Rivalry renewed: Norfolk State men’s basketball to host Old Dominion for first time in over 50 years
NORFOLK, Va. (BVM) — For the first time in half a century, the Norfolk State University Spartans will play host to the Old Dominion University Monarchs at their home basketball court. Though the teams are separated by only about four miles and 15 minutes via car, the two colleges have not seen each other too often on the basketball court, especially not on the campus at NSU.
The two teams have faced off just 19 times, including 13 at neutral sites, and the Spartans haven’t hosted the Monarchs at their arena since the 1968-1969 season when the two teams were at the Division II level. But that’s about to change.
On Nov. 6, both programs announced that they would play each other in a non-conference game on Dec. 2 at Echols Hall on NSU’s campus, ending a 51-year drought of the Spartans not playing host.
So far, the Monarchs have gotten the better of the Spartans in their past meetings, going 13-6 including a 61-50 Monarchs win during the team’s most recent meeting at Scope Arena in Norfolk in 2017. Although the Monarchs have the edge, the Spartans have an edge when they play host, winning the only previous matchup they hosted on campus 113-102 on March 8, 1969 during the NCAA D-II South Atlantic Regional.
This will not be the only time the two teams will meet in the near future either as the two schools agreed to a home-and-home series with ODU hosting NSU at Chartway Arena during the 2022-23 season.
The decision to play the series came about as a way for both teams to add much needed non-conference games to their schedules. Thanks in part to the pandemic increasing risks in traveling long distances and tightening schools’ budgets, the renewed rivalry seemed like a no-brainer. That’s why when the two schools approached each other about scheduling a series it was easily agreed upon.
“This year we put together a regionalized competitive schedule due to the nature of the pandemic,” Spartans head coach Robert Jones said in a press release. “We are looking forward to a renewed rivalry with Hampton, a long-awaited ODU game at Echols Hall, and a game against another neighbor in William and Mary. We also look forward to competing in some new matchups with UNCW and Radford. This schedule will be challenging in many ways, and we look forward to it.”
Old Dominion head coach Jeff Jones echoed similar feelings and emphasized player safety when he talked about the Monarchs schedule as most of their non-conference games will also be played more regionally than in years past.
“Hopefully this reflects the last changes in scheduling for this season,” Jones said in a press release. “Playing at Maryland is a great opportunity for our team, as well as in-state rivals William & Mary, Norfolk State, James Madison, VCU, George Mason and Virginia Wesleyan. The biggest priority is the health and safety of our players. Hopefully we can complete the schedule without any complications due to COVID-19.”
With the recent announcement that no fans will be in attendance to the Spartans home games in November and December, it will be a different feeling for the teams involved. For the Spartans, they are ready for the opportunity, even though they’ll lack home court advantage.
“We would love to have Echols Hall filled especially for some of those games,” Robert Jones said. “We would rather have it filled for Hampton and Old Dominion and William & Mary especially when it’s Old Dominion’s first time in nearly 50 years. … It kind of sucks honestly that we actually get there for the first time in 50 years and we’re playing in front of 250 people because they’re not going to experience the home-court advantage we typically have in that game. It’s not the same feel. Maybe that’s why they chose to play that game here.”
For some Spartans, the game will mean a bit more than others. Such is the case for Norfolk native Joe Bryant Jr. who understands the rivalry from both a spectator and a player’s perspective and is excited to get things going.
“I’ve wanted to play ODU for a long time,” Bryant said. “There’s definitely been a lot of talk. I can’t wait for that game honestly. I feel like the guys will be ready too.”
While it may not be a traditional Old Dominion-Norfolk State rivalry, it will likely be one of the most memorable meetings thanks to the rarity of the host and the circumstances surrounding the event. All this will of course lead to only more interest and intrigue when the two teams meet up again during the 2022-2023 season.
Either way, the teams just hope that the game will be played and their players remain healthy. With everything up in the air, Spartans coach Jones just wants the rivalry matchup to take place.
“I have no idea how many games are going to get played,” Jones said. “We’re just taking it game by game. It’s kind of hard to even look forward to an ODU or Hampton game for that reason because you don’t know if that game is going to get played because whatever can happen. … Who knows if we’ll get to Dec. 2 with no hitches. We’ll see and if we don’t we will probably have to wait another 52 years and I’ll be dead and gone.”
While it is not yet known how the rivalry will look in the coming years, both Monarchs and Spartans fans would agree that the matchup returning, even for a bit, is a good thing. With plenty of support from the city both programs call home, this game will have plenty of fireworks and bragging rights for the victorious team.
