It’s always baffled me as to why the OU men’s basketball team can’t get consistent fan support, as least as far as butts-in-the-seats support is concerned. Sure, the Lloyd Noble Center will (usually) be packed for Kansas, Texas, OSU and the 1-2 big-name non-conference games that come through every year. But, it remains one-half to three-quarters full for everyone else, even for most of the Big 12 schedule and big-time, if not necessarily big-name opponents.
That reality has always been puzzling. Since the LNC opened in 1975, OU’s posted just two losing seasons (the football team, in that same time frame, has recorded three sub-500 runs) and, since 1982, has missed the post-season just once. There also have been two Final Four trips (both times, OU had the best team in the final weekend, but just didn’t get the job done), two other Elite Eight runs and three Sweet 16 appearances. In short, the men’s team is almost always at least pretty good, often really good, and occasionally a national championship contender.
And, all of the tickets (or almost all, anyway) are sold, just not used. Norman is only about 20 minutes from Oklahoma City (in total fairness, Tulsa is at least two hours away). Even more perplexing is the fact that people snapped up Thunder tickets in a few days, despite having a more direct and longer-lasting tie to OU.
There’s not a whole lot more OU can do on the court, save win a national title (I’m convinced one is in the works, but that is also blatant homerism. We’ll have a team in the Final Four one of these days, this year, perhaps, that will step up and win it all).
I do have some suggestions, however, as to what the Sooners can do off the court:
- Get out of the All-College Classic. OU doesn’t need to play a game in Oklahoma City, when Norman is essentially a suburb of OKC. The All-College takes what is usually a big game away from the LNC and away from the season-ticket package. I don’t know how feasible this is, given OU’s desire to foster goodwill with the Oklahoma City fan base and Chamber of Commerce, but it should be seriously considered. OU is often in Tulsa, playing Tulsa University or Oral Roberts, when the Sooners would never play similar schools in different locales on the road. That’s OU’s good will to the state.
- Begin a long-range plan to completely renovate or replace the LNC. The arena was designed as a multi-purpose venue, not a basketball arena. The lighting is dark, and the set-up does not lend itself to crowd rowdiness. OU has made commendable strides in the past few years to make the LNC the best it can be, but I fear there is only so much they can do.
- Front-load the schedule with as many road games as possible. This will allow OU to avoid the problem of making people come to Norman twice or three times in a week for football and basketball. Once December rolls around, bring in a couple of big-time non-con opponents.
The team is pretty salty this year. I hope they get the fan support they deserve and need.