITH US

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🎉 TRIVIA ANSWER

Answer: Harry Lozon.

The sharp-shooter was an All-American for ODU and his scoring prowess earned him a 13th round selection by the San Diego Rockets in the 1970 NBA Draft (they moved to Houston a year later).

In his four seasons at ODU, he scored 1,424 points and grabbed 513 rebounds. He held or at least shared four school records when his career concluded in 1970. He twice averaged over 20 points per game, including 20.7 for the 1967-68 squad. Twice, he captained the squad, both years the team reached the NCAA Division II Regional tournaments.

Fun fact about Lozon: He was the first official “Big Blue” mascot when it debuted in 1971.

Have a great weekend, y’all!