NORFOLK, VA (WTKR)- Dr. Wood Selig has been dedicating himself to college athletics for 27 years. He just had a feeling it was time for a change.
Selig announced his retirement late Tuesday morning after 16 years as Old Dominion's Director of Athletics. He'll work through 2026 before passing the torch. Wednesday he sat down with WTKR News 3 to discuss his decision.
"You have a feeling that the time is right," Selig said Wednesday. "It's been a great run, but it wears on you."
The athletic director has certainly left his mark on the university. He oversaw a program that built $200 million in facility upgrades during his tenure and raised more than $157 million in funds. The Monarchs won 18 conference titles across all sports, achieved their first ever men's basketball AP Top 25 ranking in 2015 and launched women's volleyball in 2020. Selig also navigated the program through plenty of change.
"Helping with the move to FBS," he recalled. "I thought that was a really important move for ODU. Getting into the Sun Belt Conference, I felt like that will solidify our future for all of our programs in a more geographically compact conference with schools that have value and meaning for our fans."
There are also some things Selig wishes had gone differently. He says that winning more across the board is something for which he's always strived, but ending a 63-year program's run is a decision that he still thinks about today.
"I think the hardest decision that we've had to make in 16 years was when we eliminated wrestling," he pointed out. "That was gut-wrenching."
The ODU basketball programs are also looking to get back to their winning ways. The Monarch men last reached the NCAA Tournament in 2019, while the women's drought dates back to 2008. Selig said he hopes to help them towards success during his final months at the head of the department.
Selig worked to create a family atmosphere among the athletic department, working with numerous coaches and countless student-athletes. It's those relationships that he'll take with him long after his days with the Monarchs have concluded.
"I value the relationships that I've built with the head coaches, assistant coaches, watched assistant coaches get head jobs, getting to know a lot of our student-athletes and follow their careers after they graduate," he said. "The success that you enjoy, be it on the field in competition or academic or otherwise, the impact that you hopefully make, that's certainly going to be meaningful as I advance into retirement."
"He really brings the whole athletic department together," added Old Dominion head football coach Ricky Rahne. "The coaches are very supportive of each other. That's why you see all of us at the games and things like that and I think that really comes from Wood and how much he preaches a one for all, all for one mentality."
Retirement from his current position doesn't mean he'll be departing from the university. Selig admits he doesn't have many hobbies. He doesn't golf, fish or run, but he'll get a chance to stay at ODU, teaching in the graduate sports management program and assuming a role dealing with fundraising and donor oversight.
"It's time to try something else," smiled Selig. "I'm excited. I've always wanted to teach, I've always wanted to give back and help future generations of administrators and coaches and this is my chance to do that. I'll get a little bit more freedom, a little bit more flexibility, I'll get less people and problems, so it's a pretty good trade-off."
