NORFOLK, VA (WTKR)- Ricky Rahne led Old Dominion football to quite a comeback in 2021. ODU hopes there are plenty more storybook endings in the future.
Rahne and the Monarchs agreed to a one-year contract extension that puts the head coach in Norfolk through the 2026 season, ODU Director of Athletics Dr. Wood Selig confirmed to News 3 on Monday. Pete Thamel of ESPN was the first to report news of Rahne's extension. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed.
Old Dominion finished the 2021 with a 6-7 record, rallying from a 1-6 start with five straight wins to end the regular season and earning the program's second bowl berth. The Monarchs fell to Tulsa in the Myrtle Beach Bowl on December 20, 30-17, but became just the third team ever to win six games after starting the season with a 1-6 record or worse.
Rahne took over a program that finished 1-11 in 2019 and did not play in 2020 amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. 2021 marked his first on-field season as a head coach.
19 starters return for the Monarchs as they prepare to kick off the 2022 campaign. It will mark the program's inaugural season in the Sun Belt Conference and feature one of the most difficult non-league slates the team has seen. ODU will open its season on September 2 against Virginia Tech at S.B. Ballard Stadium and will host Liberty as well. Trips to Virginia and East Carolina are also on this season's schedule.
In-state foe and former CAA rival James Madison is also among the scheduled conference home games.
Old Dominion wrapped up its spring workouts on April 9 with the Monarchs' annual spring game.
