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ODU last season ranked fourth among FCS programs in average home attendance (19,782), and more than 14,000 season-tickets have been purchased for this season. The waiting list for those who want season tickets has 1,710 names.
"The school has done such a tremendous job of marketing the program. The fans have been a part of it," Wilder said. "That has helped us in more ways than anything else, from the standpoint of recruiting.
"It's imperative we get the top players in Virginia down for a game so they can see that. So if those kids aren't going to Virginia or Virginia Tech, then we're in the hunt, so to speak, with the JMUs and William and Marys and Richmonds in our state."
Thirty-five of the 78 players on the Monarchs' preseason roster are from the Tidewater area, a hotbed for high school football.
Wilder, so far, has done the job he was hired to do. He energized the fan base, sold the program to talented players in ODU's back yard, and put a winning product on the field.