Old Dominion vs. Tennessee: It was never just another basketball game

Old Dominion vs. Tennessee. It wasn't just another game on the schedule. It was a basketball tradition.

The series that dates back to 1979 ended on Wednesday with the announcement of ODU's non conference schedule, which does not include a contest against the Lady Vols for the first time since 1984. The teams have played 43 times, including the 1997 national title game.

First and foremost, we're not taking shots at second-year Lady Monarchs coach Karen Barefoot, who has put together the type of schedule befitting a rebuilding program. But the news of ODU's nonconference schedule wasn't in the teams ODU will play. Rather it is in the familiar foe that is missing.

It was in 2009 that I asked Pat Summitt whether there was a chance the series between the schools might end soon. Summitt scoffed at the idea. In the pioneer days of women's basketball, she appreciated that a powerhouse like ODU would make room for Tennessee on its schedule. But Summitt, like her good friend Wendy Larry, is no longer at the head of her program.

Things change.

Many will say it was time. The series, dubbed a rivalry once, hasn't been. ODU's last win came in its glory season. Trailing by 10 at the half, the Lady Monarchs rallied for an 83-72 victory during the regular season in 1997 -- a loss the Lady Vols would avenge dearly in the title game. Later Summitt would say, however, that that loss for her Lady Vols before a frenzied Field House was her most memorable game in the building.

In 2008, ODU came achingly close to pulling off the upset with a 71-70 lead, time winding down. The eventual Sweet 16-bound Lady Monarchs couldn't finish, falling 81-76.

Most of the games in Knoxville were one-sided affairs. In 2000, the Lady Vols prevailed 113-55 to hand the program its worst loss at the time. Two years later, however, ODU had a lead with 5 1/2 minutes to play only to fall 74-62. The Lady Monarchs, who never won at Thompson-Boling Arena, have not won in Knoxville since 1982.

But now they don't get to play in that orange metropolis of a building rich with tradition. Nor will the orange make a regular stop in Norfolk, a biennial visit that has attracted even non-basketball folks to The Ted. Admittedly, one of my favorites moments of those games was the introduction of Pat Summitt, cheered by the Norfolk fans, who appreciated what she had done for the game even if they dearly wanted her team to fall flat on their floor.

To understand just how special it is to be a regular on the Tennessee schedule, all you had to do was talk to another CAA coach about the prospect. While ODU has a history of the best coming to Norfolk to play, many of the other CAA coaches would find their calls unreturned by the game's stalwarts. Other times the offer was, "You can play at our place. We're not coming to yours."

So ODU was lucky through the years -- fortunate to be on the floor against Michelle Marciniak, Chamique Holdsclaw, Candace Parker. As lopsided as the results could be in Rocky Top, the trip there was still a worthwhile one -- a measuring stick at times, a history lesson at the very least. The Women's Basketball Hall of Fame is only a few minutes from Thompson-Boling.

Tennessee was lucky, too, as we have no doubt that Summitt delivered a history lesson of her own to her players about Old Dominion's place in the sport.

The teams might very well play again, but the series is over. Some might be happy about that, others wistful, but there's no denying that ODU-Tennessee was always more than just another game on the schedule.