Tennessee Tech has hired Bobby Wilder as their next head coach. Wilder was previously head coach of Old Dominion when they were in the FCS and led them through the FCS to FBS reclassification.
Wilder’s previous success early and often with ODU will be expected to help Tennessee Tech reach the FCS Playoffs again. The Golden Eagles have made only one FCS Playoff appearance back in 2011 and, since 2007, had two winning seasons in 2009 and 2011.
Wilder was hired at ODU after the school decided to restart its football program. The Monarchs went a combined 17-5 in its first two seasons as an independent in 2009 and 2010. Wilder and the Monarchs moved to the CAA in 2011 and made back-to-back FCS Playoff appearances. They reached the second round in 2011, won the CAA title in 2012, and made a quarterfinal run in 2012. ODU’s final season in the FCS was 2013 when they competed as an FCS independent team again and finished 8-4.
Wilder went 46-14 in his five seasons with ODU in the FCS. For his entire time 11 seasons at ODU (2009 through 2019), he went 77-56 overall and 32-32 in conference games. Wilder previously served at Maine from 1990 through 2006 in various assistant roles before becoming head coach at Old Dominion in 2009.
Photo Credit to Lee Coleman / Icon Sportswire
