Move the Tournament Around Again

[AdaSooner]

I'll be 60 this year so I'm no spring chicken.

Ah, another member of the "OFU." I thought you were a youngster.

Be ready, you may get the call before long.

 

[usedtobe1]

He didnt used to be....

See what I did there?

That's good. I "used to be one" too (young guy).

 

[DenverSooner]

Yep, no denying that. I'm old.

It beats the alternative.

 

[Zimwillett]

I'm 100 miles from Dallas and 100 miles from OKC and I will take KC every year. If you don't go to the tournament you just don't get it.

I've been in KC multiple times and, admittedly, Sprint Center and Power & Light is a great venue, but I don't think that can be the only consideration. Fairness and expanding the conference's brand should also be considered.

I think the other major conferences have the right idea:

-Since 2005, the ACC has had it in Washington DC, Greensboro, Tampa, Charlotte, Atlanta, and are scheduled to have it again in DC in 2016 and Brooklyn in 2017 and 2018.

-The Big 10 has basically traded off between Indy and Chicago, but with their expansion, have future dates in DC and NYC.

-The SEC has basically traded off between Atlanta and Nashville with St. Pete and New Orleans thrown in. Going forward, they're going to have it in Nashville (mostly), Tampa, and St. Louis.

Not only are these other conferences doing a better job of trying to accommodate their various fanbases, but they are clearly making better efforts to expand their brands to all of their major media markets. I think it's foolish of the Big 12 not to do the same thing.

 

[NMSooner'80]

Last one of those "holiday tournaments" in KC was in my junior year ('78-79) at OU. OU never played well in it, for some reason. But we pummeled KU in Norman to start the regular conference season, and we wound up winning it all by two games over K-State. The heavily-favored Beakers finished fourth that year, behind OU, KSU and Mizzou.

I was in a class with Al Beal that semester, so we got to talking a lot of hoop when OU made that first-ever Big 8 title run. OU also won the tournament in KC, edging KSU (fourth time that year) and pummeling Kansas when Beal went for something like 23 points and 22 boards. I remember hearing later that the OU-hating KC media didn't think we had a prayer of winning the tournament, which Billy Tubbs later loved calling "The Big 3 Invitational", and we bent over their beloved Beakers and Cats instead.

 

[usedtobe1]

Good read. Of course I remember Al Beal (center). Without looking up the players, others from that timeframe I remember off the top of my head were John McCullough, Cary Carrabine, and Aaron Curry. Was Whitley playing that year with Beal? I remember visiting with McCullough after OU lost to KU late in the semi's one year. He said they just didn't have the depth and got tired. Sounds a little like this year......

 

[NMSooner'80]

Good read. Of course I remember Al Beal (center). Without looking up the players, others from that timeframe I remember off the top of my head were John McCullough, Cary Carrabine, and Aaron Curry. Was Whitley playing that year with Beal? I remember visiting with McCullough after OU lost to KU late in the semi's one year. He said they just didn't have the depth and got tired. Sounds a little like this year......

Whitley was the point guard on that team, and a damn good one. The starting five was: McCullough, Stotts, Beal, Curry and Whitley, and Carrabine was the sixth man.

It was amazing how much better those guys played from January on, back in '79. They had a mediocre showing in the pre-conference tourney, though. I wasn't a fan of that tournament, because to me it was more catering by the Big 8 to KU, KSU and Mizzou, and to heck with everyone else.

 

[Dignon003]

2009 was a fun a basketball game as I can remember. Neutral court and the the fans all mixed together. Not to mention the game itself was awesome.