Bio

With a share of the Big South-Ohio Valley Conference Football Association championship in head coach Bobby Wilder's first season at the helm at Tennessee Tech with seven wins in a single year for the first time since 2011 and ending the season on a five-game winning streak, the Tennessee Tech football team is trending upward. His coaching philosophy leans toward an aggressive offense and a stingy defense and, during his time at Old Dominion, it delivered results.

"I am grateful for the commitment from Tennessee Tech Athletics and our University," Wilder said. "We won a conference championship in our first season together and we are hungry for more. Our program goal is to continue to 'aim high' in everything we do as people, students and athletes. We have a collective vision to build a consistent winning program that competes for championships. Every person associated with our team is focused on the process of winning."

Tech Football's accomplishments this season were impressive as Wilder's squad brought the program its 11^th Ohio Valley Conference championship as well as the team's first since 2011.

The Golden Eagles earned 11 All-Conference selections last week with five on the first team and six on the second team. That stands as the most by the Tech team in a single season and the most on the first-team roster since the 2000 campaign.

The seven victories gave Tech its 17^th season in program history with seven or more wins. During the course of the campaign, the Golden Eagles defeated Tennessee State and UT Martin – who both received at-large bids to the Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs – to win the Sergeant York Trophy for the first time since the Spring 2021 season and outright for the first time since 2009.

Under his guidance this season, the Golden Eagles earned two Stats Perform FCS National Defensive Players of the Week as defensive linemen Theron Gaines and Daniel Rickert were honored nationally.

The defense was a strong point of pride coming into the season and they proved why as Tech held seven opponents to under 100 rushing yards – including zero yards for Tennessee State – and held five opponents to under 300 yards of total offense. Following the most recent FCS Playoff games, the Golden Eagles currently stand second in the FCS in rushing defense with an 82.9 yards per game mark.

Tech also stood second nationally in blocked punts, fifth in blocked kicks, fifth in team tackles for loss, seventh in team sacks, ninth in passes intercepted and 10^th in defensive touchdowns.

With their five-game winning streak to close out the campaign, the Golden Eagles were receiving votes in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 poll in the final two weeks as they looked for their first Top 25 ranking since the Spring 2021 campaign and were ranked in STATS FCS early-season Top 25 polls in Spring 2025.

"We are excited about what Coach Wilder has done with the program and can not wait to see what he continues to develop," said University President Dr. Phil Oldham. "We know how much a successful football program can bring to a university and we have the utmost confidence that he will continue giving us a football program that we can be proud to support."

Coach Wilder was hired on Dec. 3, 2023, as the Golden Eagles' 13^th head coach in its 103 seasons of play as he continued his coaching career after a successful tenure restarting Old Dominion's football program. Wilder's coaching record, especially on the Division I Football Championship Subdivision, is spectacular, accumulating a 53-19 mark as an independent and two seasons in the Colonial Athletic Association, one of the top conferences in FCS football, and his one season in the Big South-OVC.

He was hired at Old Dominion in 2007 to restart a program that lay dormant for nearly 70 years, and, in the Monarchs' first season in 2009, the team finished 9-2 – the best record ever for a first-year NCAA program in college football's modern era.

That first team ranked in the top 10 in five statistical categories nationally – second in sacks allowed, third in scoring offense, turnover margin and net punting and ninth in rushing offense. The results paid dividends quickly as Old Dominion ranked fifth nationally in the FCS in attendance, selling out all of its home games in the 19,782-seat Foreman Field.

In his first three seasons, Old Dominion went 26-7, earning its first FCS Playoff Berth and first Top 25 ranking in the STATS FCS poll – after only 33 games.

Wilder also oversaw Old Dominion's transition to the Football Bowl Subdivision and Conference USA affiliation. The Monarchs finished 11-2 and 7-1 in the CAA in 2012 – claiming victories over four ranked teams – and stayed ranked in the FCS Top 10 all season as they reached the quarterfinals of the FCS Playoffs.

Under Wilder's direction, current Atlanta Falcons quarterback Taylor Heinicke earned six All-America selections and the 2012 Walter Payton Award as the top offensive player in the FCS.

In 2013, transitioning up to the next level, ODU played five FBS opponents – boasting a 59-38 victory over Idaho for the school's first FBS victory. The offense averaged 42.3 points per game, which would have ranked seventh in the FBS.

The Monarchs' first season in C-USA saw the team go 6-6, 4-4 in the league, in 2014. ODU defeated defending C-USA champ Rice in its first conference contest and Heinicke finished the season ranked in the FBS top five in passing yards, total offense, touchdown passes and total touchdowns.

Two years later, ODU won the Conference USA East Division championship with a 7-1 record, finishing 10-3 overall. The Monarchs won the 2016 Bahamas Bowl, downing Eastern Michigan 24-20 in their first-ever bowl appearance and in only their second season of bowl eligibility.

In 2018, Wilder helmed the Monarchs to a 49-35 victory over then-No. 10-ranked Virginia Tech, the program's first-ever win over a Power Five school, with ODU passing for 495 yards with seven total touchdowns. Jeremy Cox rushed for two touchdowns and 130 yards, Jonathan Duhart caught nine passes for 142 yards and three scores, while Travis Fulgham had nine catches for 188 yards and a TD. Quarterback Blake LaRussa completed 30 of 49 passes for 495 yards and four TD strikes.

Wilder finished his career at ODU with a 77-56 record after the 2019 campaign.

A native of Madison, Maine, Wilder graduated from Madison Area Memorial High in 1982 and was a highly recruited quarterback, choosing the University of Maine to play. After graduating with a degree in physical education in 1987, Wilder joined Jack Bicknell's staff at Boston College as a graduate assistant, earning his master's degree in educational administration in 1990.

He then returned to his alma mater, coaching in various roles from 1990 to 2006, including time as the associate head coach and offensive coordinator.