Quick Facts
Biography
Robert S. "Bobby" Wilder (born August 1, 1964) is the current head coach of the Old Dominion Monarchs football team. He is 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.
Old Dominion played football for eleven seasons when the university was a two-year institution known as the Norfolk Division of the College of William and Mary. Between 1930 and 1940, the team compiled a record of 42-36-4. The program was then discontinued due to a rule banning freshman players and a US$10,000 debt.
Hired in 2007, Wilder spent the first two years recruiting and starting up the program. In 2009, in his first competitive season as head coach, the Monarchs finished 9–2. That was the best winning record ever for a first-year program in college football's modern era. The Monarchs were outscored by a total of only eight points in their two losses.
Wilder's inaugural team finished the year ranked in the top ten in five FCS statistical categories, including second in sacks allowed, third in scoring offense, turnover margin and net punting. The 2009 Monarchs were ninth in rushing offense.
ODU was fifth in FCS attendance in 2009, selling out all of their home games in the 19,782-seat Foreman Field.
In his first three years, Wilder has led Old Dominion to a 26-7 record. In 2011, in the Monarchs first season in the Colonial Athletic Association, they earned a berth in the 2011 FCS playoffs, hosting crosstown rival Norfolk State. Also in 2011, after playing 27 games in its "modern era", ODU received its first Top 25 ranking on October 3, coming in at No. 21 in The Sports Network poll. The Monarchs were ranked among the Top Ten after competing in 33 games.
Personal
Wilder grew up in Madison, Maine and attended Madison Area Memorial High School, where he graduated in 1982. A highly recruited quarterback, Wilder opted to play his college ball close to home. Upon graduation from the University of Maine in 1987 with a degree in physical education, Wilder served as a graduate assistant coach for two seasons under Jack Bicknell at Boston College, where he earned his master's degree in educational administration in 1990. He then returned to Maine, where he was an assistant coach, assistant head coach and finally associate head coach from 1990 to 2006.
He and his wife Pam have two sons, Derek and Drew. They reside in Norfolk.
Head coaching record
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | Coaches# | AP° | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Old Dominion Monarchs (NCAA Division I FCS independent) (2009–2010) | |||||||||
| 2009 | Old Dominion | 9–2 | |||||||
| 2010 | Old Dominion | 8–3 | |||||||
| Old Dominion Monarchs (Colonial Athletic Association) (2011–2012) | |||||||||
| 2011 | Old Dominion | 10–3 | 6–2 | T–2nd | L NCAA Division I Second Round | 10 | 10 | ||
| 2012 | Old Dominion | 11–2 | 7–1 | 1st* | L NCAA Division I Quarterfinal | 3 | 3 | ||
| Old Dominion Monarchs (NCAA Division I FCS independent) (2013) | |||||||||
| 2013 | Old Dominion | 8–4 | |||||||
| Old Dominion Monarchs (Conference USA) (2014–present) | |||||||||
| 2014 | Old Dominion | 6–6 | 4–4 | T–3rd (East) | |||||
| 2015 | Old Dominion | 5–7 | 3–5 | T–4th (East) | |||||
| 2016 | Old Dominion | 10–3 | 7–1 | T–1st (East) | W Bahamas | ||||
| Old Dominion: | 67–30 | 27–13 | |||||||
| Total: | 67–30 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title | |||||||||
| #Rankings from final Coaches Poll. | |||||||||
* ODU voted ineligible for CAA conference championship by league due to ODU's decision to leave for Conference USA. ODU finished first in the league and the university recognizes the 2012 team as unofficial champions of the CAA.