FOREST, Va. --- The Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) will welcome a new institution to its membership in a year’s time as the ODAC President’s Council confirmed the acceptance of Gallaudet University as an associate member for football. The Bison will begin competition under the ODAC banner in 2025-26, increasing the ODAC’s football sponsorship to nine programs.
“We are pleased to welcome Gallaudet's football team to the Old Dominion Athletic Conference, and look forward to beginning this new chapter in the conference's history,” remarked Dr. Larry Stimpert, Hampden-Sydney College President and Chair of the ODAC Presidents Council. “Like all of our ODAC colleges and universities, Gallaudet University brings its own distinctive mission and purpose to higher education, and we look forward to competing against its team on the gridiron.”
The inclusion of Gallaudet is the latest move in a series of announced changes to the ODAC’s football sponsorship. Ferrum College will exit the league following the 2024-25 academic year. While the Panthers departure will reduce the conference’s sponsorship in many league sports, football will feature a net increase in involvement with Gallaudet’s engagement coinciding with the first conference season for Roanoke College in the ODAC football framework.
Each week of the conference season will now feature one team idle as a scheduled bye date due to the uneven number of sponsoring programs. The league’s non-conference scheduling tension will be limited to two games needed to complete a full 10-game Division III slate. The conference campaign will begin in week three of the 2025 season and for years to come.
“We are honored to have such a storied program join the conference as an associate member,” explained ODAC Commissioner Brad Bankston. “Gallaudet’s addition will provide our football programs with a quality opponent, in close proximity to our membership, who will enhance football membership in a number of ways. I look forward to finalizing the 2025 conference schedule and welcoming the Bison into the ODAC family as we work together to strengthen Division III football in our region.”
Gallaudet University, the only higher education institution in which all programs and services are designed to accommodate deaf and hard of hearing students, offers 17 varsity sports along with a robust club and intramural program. GU is located in Washington, D.C., and competes the majority of its sports in the United East Conference.
“I am humbled and excited about the opportunities that are being presented to our football program by joining the ODAC,” said Gallaudet Athletic Director Warren Keller. “We will be competing in a prestigious conference and this will give our student-athletes a platform to continue the success they have had recently on the gridiron and in the classroom.”
Gallaudet has a rich football history as the Bison began playing the sport in 1883. Gallaudet is Home of the Huddle™ as the first huddle was made in 1894 after another team was trying to steal the signs being signed by the Gallaudet players, who were communicating in American Sign Language (ASL). Quarterback Paul Hubbard instructed the Gallaudet players to huddle up and the first huddle began. Most recently, Gallaudet was a founding member of the Eastern Collegiate Football Conference (2009-24). The Bison won the conference championship three times and twice went to the NCAA tournament (2013, ‘22) to become the first Gallaudet men’s team to ever make a NCAA tournament appearance. In 14 seasons, Gallaudet has accumulated 153 all-conference honors and 98 all-academic honors from the ECFC.
“I'm excited about Gallaudet University football joining the ODAC in 2025. This move marks a new chapter for our football program, and we're ready for the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead,” said Gallaudet coach Chuck Goldstein, who enters his 15th season.
About Gallaudet University
Gallaudet University, federally chartered in 1864, is a bilingual, diverse, multicultural institution of higher education that ensures the intellectual and professional advancement of deaf and hard of hearing individuals through American Sign Language and English. Gallaudet maintains a proud tradition of research and scholarly activity and prepares its graduates for career opportunities in a highly competitive, technological, and rapidly changing world. For more information about Gallaudet University, please visit www.gallaudet.edu and visit the Bison athletics homepage at www.gallaudetbison.com.
About the Old Dominion Athletic Conference
Celebrating its 49th year of operation in 2024-25, the ODAC is one of the nation’s largest NCAA Division III conferences. The ODAC’s current sponsorship features 15 full-time members plus two associates – Greensboro College in swimming and wrestling and Southern Virginia University in wrestling. The league sponsors championships in 26 sports (13 men, 13 women) and houses 12 co-educational schools and three single-gender institutions among its full-time membership. Headquartered in Forest, Va., the ODAC has garnered national recognition in hosting or co-hosting 93 NCAA Division III national championships since 1993, many in conjunction with the City of Salem, Va.