Old Dominion University announced on Apr. 27 that men’s soccer head coach Tennant McVea has signed a three-year contract extension.
The extension comes as the university’s men’s soccer program continues to make progress both academically and athletically, competing in the Sun Belt Conference. Athletics Director Dr. Wood Selig said, “Tennant McVea has done an exceptional job early in his tenure at ODU. Our men’s soccer program is excelling in the classroom and continues to improve and compete with the nation’s elite programs in one of the country’s most challenging soccer conferences, the Sun Belt Conference. Coach McVea has earned this contract extension, and we look forward to our future men’s soccer success under Tennant’s leadership.”
McVea is entering his third season as head coach with a record of 12-13-10. Last season, he led Old Dominion to a 5-5-8 overall record. He previously served seven seasons as Associate Head Coach under Alan Dawson before taking over at the end of the 2023 season. McVea returned to Old Dominion’s staff in 2017 after working at Elon as an assistant coach for one year, having also contributed significantly from 2013-2015 when he helped guide the team to its first Conference USA Championship in 2014.
Reflecting on his new contract, McVea said, “I want to thank Dr. Selig and President Hemphill for the unwavering support of the work we are doing as a group. Over the past two years we have been laying the foundation for long-term success of the men’s soccer program. The staff and I are so excited to continue bringing high caliber young men to campus who understand what a privilege it is to pull on our jersey week in and week out.”
The Monarchs finished their last season with a .500-win percentage—the second highest since their strong performance in 2018—and suffered only five losses during that campaign, which was their lowest number since that same year.
Looking ahead, McVea helped sign a recruiting class ranked twenty-fifth by Top Drawer Soccer ahead of this season, bringing sixteen new players onto campus including six freshmen such as Otu Bisong—who was named Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week after scoring twice against Coastal Carolina—and Lewis Rourke who finished last season with ten goals and three assists earning All-Sun Belt Second Team honors.
