Good morning! Here at the Brew, we never bury the lede. Old Dominion football has just released their 2023 Promo Schedule—so if you want to know the dates for Homecoming, Military Appreciation Day, just keep scrolling because we’ve got everything you need to know down below…

What else are we tossing into today’s Brew?

🏈 Save the date(s)
🏐 Across the pond
👑 And much, much more!

📈 STOCK UP 

🔼 Save The Date(s). Old Dominion football will host Texas A&M University-Commerce in the annual Homecoming game on Saturday, September 23, but that’s not the only important date on the Monarchs’ calendar. Click here for all the information and look below to start planning those Saturday afternoon tailgates.

• September 9: ODU opens the home slate against Louisiana which doubles as First Responders Night—the Monarchs will honor and recognize our local heroes! First responders who present a valid badge will receive ticket discounts.

• September 16: When Wake Forest comes to town, it’ll be Youth Day. Children 12 and under can receive a discounted ticket and have postgame field access for photos with the ODU Spirit Squad and Big Blue.

• September 23: It’s Homecoming! Kickoff against Texas A&M University-Commerce is tentatively set for 3:30pm ET, but it’s subject to change.

• October 21: The Monarchs bring in App State for the Oyster Bowl and Family Weekend. Let’s hope history repeats itself—ODU is 8-3 all-time in the Oyster Bowl since its return in 2011.

• November 4: ODU hosts Coastal Carolina for Military Appreciation Day. Discounted tickets for all active duty, retired and military personnel with valid military ID will be available for this game.

• November 25: The regular season finale doubles as Senior Day with Georgia State coming to town.

🔼 Ola! Hola! Hello! Old Dominion volleyball is headed across the pond for the first time next week as the Monarchs travel to Spain and Portugal as part of their European Volleyball Tour starting Monday, May 15. It’ll be the program's first opportunity to travel abroad. The Monarchs are headed into their fourth season as a program in fall 2023 and NCAA rules permit teams to travel overseas once every four years.

The trip provides the Monarchs with the opportunity to take the court against several Spanish and Portuguese volleyball clubs, to include matches with Barca CVB, the Spanish Junior National Team, Club Voleibol Torrejon, and Club Oeiras Next Level.

🔼 Tip The Scales. Old Dominion baseball is traveling north to face off against James Madison for the final three matchups of the year in what’s become known as the TowneBank Royal Rivalry Challenge. And while the Dukes are neck and neck with the Monarchs in the conference standings, this is a series that could catapult Old Dominion into a much higher seed come Sun Belt Conference Championship time.

Here are three stats where the Monarchs are currently besting the Dukes so far this year…

🛡️ ERA: We’ll start with the stat where Old Dominion is better than everyone else in the Sun Belt. Thanks to ace Sam Armstrong who has a 2.71 ERA through 12 starts, the Monarchs have combined to throw for a team 4.90 ERA. What’s so magic about the number “5” though? James Madison is 2-12 this year when they can only muster five (or fewer) runs.

🚀 Home Runs: Only Georgia State has averaged more than Old Dominion’s 1.91 long balls this season. And James Madison is one of just four Sun Belt teams to average fewer than one home run per game.

👀 Walks: Hey, if they’re gonna give you free bases, you might as well take them. The Monarchs lead the conference with 5.5 walks per game, compared to James Madison and their 4.5 walks per game—an average of one extra base runner every game. Advantage: Old Dominion.

🤔 MONARCH TRIVIA

It all adds up. As we said above, Old Dominion’s annual Homecoming Game will be on Saturday, September 23rd against Texas A&M University-Commerce. Today’s trivia is less about the history of the program or iconic box scores… and instead a math question:

How many days until Saturday, September 23rd? (No calculators allowed.)

Think you got it? Scroll down to the bottom of this email for the answer!

👑 ONE BIG THING

Down to the wire. Old Dominion threw eight pitchers, and they were brilliant, and third baseman Kenny Levari provided some ninth inning heroics when he lofted a home run over the left-field fence to send the annual Commonwealth Classic game into extra innings—but No. 14 East Carolina rallied in the top of the 13th, to outlast the Monarchs in their latest midweek matchup at Bud Metheny Ballpark.

Read more about ODU's pitchers (including three freshmen and a sophomore!) allowing just one run and six hits through 12 innings—and learn how a loss could be an encouraging step towards Sun Belt play this weekend in the latest from The Max With Minium.

📬 STICK WITH US

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📅 THE DAYS AHEAD

Friday 5/12

⚾ Baseball at James Madison @ 6:00pm ET on ESPN+ | Live Video | Live Audio

Saturday 5/13

⚾ Baseball at James Madison @ 6:00pm ET on ESPN+ | Live Video | Live Audio

Sunday 5/14

🚣 Women’s Rowing @ AAC Championships

⚾ Baseball at James Madison @ 1:00pm ET on ESPN+ | Live Video | Live Audio

🎉 TRIVIA ANSWER

Answer: 134 days!

So close. So very, very close.

Have a great Friday and an even better weekend, y’all!