Good morning Monarchs! Prepping the tailgate menus yet? Studying the rosters? Securing your tickets?

However you are getting ready, we all know that football season is right around the season and what signifies it the most is Media Day.

Today, ODU takes the stage in New Orleans with its six other Sun Belt East counterparts to preview an exciting fall ahead.

We’ve got details on how to follow along and much more!

What else is stirring in today’s edition of the Brew? Check it out!

🎙 Monarchs At The Mic
🏀 Honors Court
🦁 Super Supporter
👑 And much, much more!

📈 STOCK UP

🔼 Next On Stage. While most people may travel to New Orleans to catch the sights, enjoy Bourbon Street or take down a few beignets, three of our own are headed to south on a business trip.

ODU is one of the seven teams participating today at Sun Belt Conference Media Day. Head Coach Ricky Rahne, wide receiver Javon Harvey and linebacker Jason Henderson are on site to represent the Monarchs.

The main stage portion of the event will be broadcast live on ESPN+ at noon. Fans can click here to watch.

Rahne, Harvey and Henderson will also appear in studio with Matt Stewart and Rocky Boiman. That will air at approximately 4:30 p.m. on ESPN+.

🔼 Preseason Praise. Two-for-one is always a good deal.

That’s exactly what ODU football received as part of its trip to New Orleans for Sun Belt Media Days as linebacker Jason Henderson and punter Ethan Duane were honored.

Henderson was named the Conference Preseason Defensive Player of the Year and first-team selection, while Duane earned a spot on the preseason second-team.

🔼 Holding Court. Sure, recently graduated P.J. Gill showed flashes of his talent on the hardwood throughout his two years in Norfolk. But what most folks didn’t get to see was him doing the exact same in the classroom.

That hard work in the classroom was honored this week as he was was named to the 2022-23 National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Honors Court, as announced by the NABC.
 
Gill graduated with a degree in leadership this past May after playing for two seasons. He was a team captain last season and saw action in six games, starting against Marshall on Senior Night.

The NABC Honors Court includes junior, senior and graduate student men's basketball players who finished the 2022-23 school year with a cumulative GPA of 3.2 or higher.

🔼 Good As Gold. Let’s make it a half a dozen for Coach.

One gold medal is incredible special. But six? That’s just crazy.

That’s exactly what the ODU women’s basketball head coach DeLisha Milton-Jones has on her resume after being on the sideline for the gold medal winning Team USA squad at the recent 2023 Women’s U19 World Cup Team.

The Americans rolled through the group phase and the first three bracket play games with an average margin of victory of 49.2.

In the finals, it was a battle to the end with Team USA pulling out a thrilling 69-66 victory over Spain in front of a record-breaking crowd of over 7,000.

The gold medal goes on top of Milton-Jones’ four gold medals as a player (two Olympic and two World Cups), and one other as a coach (U18 FIBA World Cup).

🔼 Super Supporter. The ODU blood runs incredibly deep.

The passion and dedication from the Monarch faithful makes so many things possible for our student-athletes and athletic department.

But the support isn’t just financially based and no one knows it better than Michele Mulich, who’s been supporting Big Blue for decades.

Don’t miss reading this fantastic deep dive into Mulich and her story and passion for the Monarchs.

🔼 The Best Of The Best. Five of the best Monarchs recently received a phone call they’ll never forget as ODU has announced its 2023 ODU Athletic Hall of Fame class that will be honored on September 23rd this fall.

A two-sport standout, a former defensive tackle from the early days of FCS football, a women's soccer member of the first NCAA Tournament team and a pair of golfers will be a part of this year’s class.

Lisa Bernardini DeJohn (Women's Lacrosse/Women's Soccer), Ronnie Cameron (Football), Samantha Morrell (Women's Golf), Eric Onesi (Men's Golf) and Katie Watson (Women's Soccer) will receive the honor on the morning of the ODU Football game against Texas A&M University-Commerce to highlight Homecoming Weekend. 

🔼 Secure Your Seat. Trying to set your plans for the fall? Make sure your secure your tickets NOW!

That’s right, ODU Football Mini Plans and Single Game tickets are now on sale and with a great slate of home games, an exciting roster and coming off the highest single-season attendance record in program history… you don’t want to miss out!

🤔 MONARCH TRIVIA

22 days away.

That’s all we are from the start of another year of ODU Athletics.

In 22 days, the ODU women’s soccer squad will step onto the field and start their quest to defend their 2022 Sun Belt Conference Championship.

22 is the exact number of total goals scored by the Monarchs last season.

Do you know who led the squad in that category and bonus points if you can tell us how many she scored?

Think you’ve got it?

Scroll down to the bottom of this email and see if you had the right answer!

🏈 COUNTDOWN TO KICKOFF: 38 DAYS

Before Heinicke Mania took over Norfolk, there was Thomas DeMarco, a foundational piece of building the ODU program.

DeMarco, a Palm Desert, Calif. native, was the first starting QB for the Monarchs, starting all 11 games in 2009.

During that 2009 season, he helped ODU rank 10th among all FCS schools in rushing offense.

He averaged 255.7 yards of total offense a game during that 2009 season and his 38 total TDs that season is the second-highest total in a single-season in school history and the most by anyone not named Heinicke.

📬 STICK WITH US

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🎉 TRIVIA ANSWER

Answer: Carla Morich of course!

With eight goals on the year, recently graduated Carla Morich led the Monarchs in 2022. Her excellence earned her First Team All-Conference accolades, Sun Belt All-Tournament Team honors and the Sun Belt Tournament Most Outstanding Player award.

Let’s have a great Wednesday, Monarchs!