ODAC Podcast - February 6, 2009

Brad and J.J. return with a little bit of everything in this edition of the ODAC Podcast. Guiford men's basketball head coach, Tom Palombo, and Roanoke women's mentor, Susan Dunagan, provide their views into their teams and the conference hoops scene as the season nears the 2009 tournament. Swimming is just a week away from its championship, and indoor track has hit its stride with some of the ODAC's elite already qualify for the D-III championships.

Tom Palombo is on the sidelines for his sixth season at Guilford, his 19th year overall in collegiate basketball. Palombo guided the Quakers to their first ODAC men’s basketball tournament title in 2008, earning a spot in the NCAA Division III Tournament for the second year in a row. Palombo’s Quakers went 31-5 in ODAC play from 2006 to 2008, winning 24 games overall in both campaigns. Palombo earned his second ODAC Coach of the Year Award in 2006-07.

Susan Dunagan is in her 28th season running the women’s program at Roanoke College. Her teams have won an ODAC record 13 conference titles including five straight from 1991-1995. She has been named the ODAC Coach of the Year six times. Dunagan opened the 2008-09 season as one of only nine NCAA Division III coaches with 500 or more victories. She is the winningest coach all-time amongst ODAC coaches in terms of overall victories, winning percentage and ODAC Tournament victories.

For this and future editions of the ODAC Podcast, visit the ODAC Podcast Blog site each week (http://odac-podcast.blogspot.com), or sign-up for the ODAC Podcast via iTunes! You can also get updates automatically by adding the RSS feed to your homepage (yahoo, MSN, etc) or to Microsoft Outlook!

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ODAC Podcast - January 13, 2009

Welcome back to the ODAC Podcast for the first show of 2009! Brad and J.J. jump right into the progress of men's and women's basketball coming out of the holiday season and into the first two weeks of action in the New Year.

Parity has been a growing trend for several years across the league with this season proving no different. Depth of talent remains consistent on both sides of the ODAC hoops profile with teams up and down the ranks eager to knock off one another.

The men's side is full of streaking squads as Roanoke sits atop the standings with a 5-0 ODAC record and a 12-game winning streak intact following its 80-76 win over Guilford. That loss snapped the Quakers' six-game run. Randolph-Macon is just about as hot as the Maroons, having strung together nine straight victories. Virginia Wesleyan shook off some early season growing pains and has won six consecutive contests. Eastern Mennonite, Washington & Lee and Bridgewater all have put together solid games over the past few weeks and look to make a jump up the standings.

The women's contingent traded jabs at the top of the league rankings. Virginia Wesleyan remains in the lead position, but a one-point loss to Roanoke gave the Marlins their first ODAC blemish. The Maroons opened the week unbeaten in conference play as well, but a pair of losses to Lynchburg and Randolph-Macon brought them into a three-way tie with Eastern Mennonite and R-MC for second. EMU has remained solid all season in posting its impressive record, while the Yellow Jackets regrouped following a three-game skid with three consecutive wins. Washington & Lee is knocking on the door of second place as wins over Lynchburg and Randolph-Macon have the Generals poised for a run at the top. Guilford, Bridgewater and LC each have at least three ODAC wins, putting them in good position to make a move north.

For this and future editions of the ODAC Podcast, visit the ODAC Podcast Blog site each week (http://odac-podcast.blogspot.com), or sign-up for the ODAC Podcast via iTunes! You can also get updates automatically by adding the RSS feed to your homepage (yahoo, MSN, etc) or to Microsoft Outlook!

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ODAC Podcast - Stagg Bowl - December 18, 2008

Welcome to the special Stagg Bowl edition of the ODAC Podcast. The NCAA Division III Football Championship is in Salem for the 16th time since 1993, and the week’s festivities have begun in preparation for the 36 Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl. Mount Union College (14-0) and UW-Whitewater (13-1) again take to the field at Salem Stadium, marking the fourth straight appearance for both schools in the national title game.

Media pressers took up the late morning and early afternoon hours on Thursday. Brad and J.J. had plenty to talk about with the season’s final gridiron showdown in their backyard. J.J. had a chance to sit down with Carey Harveycutter, the Director of Civic Facilities at the Salem Civic Center and the tournament director for each of the national championships hosted in Salem. The two not only talked about this season’s Stagg Bowl, but also dove into Salem’s championship history and Mr. Harveycutter’s view into the NCAA tournaments in the Roanoke Valley.

Pat Coleman, the editor and publisher of D3football.com, provided the podcast with a bit more content as he had a chance to chat with both head coaches. Mount Union’s Larry Kehres is in his 23rd season as the Purple Raider head man. He currently stands as the winningest coach in any NCAA Division in terms of winning percentage (274-21-3 for a .924 winning mark), and he’ll be going after his 275th career win and 10th D-III national title. UW-Whitewater’s Lance Leipold has made the most of his first two seasons on the Warhawk sidelines, winning the Stagg Bowl in his first try last year and returning to final game this season. A former quarterback for UW-W, Leipold is just one win away from leveling the all-time Stagg Bowl record between Mount Union and UW-Whitewater (MUC won in 2005 and 2006, UW-W in 2007).

For more information on the Stagg Bowl, visit www.ncaa.com or the Stagg Bowl website at www.odaconline.com/staggbowl.

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ODAC Podcast - December 17, 2008

Basketball is bouncing through the minds of Brad and J.J. as they sit down to chat about the early stages of the league’s round ball season in this edition of the ODAC Podcast. The podcast includes a run-down of the ODAC’s standings and pre-recorded interviews with Roanoke College men’s coach, Page Moir, and Eastern Mennonite University women’s coach, Kevin Griffin.

Moir has his Maroons off to a strong start, currently 8-1 overall and 2-0 in conference play. J.J. got a chance to speak with the RC mentor following the Maroons’ victory over Hampden-Sydney College. Moir touched on the state of his team, a view of early league play, and the excitement that the league’s new tournament format could provide come the end of the season.

Much the same as Moir, EMU’s Griffin has his Royals playing some of the league’s best basketball, evidenced by their 7-1 overall record and 2-1 conference mark. Brad and J.J. spoke with Griffin a few days following the squad’s contest with Virginia Wesleyan. Aside from talking about that game, Griffin gave some insight into his team and a look at the women’s side of the league.

For this and future editions of the ODAC Podcast, visit the ODAC Podcast Blog site each week (http://odac-podcast.blogspot.com), or sign-up for the ODAC Podcast via iTunes! You can also get updates automatically by adding the RSS feed to your homepage (yahoo, MSN, etc) or to Microsoft Outlook!

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ODAC Podcast - November 21, 2008

It's flex time across the nation as fall sports are heavy into their respective national tournaments. At the same time, basketball is moving through the first couple of weeks of its regular season schedules. Brad and J.J. give some insight into the ODAC's representation in NCAA play as well as take the time to talk a little ODAC basketball. They also get a chance to catch up with Gregg Bennett, the league's supervisor of basketball officials.


Bennett plays in integral part in the conference's basketball procedings, ensuring the assignment of high-quality officiating for the ODAC's high-profile hoops action. Bennett has facilitated the league's officials for the past eight years, and took the time on Thursday to give his view into ODAC basketball from an officiating standpoint.

Four NCAA tournaments still boast ODAC talent heading into the weekend. Lynchburg's Ricky Flynn represents the league in the NCAA Division III Men's Cross Country Championship while Washington and Lee teammates Jessica Shaw and Elizabeth Webb take to the Hanover, Indiana, course in the NCAA Division III Women's Cross Country Championship.

Lynchburg also features one of two ODAC teams still alive in competition with the nationally third-ranked Hornets set to face Ithaca in the NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Tournament round of 16. A victory would put LC one win away from the national semifinals held in Greensboro, North Carolina, on December 5.

Randolph-Macon earned an extension of its season by claiming the ODAC football crown. The Yellow Jackets enter the NCAA Division III Football Tournament with a first round date with Mount Union College, nine-time winners of the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl. That first round matchup will take place Saturday, November 22, at 12:00 p.m. in Alliance, Ohio.

For this and future editions of the ODAC Podcast, visit the ODAC Podcast Blog site each week (http://odac-podcast.blogspot.com), or sign-up for the ODAC Podcast via iTunes! You can also get updates automatically by adding the RSS feed to your homepage (yahoo, MSN, etc) or to Microsoft Outlook!

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ODAC Podcast - November 12, 2008

Fall championships are under wraps, but there is still plenty for Brad and J.J. to talk about in this edition of the ODAC Podcast. The ODAC duo delve into this week's NCAA Division III Tournament contests, talk a little ODAC Football as the season comes to head, and touch on the beginning of men's and women's basketball.


The ODAC is represented by at least one team in the field hockey, men's and women's soccer, and volleyball national tournaments. Lynchburg squares off with Sewanee in the field hockey first round, looking to move to 2-0 against the Tigers this season. A win would send the Hornets to #2 Ursinus.

Virginia Wesleyan opens men's soccer action this weekend against N.C. Wesleyan. The Marlins fell to the Battling Bishops, 1-0, earlier in the season. A redemption victory would send VWC to Georgia to face #4 Emory.

Both Lynchburg and Virginia Wesleyan earned spots in the women's soccer tourney. Lynchburg, ranked third in the country, hosts first and second round fixtures that feature Maryville (Tenn.), St. Mary's (Md.) and Emory. The Hornets open with Maryville in the first round. Virginia Wesleyan, the #10 team in the nation, matches up with #23 Richard Stockton. A win would mean a date with either Meredith or #7 Johns Hopkins.

Washington and Lee heads to Wittenberg for its opening round of action in the NCAA Volleyball Tournament. The Generals begin with Mt. St. Joseph, whom they defeated earlier in the season. Also at that site will be Frostburg State, Westminster, Muskingum, #8 Ohio Northern, #5 Wittenberg, and #3 Washington-St. Louis, the defending national champion.

ODAC Football enters its final weekend with four teams in the hunt for the conference's top record, three of which have a chance to earn the league's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. Catholic remains in the driver's seat and would advance with a victory, but a little help just could pave the way for Hampden-Sydney or Randolph-Macon to make a trip to the postseason.

Men's and women's basketball opens this weekend with all teams ready to go following a month of preseason practices. Randolph-Macon owns the top spot in both ODAC preseason polls, but with the depth of talent on either side, no team should be counted out as a title contender come tournament time in February.

For this and future editions of the ODAC Podcast, visit the ODAC Podcast Blog site each week (http://odac-podcast.blogspot.com), or sign-up for the ODAC Podcast via iTunes! You can also get updates automatically by adding the RSS feed to your homepage (yahoo, MSN, etc) or to Microsoft Outlook!

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ODAC Podcast - November 7, 2008

The ODAC crowns four new champions on Saturday as the fall conference sports approach NCAA Division III Tournament action. After diving into cross country, field hockey and women's soccer last week, Brad and J.J. take a hard look at men's soccer and volleyball in this edition of the ODAC Podcast.


Roanoke mentor Scott Allison lends his expertise in ODAC men's soccer. In the midst of his 23rd season running the Maroons, Allison gives us a look at this weekend's ODAC Championship featuring Roanoke and Virginia Wesleyan College. Both squads will be vying for their ninth overall conference title, but it will be Roanoke that tries to make it two straight years of hardware accumulation.

With the ODAC Volleyball Championship beginning on Friday, November 7, Emory & Henry head coach Cassie Pochyla lets us in on her view of the tournament as the coaches' committee chair. She also takes the time to speak of her Wasps program, which enters the tourney as the sixth seed and a quarterfinal date with Virginia Wesleyan.

For this and future editions of the ODAC Podcast, visit the ODAC Podcast Blog site each week (http://odac-podcast.blogspot.com), or sign-up for the ODAC Podcast via iTunes! You can also get updates automatically by adding the RSS feed to your homepage (yahoo, MSN, etc) or to Microsoft Outlook!

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