ODU Selects Maine Assistant As Football Coach

Bobby Wilder, former associate head football coach at the University of Maine and a member of the Black Bears staff for the past 17 years, is Old Dominion’s choice to lead the new Monarch football program.

Athletic director Jim Jarrett introduced Wilder on Feb. 12 at a campus news conference.
ODU will begin its football program in the fall of 2009, competing as an NCAA Division I Football Championship member (formerly known as I-AA) in the Colonial Athletic Association.

President Roseann Runte, who was out of town on business the day of the announcement, addressed those gathered at the Ted Constant Convocation Center via conference call.
“Mr. Wilder’s ethical approach to athletics and his philosophy, which includes a strong emphasis on academic achievement, combine with a congenial personality and a commitment to team-building and successful competition,” she said.

Wilder, 42, who was signed to a six-year contract, said one of his first priorities would be to hire offensive and defensive coordinators as he begins the 2 1/2-year process leading to Old Dominion’s first game at Foreman Field in nearly 70 years.

He also plans to get out in the community as soon as possible to meet fans and potential fans, and to visit high school coaches in Hampton Roads and throughout the state. “Virginia will be our No. 1 recruiting area,” he said, noting that National Signing Day for ODU’s first recruiting class of players, who will redshirt for the first year, will be Feb. 6, 2008.

Commenting on the style of football Monarch fans can expect to see, Wilder said his teams will run a spread offense and an attacking, aggressive style of defense. “I can promise you that people are going to be excited when they see what we’re going to do offensively, defensively and with our special teams.”

And he issued the following advice for those who might be inclined to linger too long at the tailgate parties.

“If the game starts at 1 o’clock, you might want to get out of the tailgate because you might see something on the opening kickoff or kickoff return you’ve never seen before.”

Wilder was promoted to assistant head coach and offensive coordinator at Maine in 2000 before moving to associate head coach in 2001. He was named the Assistant Coach of the Year by the Gridiron Club of Greater Boston in 2004, an award presented annually to the top assistant coach in New England. Prior to moving to the coordinator post, he served as quarterbacks coach during one of the most explosive eras for Maine quarterbacks.

Old Dominion last fielded a football team in 1940 when it was a two-year division of William and Mary. Wilder becomes the second football coach in school history, following the late Tommy Scott, who served as the only coach of the program from 1930-40.

Wilder’s selection concluded a national search of candidates who were reviewed by a committee of university and community members, which included alumni Kevin Larkin ’94, a former ODU basketball captain and Academic All-American, and Moody “Sonny” Stallings ’73, a member of the ODU Board of Visitors.

According to Jarrett, Wilder “has all of the qualities we were looking for in the person to lead our program, and his outstanding football knowledge, leadership and public relations skills will be an asset in building our program.”

John R. Broderick, vice president for institutional advancement and co-chair of the search committee, described ODU’s new coach as “in essence, our top choice from the first time we talked to him.”

A 1987 graduate of Maine with a degree in physical education, Wilder captained the Black Bears to the Yankee Conference championship his senior year. An All-New England quarterback in 1985, he left Maine as the school’s all-time leading passer with 4,493 yards, and currently ranks sixth.

After receiving his degree, Wilder served as a graduate assistant coach for two seasons at Boston College, where he earned a master’s in educational administration.

Wilder and his wife, Pam, have two sons, Derek, 10, and Drew, 6.

The Colonial Athletic Association begins sponsorship of football in fall 2007, and Old Dominion will be eligible to compete for a conference title in fall 2011. Members of the CAA’s Football Championship Subdivision football conference are Delaware, Hofstra, James Madison, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Northeastern, Rhode Island, Richmond, Towson, Villanova and William and Mary.

At the news conference, Wilder said a football program needs three things to be successful: support from the president, an athletic administration that is behind you and a student body that’s excited.

“Here at Old Dominion, I believe I have found all three of those things. I’m very excited to be here and I can’t wait to get started.”