Old Dominion Athletic Conference
In its 29th season, the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC)
has grown into one of the nation’s largest Division III conferences. The
13-member ODAC stands as the second-largest multi-sport NCAA Division III
conference in the country and the largest conference in the South Region.
The league was formed on May 18, 1975, as the Virginia College
Conference and began operations in September 1976. (The name change to ODAC
became effective January 1, 1976.) Charter members were eight colleges in the
state of Virginia: Bridgewater College, Eastern Mennonite College, Emory & Henry
College, Hampden-Sydney College, Lynchburg College, Randolph-Macon College,
Roanoke College, and Washington and Lee University.
From its initial year of operation through the 1981-82 academic
year, the ODAC sponsored competitions in 10 men’s varsity sports, including
football, soccer and cross country in the fall; basketball, wrestling, and
indoor track and field in the winter; and baseball, golf, tennis, and outdoor
track and field in the spring. Women’s sports were added prior to the 1982-83
school year. Today, the ODAC has grown to sponsor championships in 22 sports.
The conference expanded in the late 1980s and once again in the
early 1990s. Virginia Wesleyan became the 13th member of the conference in 1988
and began full-scale competition in the league in the 1989-90 academic year.
Guilford College, voted into the conference in the spring of 1990, began
competing for conference championships in the 1991-92 season. Catholic
University was added to the league in 1999 for football only.
Over the past seven years the conference and the City of Salem,
Va., have gained national attention through hosting four NCAA Division III
championships in football, men’s basketball, softball, and baseball. The growing
list of titles passed out in Salem began in the fall of 1993 with the DIII
football championships. Since that time, the two hosts have gained three
additional tournaments. Last year, DIII football made its eighth appearance,
drawing a crowd of over 6,000 at Salem Football Stadium.
|
ODAC Baseball Champions
1977—Lynchburg
1978—Bridgewater
1979—Randolph-Macon
1980—Lynchburg
1981—Lynchburg
1982—Lynchburg
1983—Lynchburg
1984—Lynchburg
1985—Bridgewater
1986—Bridgewater
1987—Randolph-Macon
1988—Bridgewater
1989— HAMPDEN-SYDNEY
1990—Lynchburg
1991—Bridgewater
1992—Guilford
1993—Guilford
1994—Bridgewater
1995—Bridgewater
1996—Bridgewater
1997—Virginia Wesleyan
1998—Virginia Wesleyan
1999—Bridgewater
2000—Virginia Wesleyan
2001—Bridgewater
2002—Bridgewater
2003—Virginia Wesleyan
2004—Virginia Wesleyan |
2004 All-ODAC
First-Team
1B – Stephen Hatcher, VWC
2B – Anthony Palmisano, LC
3B – Sean Ranson, LC
SS – Shawn Abell, LC
OF – J.R. Estes, BC
OF – Steven Scott, LC
OF – Bryan Mulhern, W&L
C – Mike Supa, VWC
DH – John Kasiski, VWC
P – Derrick Rawlings, VWC
P – Peter Dean, W&L
Second-Team
1B – Lucas Jones, LC
2B – Scott Gosselink, W&L
3B – Jonathan Vaughan, HSC
SS – Austin Allain, W&L
OF – Barney Quick, EMU
OF – Josh Miller, GC
OF – Kyle Walling, BC
C – Seth Rapoza, RMC
DH – Josh Walton, HSC
P – Jay Moore, LC
P – Dan Kagey, W&L
P – Matt Gouker, LC |
ODAC Office
425 College Avenue
P.O. Box 971
Salem, VA 24153
(540) 387-9073
Commissioner
Brad Bankston
Sports Info. Director
Stacy Weston
Administrative Asst.
Mary Jane Esperti
|
| |
Player of
the Year – J.R. Estes,
Bridgewater
Pitcher of the Year
– Peter Dean, Washington and Lee
Rookie of the Year
– Ricky Read, Bridgewater
Coach of the Year
– Nick Boothe, Virginia Wesleyan |
|
