NORFOLK, VA (WTKR)- Nancy Lieberman and Jay Harris pride themselves on being more than just supporters and alumni of Old Dominion. They want to be a voice and an ear when needed.
Thursday night, the two Monarch legends were back in Norfolk to honor and officially welcome ODU women's basketball head coach Delisha Milton-Jones. The head coach was hired in April of 2020, but did not get a typical welcome or introduction because of the pandemic. Tuesday's event was an effort to change that.
"We're married to the logo of the Monarchs," said Lieberman. "To be back here and to be a part of what Delisha is building and just to see the future... and I just love Jay being my brother and my family and that we can share this with our Old Dominion family."
"We are Monarchs for life, and we mean that," added Harris. "We see this as an opportunity to help usher another Monarch really into the family because she really hasn't had her coming out party because of COVID."
Milton-Jones guided Old Dominion to a 13-11 campaign during her first season at the helm. Of course, that was in front of limited fans and she's looking forward to taking in a true ODU hoops experience this coming season.
"They're lending their services, lending their wisdom, lending their resource in order for us to be able to go back, have conversations, understand what it was that they went through to get to where they are in life," Milton-Jones said of Lieberman and Harris. "We can carry that over into the future as we progress in trying to leave our mark on this prominent university."
Lieberman attended Old Dominion from 1976-1980, becoming the first two-time winner of the Wade Trophy (women's college basketball player of the year). She helped lead the Monarchs to back-to-back national championships and earned multiple All-American honors. Her program record of 961 career assists continues to stand today.
Harris called ODU his home from 1983-1987 and is currently an anchor for ESPN, often hosting the network's flagship program, SportsCenter. He's worked at ESPN since 2003.
The Old Dominion women's basketball team opens its season on November 9 when the Monarchs host South Carolina State at Chartway Arena.
