Current position | |
---|---|
Title | Head coach |
Team | Old Dominion |
Conference | Sun Belt |
Record | 391–302–0 (.564) |
Biographical details | |
Born | Plattsburgh, New York, U.S. | January 20, 1966
Alma mater | VMI |
Playing career | |
1985–1988 | VMI |
Position(s) | SS |
Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
1989–1991 | VMI (asst.) |
1992–1994 | VMI |
1995–2000 | VCU (Asst.) |
2001–2005 | Auburn (Asst.) |
2006–2011 | Western Kentucky |
2012–present | Old Dominion |
Head coaching record | |
Overall | 633–553–0 (.534) |
Tournaments | NCAA: 3–6 |
Accomplishments and honors | |
Championships | |
Sun Belt Tournament (2008) Sun Belt Regular season (2009) | |
Awards | |
ABCA East Region Coach of the Year (2014) Sun Belt Coach of the Year (2009) | |
Chris Finwood (born January 20, 1966) is an American baseball coach and former shortstop, who is the current head baseball coach of the Old Dominion Monarchs. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] He played college baseball at the Virginia Military Institute for coaches Donny White and Paul Maini from 1985 to 1988. He then served as the head coach of the VMI Keydets (1992–1994) and the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (2006–2011). Finwood has coached 61 players who were selected in the MLB Players Draft including 3 major leaguers.
Finwood was a standout shortstop at VMI, where he was named to the SoCon's All-North Division team three times. His .399 batting average remains sixth in school history. He also ranks highly on the program's all-time lists for hits and runs. He began coaching at VMI, serving as an assistant from 1989 through 1991 before being elevated to head coach. In his three years as a head coach, the Keydets went from 2 wins in 1991 to 21 wins in both 1993 and 1994, and played in the 1993 Southern Conference baseball tournament championship game. [1]
Finwood then moved to VCU, serving as assistant for four years and associate head coach for two. The Rams won more than 40 games in both 1998 and 1999, including a school record 46 in 1998. Both seasons, VCU earned trips to the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship and won CAA regular season titles in 1997 and 1998. He then moved to Auburn where he worked as an assistant for five seasons. He was responsible for the Tiger defense and also served as recruiting coordinator. Auburn recorded the two highest fielding percentages in school history, and ranked highly in both the SEC and nationally. The Tigers reached four NCAA tournaments. [1]
After his time at Auburn, Finwood earned the head coaching position at Western Kentucky. From his first to his third season, the Hilltoppers improved by 11 conference wins, claimed a conference tournament title, and reached the first of two straight NCAA Regionals. In 2009, WKU won 42 games, a share of the regular season title, and earned an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. Finwood saw 17 Hilltoppers drafted, 55 sign professional contracts, and three players reached Major League Baseball. WKU ranked highly in defense, finishing third in the nation in 2009, and fifteenth in 2011. [1]
In June 2011, Finwood accepted the head coaching position at Old Dominion. [6] The Monarchs improved from last to fourth in the CAA in the course of his first two seasons. However, due to the fact that ODU was moving to Conference USA the CAA officials ruled that they were ineligible for the conference tournament after winning 30 games and what would have been the third seed in the conference tournament.
In 2014 [1] Coach Finwood gave ODU its first ever C-USA victory in a 2–1 extra inning win on the road over then 15th ranked Rice Owls for his 300th career win. In just his third season at Old Dominion Coach Finwood lead the Monarchs to their first ever win over the number 1 ranked team in the country with an 8–1 victory over the Virginia Cavaliers at Harbor Park in Norfolk, reached the semifinals of the 2014 Conference USA baseball tournament, and earned an at-large bid in the Columbia, SC Regional of the 2014 NCAA tournament, the school's eighth appearance and first since 2000. The 2014 team finished the year third in the NCAA in double plays turned and first in Conference USA in double plays, doubles, HBPs, runs, stolen bases, and second in triples.
In his four years at Old Dominion to date Finwood has had five players drafted (six picks) in the MLB Draft, two All-Americans, and several All-Conference selections as well as two victories over a #1 ranked team.
Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
VMI Keydets (Southern Conference)(1992–1994) | |||||||||
1992 | VMI | 11–39 | 4–15 | 8th (8) | SoCon tournament [lower-alpha 1] | ||||
1993 | VMI | 20–29 | 5–15 | 8th (9) | SoCon tournament [lower-alpha 2] | ||||
1994 | VMI | 21–29 | 10–13 | 7th (9) | SoCon tournament [lower-alpha 3] | ||||
VMI: | 52–97–0 (.349) | 19–43–0 (.306) | |||||||
Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (Sun Belt Conference)(2006–2011) | |||||||||
2006 | WKU | 22–30 | 5–18 | 8th (9) | |||||
2007 | WKU | 25–30 | 15–15 | 7th (11) | |||||
2008 | WKU | 33–27 | 16–14 | 5th (11) | NCAA Regional | ||||
2009 | WKU | 42–20 | 21–8 | T-1st (11) | NCAA Regional | ||||
2010 | WKU | 35–23 | 16–14 | 6th (10) | |||||
2011 | WKU | 33–24 | 17–13 | 4th (10) | |||||
WKU: | 190–154–0 (.552) | 90–72–0 (.556) | |||||||
Old Dominion Monarchs (Colonial Athletic Association)(2012–2013) | |||||||||
2012 | Old Dominion | 19–34 | 9–21 | 11th (11) | |||||
2013 | Old Dominion | 30–24 | 15–12 | T-3rd (10) | [lower-alpha 4] | ||||
Old Dominion: | 0–0–0 (–) | 24–33–0 (.421) | |||||||
Old Dominion Monarchs (Conference USA)(2014–2022) | |||||||||
2014 | Old Dominion | 36–26 | 17–13 | T-4th (13) [lower-alpha 5] | NCAA Regional | ||||
2015 | Old Dominion | 27–29 | 13–17 | 7th (12) | |||||
2016 | Old Dominion | 32–24 | 15–15 | 6th | |||||
2017 | Old Dominion | 37–21 | 19–11 | 2nd | C–USA tournament | ||||
2018 | Old Dominion | 15–37 | 7–22 | T-11th | |||||
2019 | Old Dominion | 35–21 | 16–14 | 5th | C–USA tournament | ||||
2020 | Old Dominion | 12–4 | 0–0 | Season canceled due to COVID-19 | |||||
2021 | Old Dominion | 39–14 | 22–10 | 4th | NCAA Regional | ||||
2022 | Old Dominion | 41–17 | 19–11 | T–3rd | |||||
Old Dominion: | 391–302–0 (.564) | 128–113–0 (.531) | |||||||
Old Dominion Monarchs (Sun Belt Conference)(2023–present) | |||||||||
2023 | Old Dominion | 32–23 | 15–15 | 10th | |||||
2024 | Old Dominion | 31–26 | 15–15 | 5th (East) | |||||
Old Dominion: | 391–302–0 (.564) | 30–30–0 (.500) | |||||||
Total: | 633–553–0 (.534) | ||||||||
National champion Postseason invitational champion |
The Old Dominion Monarchs are composed of 18 intercollegiate athletic teams representing Old Dominion University, located in Norfolk, Virginia. Men's sports include baseball, basketball, football, golf, sailing, soccer, swimming, and tennis. Women's sports include basketball, field hockey, lacrosse, golf, sailing, soccer, swimming, tennis, rowing, and volleyball. The Monarchs compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and are members of the Sun Belt Conference (SBC); the university joined the conference on July 1, 2022.
The Old Dominion Monarchs men's basketball team represents Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, United States in NCAA Division I men's competition. The school's team currently competes in the Sun Belt Conference.
The Old Dominion Monarchs football program represents Old Dominion University in U.S. college football. The first iteration of the team created in 1930 was known as the William & Mary Norfolk Division Braves. Founded in 2009, the current Monarchs team competed as an FCS independent for their first two seasons. In the 2011 season, they joined the Colonial Athletic Association and added conference games to their schedule, playing there until joining the Conference USA of the FBS in 2014. They joined the Sun Belt Conference in 2022.
The William & Mary Tribe men's basketball team represents the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia in NCAA Division I competition. The school's team competes in the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) and play their home games in Kaplan Arena. Former Cornell Head Coach Brian Earl was hired as the 32nd coach in school history following the dismissal of Coach Dane Fischer. Tony Shaver served as the head coach from 2003–2019 and leads the school in all-time wins for a coach.
Robert S. Wilder is an American football coach who serves as the head coach for Tennessee Tech University. Before that, served as the head coach of the Old Dominion Monarchs football team. He was only the second coach all-time in the program's history and the first since football's rebirth at the school in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) in 2009.
The Bud Metheny Baseball Complex is a stadium on the campus of Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, USA. It is primarily used for baseball, and is the home field of the Old Dominion Monarchs baseball team. The Monarchs are members of the Sun Belt Conference. The ballpark has seating for 2,500 spectators in three sections of raised aluminum bleachers. The stadium complex also includes locker rooms, a concession stand, offices, four batting cages, a picnic area and a fully enclosed press box. The facility replaced the university's football stadium, Foreman Field, as the home of the baseball team.
The Old Dominion Monarchs baseball team is a varsity intercollegiate athletic team of Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, United States. The team is a member of the Sun Belt Conference, which is part of NCAA Division I. Old Dominion's first baseball team was fielded in 1931 as the William and Mary College – Norfolk Division Braves. ODU joined Division I in 1977. The team plays its home games at Bud Metheny Baseball Complex in Norfolk, Virginia, where it has played since 1982. ODU has won six conference tournament titles and have been to the NCAA tournament nine times. The Monarchs are coached by Chris Finwood, a native of Hampton, Virginia, who is in his eleventh year at the helm. The Monarchs have had eleven players reach the Major Leagues and two, Justin Verlander and Daniel Hudson, have played in the World Series.
The Old Dominion Soccer Complex is a soccer-specific stadium located on the campus of Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, USA. The 4,000-seat stadium is home to the Old Dominion Monarchs soccer teams. The Monarchs compete in the Sun Belt Conference. The stadium is also the host of the annual Stihl/ODU Soccer Classic.
The Old Dominion Monarchs field hockey team represents Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. The team currently competes as a Big East Conference affiliate of NCAA Division I field hockey.
The 2014 NCAA Division I baseball season, play of college baseball in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I level, began on February 14, 2014. The season progressed through the regular season, many conference tournaments and championship series, and concluded with the 2014 NCAA Division I baseball tournament and 2014 College World Series. The College World Series, consisting of the eight remaining teams in the NCAA tournament and held annually in Omaha, Nebraska, at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha, ended on June 25, 2014, with the final game of the best-of-three championship series between Vanderbilt and Virginia, won by Vanderbilt.
Marlin Ikenberry is an American baseball coach and former catcher, who is the current head baseball coach of the James Madison Dukes. He played college baseball at VMI for coach Chris Finwood from 1992 to 1995. He served at head coach of the VMI Keydets for 11 seasons, from 2004 to 2014. He was hired on July 22, 2003, the successor to Tom Slater, who departed for a coaching position at the University of Florida. Ikenberry resigned the position to after the 2014 season to pursue a business opportunity.
Old Dominion Monarchs baseball represents Old Dominion University in college baseball at the NCAA Division I level.
The 2009 Old Dominion Monarchs baseball team represents Old Dominion University in the 2009 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Monarchs play their home games at Bud Metheny Baseball Complex, which was named for former coach Bud Metheny.
The 2016–17 Old Dominion Monarchs men's basketball team represented Old Dominion University during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Monarchs, led by fourth-year head coach Jeff Jones, played their home games at the Ted Constant Convocation Center in Norfolk, Virginia as members of Conference USA. They finished the season 19–12, 12–6 in C-USA play to finish in a tie for third place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the C-USA tournament to Marshall. Despite finishing with 19 wins, they did not participate in a postseason tournament.
The 2019–20 Old Dominion Monarchs men’s basketball team represented Old Dominion University in the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Monarchs, led by 7th-year head coach Jeff Jones, played their home games at Chartway Arena in Norfolk, Virginia as members of Conference USA.
The 1994–95 Old Dominion Monarchs basketball team represented Old Dominion University in the 1994–95 college basketball season. This was head coach Jeff Capel's first of seven seasons at Old Dominion. The Monarchs competed in the Colonial Athletic Association and played their home games at the ODU Fieldhouse. They finished the season 21–12, 12–2 in CAA play to finish as regular season conference champions. They went on to win the 1995 CAA men's basketball tournament to earn the CAA's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. They earned a 14 seed in the East Region where they upset No. 3 seed Villanova in the opening round. The Monarchs fell to No. 6 seed Tulsa in the second round.
The 1996–97 Old Dominion Monarchs basketball team represented Old Dominion University in the 1996–97 college basketball season. This was head coach Jeff Capel's third of seven seasons at Old Dominion. The Monarchs competed in the Colonial Athletic Association and played their home games at the ODU Fieldhouse. They finished the season 22–11, 10–6 in CAA play to finish as regular season conference champions. They went on to win the 1997 CAA men's basketball tournament to earn the CAA's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. They earned a 14 seed in the East Region where they were beaten by No. 3 seed New Mexico in the opening round.
The 2022 Old Dominion Monarchs baseball team represented Old Dominion University in the sport of baseball for the 2022 college baseball season. The Monarchs competed in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and in Conference USA East Division. They played their home games at Bud Metheny Baseball Complex, on the university's Norfolk campus. The team was coached by Chris Finwood, who was in his eleventh season with the Monarchs.
The Old Dominion–William & Mary rivalry refers to the U.S. college rivalry games between the Old Dominion Monarchs of the Sun Belt Conference and the William & Mary Tribe of the Coastal Athletic Association. They are the two largest and most historically tenured NCAA Division I rivals in Hampton Roads, Virginia.