Board To Consider Football
ODU administrators were expected to present to the Board of Visitors in June a financial plan outlining expected costs if the university were to add football as a Division I-AA intercollegiate sport.

At the board’s meeting in April, President Roseann Runte reported that the response to an Alumni Association-sponsored survey was overwhelmingly in favor of adding the sport, but she noted that there were both pros and cons to the issue.

Top Athletes Honored
Men’s basketball junior Alex Loughton (Perth, Australia) and senior sailor Anna Tunnicliffe (Perrysburg, Ohio) were named Athletes of the Year by the Alumni Association. Baseball’s James Burok (Archbald, Pa.) and Ashley Kramer (Jefferson Hills, Pa.) from the women’s soccer team were named 2005 Jack Wilkins/James Howard Scholar Athletes of the Year.

An honorable mention All-American, Loughton helped lead the Monarchs to the school’s first NCAA tournament appearance since 1997.

A two-time All-American, Tunnicliffe made history by claiming her third straight Intercollegiate Sailing Association women’s single-handed national championship in October.

Mendes Signs With MLS
Carlos Mendes ’01 has signed with the New York/New Jersey MetroStars of Major League Soccer, becoming the first ODU graduate to sign with the MLS. A midfielder at ODU, Mendes was a three-time All-CAA first team pick.

Rusak Named Coach Of The Year
Former wrestling standout Jeff Rusak was named National Collegiate Wrestling Association Coach of the Year following his Apprentice School Builders’ third-place finish in the NCWA Nationals. At ODU, Rusak compiled a 135-19 overall record and a 54-0 dual match mark. He was a three-time Virginia state champion.