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Monarch Brew 7/6: Opening Acts
Monarchs Learn Partners For First Round of MAC-SBC Challenge
Monarch Brew Crew
July 06, 2026
Good Morning, ODU Fam. While the rest of us are already thinking about being back on the beach, the Monarchs are grinding away!
What all do we have stirring in today’s Brew? Check it out below!
🏀 Opening Acts
🥍 Welcome To The Fam
⏱️ Countin’ Down
🦁 And much more!
🏈 WE’RE IN THE GAME
The excitement is building for the upcoming football season and plenty of fans will enjoy those moments on the newest edition of EASports College Football 27.
Before the game was released to the public, our Monarchs got a sneak peek of what’s to come and even had some reaction to this year’s individual rankings.
📈 STOCK UP
🔼 Opening Acts. Two first time matchups will get the 2026-27 ODU Basketball seasons underway in November.
Late last week, the first round of pairings for the 2026-27 MAC-SBC Challenge, a scheduling alliance between the Mid-American and Sun Belt Conferences, were released.
This year’s first round will be played on November 2, with Sun Belt women’s programs on the road and its men’s programs hosting.
ODU men will tip off the season with a home matchup with Western Michigan, while the women will hit the road to take on Central Michigan.
🔼 Welcome To The Fam. Another piece has been added to the coaching puzzle for the ODU women’s lacrosse program.
Head Coach Lauren Gunning has hired Jillian Rizzo as an assistant coach. Rizzo comes to ODU with six years of collegiate coaching experience, most recently serving as the defensive coordinator and goalkeeper specialist at the University of Southern California alongside Gunning for two seasons.
At USC, Rizzo helped the Trojans compile an 18-16 record while serving as assistant coach and defensive coordinator. Prior to USC, she spent three seasons at Marquette as an assistant coach.
🏈 COUNTIN’ DOWN: 5️⃣9️⃣ DAYS TIL KICKOFF
Throughout the summer, we will be counting down the days
to the return of ODU Football this fall. The Monarchs will host
Norfolk State on September 5 at 6 p.m.
Just a few years after the ODU offense lit up the scoreboard through the air, the Monarchs took to the ground in 2016, rolling to a program record, 2,55️⃣9️⃣ rushing yards.
Leading the way was the two-headed duo of Ray Lawry and Jeremy Cox, who combined for 1,989 yards on their own.
The Monarchs rolled to a 10-3 record and earned the program’s first-ever Bowl invite with a spot in the 2016 Bahamas Bowl.
🦁 MONARCH TRIVIA
How many rushing TDs did the Monarchs score during that historic 2016 season?
Got a guess?
Scroll to the bottom to find the answer!
* All Times are Eastern
Saturday, September 5th
🏈 Football vs. Norfolk State @ 6 pm l ESPN+
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Simply forward them this email and they can sign up to receive the brew by clicking the link below to subscribe. The Brew is sent every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and is completely free!
🎉 TRIVIA ANSWER
Answer: 27
🦁 Have a great one, y’all!