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The Old Dominion University athletic department is buzzing, talking about its second-year football program in pinch-me-please terms. Tickets are selling on Craigslist for $200, eight times face value. A moratorium was placed on students camping out for ducats simply because crowds became too large. Fans watch from a parking garage because they can’t get into 19,782-seat Foreman Field.

This is uncharted territory for the school.

“I had tears in my eyes looking around at the crowd and our players and the reaction,’’ said coach Bobby Wilder of the scene at a recent home game. “I thought to myself, ‘It’s really amazing what we’ve built in such a short time.’ ’’

Old Dominion resumed football last season after a 69-year absence, finishing with nine wins and the No. 5 national ranking for average attendance at the Football Championship Subdivision level, the second tier of college competition. All home games sold out. In the Norfolk, Va., metropolitan area, with 1.7 million people and no professional team, Old Dominion football is generating a wealth of school pride.

I bet when Hendrix starts their program here real soon that the enthusiasm will return there too.