FOREST, Va. - Emory & Henry College and Randolph-Macon College will square off for the 2021 Old Dominion Athletic Conference Football Championship in Ashland on Saturday, April 3 league officials announced Sunday. Game Time is set for 1:00 p.m., at R-MC's Day Field.
Emory & Henry and Randolph-Macon's matchup features several storylines. Not only will it be the first time the ODAC football trophy has been awarded at a designated championship game, but it will also set one of these programs as the all-time leader in conference titles. Both enter Saturday's tilt having won or shared the league crown 11 times since the Yellow Jackets claimed the ODAC's first football title in 1976.
Emory & Henry was ever-present in the winners' circle in the late-1980's and throughout the 1990's. The Wasps first crown came via a share with R-MC and W&L in 1985. They won the 1986, 1988, 1990 and 1992 titles before winning five straight from 1994-98. The 1997 championship featured a three-team share with GC and R-MC. Emory & Henry and head coach Curt Newsome look to end a 20-season drought with the Wasps claiming their 11th ODAC trophy in 2000.
Randolph-Macon won three of the first four conference trophies in 1976, 1978, and 1979 and then went back-to-back in 1984 and 1985, sharing the latter crown with E&H and W&L. The Yellow Jackets again won in 1989 and 1993 before sharing the 1997 title with E&H and GC. R-MC ended an 11-year drought by hoisting the 2008 trophy and then added titles in 2016 and 2018. Each of those final three championships has come with current head coach Pedro Arruza holding the reins.
Matchups for the sixth week of the season were determined by the conference standings and using the league's existing tiebreaking procedures. The conference's tiebreakers were modified by the ODAC Board of Directors to accommodate comparisons where the number of games played from team-to-team was not consistent. Randolph-Macon earned hosting responsibilities for the championship contest against Emory & Henry via a comparison of point differential amongst their common opponents.
Hampden-Sydney College will play host to the league's third-place contest with Ferrum College headed to the Tigers' campus. Kickoff will also be at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday at H-SC's Everett Stadium.
The third matchup on the slate will feature Bridgewater College at Shenandoah University. Kickoff for that contest at SU's Shentel Stadium will be at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday. Tiebreakers were needed to determine the host of the Bridgewater-Shenandoah game as well. While the upcoming contest between the two squads will be their third showdown of the season, only this past weekend's outing counted towards ODAC standings. The Hornets' 19-18 win secured home venue for SU.
Only six of the league's nine football-playing members will be in action as the remaining football-playing members - Guilford College, Southern Virginia University, and Washington and Lee University - either chose not to compete in the final week (GC and SVU) or opted out of competition earlier this season (W&L).
Links for live stats and video streams are available at www.GoWasps.com/live. Randolph-Macon in-person spectator policy can be found HERE.
For more on Emory & Henry College Football, or the College's 25 other intercollegiate sports, visit www.GoWasps.com, like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GoWasps or follow us on Twitter (@GoWasps) and Instagram (@waspsathletics). Visit the ODAC's home on the Internet at www.odaconline.com. Don't forget to become a fan of the ODAC on Facebook and follow @odacathletics on Twitter and Instagram.
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