Norse Nation,

It's hard to believe I've already been at NKU for more than a month. I continue to be filled with gratitude for how welcoming everyone has been. Through every meeting, event and new introduction comes great pride in NKU, but also excitement for the opportunity to continue to shape the lives of these incredible student-athletes. Fall is an exciting time on a college campus and here at NKU there's a great energy as I walk across campus each day.

Here are a few things happening around Norse Athletics right now.

Basketball Is Almost Here, Get Your Tickets!

As someone who grew up on Tobacco Road and spent the last three years in the Big East, I am fired up for basketball season. I've quickly learned how much excitement there is around basketball in Norse Nation too.

The 2026-27 Men's and Women's Basketball schedules are out, and I'm excited for everyone to see what's ahead. There's a lot that goes into building a college basketball schedule. Coach Horn and I recently sat down with Rick Broering to talk about the process and what we're trying to accomplish with the Norse schedule. 

Our Women's Basketball team has also been hard at work preparing for the season. Coach Hans and the staff welcome nine new student-athletes to this year's squad. Be sure to mark your calendars for the home opener on Monday, November 2nd.

Basketball season will be here before we know it, and one of our goals is simple: make Truist Arena one of the best home-court environments in the Horizon League.

Season Tickets are on sale now, you can also call the ticket office and ask for Aaron Luken at 859-572-7848, he can help find the right seats for you. Make your plans to join us!

Growing Our Reach with FOX19

I'm really excited about our new partnership with FOX 19.

One of the things I talked about when I arrived at NKU was the opportunity we have to tell our story to more people throughout Northern Kentucky and Greater Cincinnati. We have outstanding student-athletes, coaches, and programs, and we need to make sure people throughout this region know who they are.

Our partnership with FOX19 is a big step in that direction.

You'll see more Norse Athletics content across FOX 19 throughout the year, giving us another opportunity to showcase our people, our programs and everything happening at NKU.

A BIG WIN FOR THE NORSE

Congratulations to our Women's Volleyball team on a terrific trip to Charleston, highlighted by a 3-1 victory over Notre Dame!

The win was a significant one for our program, marking NKU Women's Volleyball's first victory over a power conference and ACC opponent. It was also a special day for senior Sydney Bray, who recorded her 1,000th career kill during the match and was named Horizon League Player of the Week!

Wins like this are another example of what our student-athletes and coaches are capable of and the standard we want to continue building across Norse Athletics.

Congratulations to Coach Liz Hart and our entire Volleyball program. Our home opener is this Saturday at 4:00 p.m. at Regents Hall here on the NKU campus.

SEE YOU AT THE GAME

One of my favorite parts of this job is getting out to our games and spending time with our fans, student-athletes, coaches, and community.

So, here's my challenge for this edition of Norse Notes:

Pick a Norse home event you haven't been to before and come check it out.

Maybe it's soccer. Maybe it's volleyball. Bring your kids, invite a neighbor, or bring someone from work who hasn't experienced an NKU game before. Every new person we introduce to Norse Athletics helps us grow and strengthens the home-field and home-court advantage we're building together.

And if you see me at a game, please come up and say hello. I want to hear what you enjoy, what we can do better and your ideas for where we can take Norse Athletics.

There is a tremendous opportunity in front of us, and I'm grateful for your continued support.

See you at the game.

Norse Up!

Mike Odom
Vice President and Director of Athletics
Northern Kentucky University