ESPN+ column

[WichitaSooner]

I don’t think I can paste it since it is a pay site, but they have a column in which they polled coached and asked them to rank the Big 12 schools as far as which has the most to offer recruits. Obviously, KU was the unanimous top choice, followed by Baylor, Texas, WVA, and OU. The Pokes were behind us, followed by Tech, ISU, KSU, and TCU.

In discussing OU, they mentioned our track record of producing star players, history of making the tourney, good recourses, and a great AD. Only negatives were atmosphere in the LNC and fan base. OSU was behind us mainly because of their lack of tourney appearances and wins over the past 15 or so years, but they also mention that Norman is a more appealing town/location for recruits.

 

[Stikboy]

I think if OU has a more up to date arena we're an easy second.

 

[tooney]

I think if OU has a more up to date arena we're an easy second.

This^^^^^

We need a new home court bad!!!!

 

[mict085]

I think if OU has a more up to date arena we're an easy second.

Now, now. The LNC was rocking back in the ‘80’s. I’m sure the sunshine pumpers will be along to tell us all how great the LNC is and we don’t need a new arena to replace the aging eyesore that is the LNC. It’s a crypt and should be replaced.

Our facilities are good but the LNC and GAMEDAY atmosphere inside the LNC is a freaking joke. It’s the worst place to watch a college basketball game.

 

[Darwin]

Like a broken record , we need a new arena!!!!Perhaps Joe C is aware and ready to put it on the front burner.

 

[Stikboy]

Now, now. The LNC was rocking back in the ‘80’s. I’m sure the sunshine pumpers will be along to tell us all how great the LNC is and we don’t need a new arena to replace the aging eyesore that is the LNC. It’s a crypt and should be replaced.

Our facilities are good but the LNC and GAMEDAY atmosphere inside the LNC is a freaking joke. It’s the worst place to watch a college basketball game.

I do think it's been a great arena with some great memories. People call it a mausoleum now but that really doesn't have anything to do with the arena it's been the product on the court. When I was a young teenager in the 80s the sound was deafening even through my TV with sound of rabid, radical fans supporting a #1 team. I remember it also in the 90s and even the 00s in some cases.

That being said it is somewhat of an eyesore from the outside. It looks like some sort of underground nuclear bunker from Spies Like Us or something. I think the court looks beautiful. But many other parts inside look old/dingy and outdated too. College athletics unfortunately has become an arms race and OU and Joe C need to step it up. OU fans don't care about basketball...BS! Look at this board. I've traveled to OU basketball games in many places and was amazed at the number of Sooner fans that showed up and were VOCAL.

Even if it's like an 8/9000 seat deal get it done, OU! If nothing more than for recruiting..

 

[BoulderSooner]

I do think it's been a great arena with some great memories. People call it a mausoleum now but that really doesn't have anything to do with the arena it's been the product on the court. When I was a young teenager in the 80s the sound was deafening even through my TV with sound of rabid, radical fans supporting a #1 team. I remember it also in the 90s and even the 00s in some cases.

That being said it is somewhat of an eyesore from the outside. It looks like some sort of underground nuclear bunker from Spies Like Us or something. I think the court looks beautiful. But many other parts inside look old/dingy and outdated too. College athletics unfortunately has become an arms race and OU and Joe C need to step it up. OU fans don't care about basketball...BS! Look at this board. I've traveled to OU basketball games in many places and was amazed at the number of Sooner fans that showed up and were VOCAL.

Even if it's like an 8/9000 seat deal get it done, OU! If nothing more than for recruiting..

this is the correct answer ..

 

[WichitaSooner]

I do think it's been a great arena with some great memories. People call it a mausoleum now but that really doesn't have anything to do with the arena it's been the product on the court. When I was a young teenager in the 80s the sound was deafening even through my TV with sound of rabid, radical fans supporting a #1 team. I remember it also in the 90s and even the 00s in some cases.

That being said it is somewhat of an eyesore from the outside. It looks like some sort of underground nuclear bunker from Spies Like Us or something. I think the court looks beautiful. But many other parts inside look old/dingy and outdated too. College athletics unfortunately has become an arms race and OU and Joe C need to step it up. OU fans don't care about basketball...BS! Look at this board. I've traveled to OU basketball games in many places and was amazed at the number of Sooner fans that showed up and were VOCAL.

Even if it's like an 8/9000 seat deal get it done, OU! If nothing more than for recruiting..

We certainly have some diehard fans, many of whom are on this board. But I think our numbers are tiny compared to other programs of similar stature. Whenever I’ve gone to watch OU on the road or at a neutral site, we have far fewer fans than other teams. That’s true whether it is the Final Four, a conference road game, or an early season tournament in Maui (or Orlando). I love our passionate fans and consider myself one, but we are very much the exception to the rule. One thing the article specifically mentions is how often you will find the LNC only half full even when it is hosting a game between two ranked teams. A new arena would be welcome, but not a panacea.

 

[Stikboy]

We certainly have some diehard fans, many of whom are on this board. But I think our numbers are tiny compared to other programs of similar stature. Whenever I’ve gone to watch OU on the road or at a neutral site, we have far fewer fans than other teams. That’s true whether it is the Final Four, a conference road game, or an early season tournament in Maui (or Orlando). I love our passionate fans and consider myself one, but we are very much the exception to the rule. One thing the article specifically mentions is how often you will find the LNC only half full even when it is hosting a game between two ranked teams. A new arena would be welcome, but not a panacea.

I totally disagree. Off the top of my head some examples:

OU/ATM--I attended many of those in CS. I attended ATM and had a sports pass. There were many more OU fans than any other visitor besides KU and UT.

Battle 4 Atlantis #1--OU had more fans there than anyone besides Wisconsin. This was a field that included UNC, UCLA, Butler, Florida, Wisc, and Georgetown. And may I say the Badgers had more there than everyone else combined.

Alabama in Dallas--Much more than Bama

ATM in Houston--Almost equal to ATM, and just as loud. Saying something.

Orlando--Had more there than any of the others..

I mean I could go on and on but OU, in games i've attended, has been very well represented at neutral sites compared to other teams. I mean, it is a neutral site. It's almost as if when OU gets away from Norman and many of its complacent fans it almost gets better support wise. It's that way in baseball too, in my experience.

 

[skyvue]

I suspect, regarding the games played in texas, it's less about our fans traveling and more about the number of fans we have who live in texas.

I will say that, at the several games OU has played in NYC in my nearly 40 years here, our numbers have been very small.

 

[WichitaSooner]

I totally disagree. Off the top of my head some examples:

OU/ATM--I attended many of those in CS. I attended ATM and had a sports pass. There were many more OU fans than any other visitor besides KU and UT.

Battle 4 Atlantis #1--OU had more fans there than anyone besides Wisconsin. This was a field that included UNC, UCLA, Butler, Florida, Wisc, and Georgetown. And may I say the Badgers had more there than everyone else combined.

Alabama in Dallas--Much more than Bama

ATM in Houston--Almost equal to ATM, and just as loud. Saying something.

Orlando--Had more there than any of the others..

I mean I could go on and on but OU, in games i've attended, has been very well represented at neutral sites compared to other teams. I mean, it is a neutral site. It's almost as if when OU gets away from Norman and many of its complacent fans it almost gets better support wise. It's that way in baseball too, in my experience.

I went to the tournament in Orlando in November 2016 and we certainly didn’t have the most fans. UNI had way more, as did Xavier. In fact, I was able to sit front row behind the bench, two seats away from Barb Kruger, because my girlfriend and I were about the only OU fans there who weren’t employed by the athletic department or related to a player. When I went to Maui in 2010, we had far fewer fans than most of the schools. I’ve also attended every game in Allen Fieldhouse for the past 25 years other than this year (Covid), as well as a handful in Manhattan. We have a few fans behind the bench in each place, usually family members, and a handful of people throughout the arena. And I was embarrassed at the 2002 FF ... KU, Maryland, and Indiana put our cheering section to shame, both in number and noise.

I’m sure the situation is different when we play in places where lots of OU fans/alumni live, and I’d certainly hope we would outdraw Bama when playing them in Dallas. And I agree that we have sole passionate fans. I just don’t think we have nearly as many as a lot of schools with inferior programs.

 

[WaymanFan]

It must be hit or miss depending on the city. I was in Columbia, SC for our 1st round game against Mississippi two years ago, and we were very well represented. Conversely, back in 2015, a co-worker who was a Michigan State alum made it up to Syracuse for the Sweet 16 (we live in NC) and told me OU had a very poor turnout.

 

[CoachTalk]

I totally disagree. Off the top of my head some examples:

OU/ATM--I attended many of those in CS. I attended ATM and had a sports pass. There were many more OU fans than any other visitor besides KU and UT.

Battle 4 Atlantis #1--OU had more fans there than anyone besides Wisconsin. This was a field that included UNC, UCLA, Butler, Florida, Wisc, and Georgetown. And may I say the Badgers had more there than everyone else combined.

Alabama in Dallas--Much more than Bama

ATM in Houston--Almost equal to ATM, and just as loud. Saying something.

Orlando--Had more there than any of the others..

I mean I could go on and on but OU, in games i've attended, has been very well represented at neutral sites compared to other teams. I mean, it is a neutral site. It's almost as if when OU gets away from Norman and many of its complacent fans it almost gets better support wise. It's that way in baseball too, in my experience.

One day I want to be these people. Travel with the team to all these games. Literally a dream.

 

[Stikboy]

One day I want to be these people. Travel with the team to all these games. Literally a dream.

We didn't travel with the team. You'd be surprised at some of the deals you can get going to some of these places. You just have to have the time and a sports-loving and understanding wife. At Atlantis we stayed at the cheaper resort right next to Atlantis. Orlando we parlayed a three day Disney trip for my daughter into some basketball. I love going to the holiday neutral site games. My wife put her foot down when I asked to go to South Dakota last year or year before... Would love to go to Hawaii if they ever go back.

 

[Eielson]

I’m sure the situation is different when we play in places where lots of OU fans/alumni live, and I’d certainly hope we would outdraw Bama when playing them in Dallas. And I agree that we have sole passionate fans. I just don’t think we have nearly as many as a lot of schools with inferior programs.

I can verify that we were way outnumbered by Nova fans in Houston during the Final Four Massacre. Outnumbered by Syracuse and UNC as well.

 

[Sooner04]

I was in Atlanta in 2002. We had maybe 10% of the crowd. If that.

I can confirm we were greatly outnumbered by Arizona fans in Kemper in 1988. My assumption was that those were just KU fans rooting against us but, no, I've been told that Cat fans were there in droves.

 

[AdaSooner]

In other words, the LNC is not the only thing that needs to improve!

 

[skyvue]

A nice new arena would be great, but I am of the opinion that its impact on attendance would be short-lived.

 

[WichitaSooner]

A nice new arena would be great, but I am of the opinion that its impact on attendance would be short-lived.

Agree. I’d love an arena upgrade, but would love a fan base upgrade even more.

 

[BoulderSooner]

A nice new arena would be great, but I am of the opinion that its impact on attendance would be short-lived.

It absolutely would. Selling tickets has never been a big problem


Getting those who buy the tickets to show up is the issue.

Lots of big money donors. Buy tickets so that they can go to the KU game and the osu game. And maybe a big non con game.

They don’t need the money. So they don’t really worry about selling unused tickets.