NEW ORLEANS — Fresh off its second 10-win season at the FBS level, Old Dominion will kick off its 2026 campaign on Saturday, Sept. 5, when it hosts cross-town foe Norfolk State at 6:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. CT on ESPN+. 
 
The Monarchs are 4-0 all-time against the Spartans, with the most recent matchup coming in the 2019 season-opener. 
 
Old Dominion’s non-conference schedule also includes a trip to in-state foe Virginia Tech (Sept. 12) and a home date with East Carolina (Sept. 19), ahead of a late-season trek to UConn (Nov. 21). In addition to annual dates with their East Division counterparts, the Monarchs will travel to Louisiana Tech (Oct. 24) and host Southern Miss (Nov. 28) from the Sun Belt West Division. 

The Monarchs were picked to finish second in the Sun Belt East Division, while claiming 1-of-14 first-place votes in last month’s 2026 Sun Belt Conference Football Preseason Coaches Poll. 

Seventh-year head coach Ricky Rahne, who led Old Dominion to its second 10-win season and second bowl win at the FBS level in 2025, will guide a roster that returns two All-Sun Belt selections from 2025 and had four players named to the 2026 Preseason All-Sun Belt Teams. 
 
Old Dominion went 10-3 in 2025, with 2-of-3 losses to College Football Playoff participants Indiana and James Madison. The Monarchs also defeated in-state autonomy conference foe Virginia Tech, 45-26, for the second time in four seasons. Old Dominion was part of the Sun Belt’s 10-team Bowl Season contingent that paced the non-autonomy conferences for the fourth-straight year, earning a 24-10 win over South Florida in the StaffDNA Cure Bowl as 1-of-4 Sun Belt bowl champions. 
 
The Monarchs are 61-75 in 12 FBS seasons, with last season’s 10-3 record matching the program’s high-water mark. 
 
To listen to head coach Ricky Rahne, redshirt junior running back Devin Roche and redshirt senior defensive back Mario Easterly’s comments from the 2026 Sun Belt Football Media Days, visit the Sun Belt Conference YouTube page. 



2026 SCHEDULE

9/5	Norfolk State
9/12	at Virginia Tech
9/19	East Carolina
9/26	James Madison*
10/3	at Georgia State*
10/10	at App State*
10/15	Georgia Southern*
10/24	at Louisiana Tech*
10/31	Marshall*
11/7	at Coastal Carolina*
11/21	at UConn
11/28	Southern Miss*

 
* Sun Belt Conference Game 
 
2025 ALL-SUN BELT RETURNERS
Honorable Mention
DL – Chris Forbes, Old Dominion (RS So., DL – Upper Marlboro, Md.) 
DB – Mario Easterly, Old Dominion (RS Sr., DB – Harrisburg, Pa.) 

2026 PRESEASON ALL-SUN BELT SELECTIONS
First Team
RB – Devin Roche, Old Dominion (RS Jr., RB – Baltimore, Md.)

Second Team
DL – Chris Forbes, Old Dominion (RS So., DL – Upper Marlboro, Md.) 
DB – Mario Easterly, Old Dominion (RS Sr., DB – Harrisburg, Pa.) 
DB – Zion Frink, Old Dominion (RS Jr., DB – Chesapeake, Va.)