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This is Not Your Grandpa's OSU-TU Series
Published: 9/14/2011 2:07 PM
Last Modified: 9/14/2011 2:07 PM

There are reasons why the Oklahoma State-Tulsa football game has been slow to sell tickets.
There is the 9 p.m. start. There are the $95 tickets, $5 more than the OSU-TU tickets in Stillwater last year.
Then, there is the loss of the rivalry.
Maybe, just maybe, the OSU-TU rivalry from the old Missouri Valley Conference days are long behind us.
Maybe, just maybe, not that many people care about OSU-Tulsa games any longer.
It is hard to believe that any OSU-TU game in Tulsa wouldn’t be a tough ticket - especially when Skelly Stadium was downsized to the 30,000-seat Chapman Stadium.
TU fans complain constantly that OSU should play the Golden Hurricane in all sports. Then, TU fans don’t buy tickets.
And, there are more OSU grads in the Tulsa area than anywhere else on earth. And, they don’t buy tickets for TU-OSU games. There were thousands of empty seats at last year’s OSU-TU basketball game at the BOK Center.
So, maybe, just maybe, the changing tastes of fans is killing the OSU-TU series.
It happens. Back in the 1970s and 1980s, college wrestling was as big as college basketball in the state of Oklahoma.
No one went to women’s college basketball games.
Now, college wrestling struggles while OU has found a solid base of women’s basketball fans. So has OSU women’s basketball, although on a smaller scale than OU women’s basketball.
TU basketball used to be a big deal around here, too. That has certainly changed.
So, it is not out of the question that TU-OSU just isn’t what it used to be.




Reader Comments 8 Total
206761 (last year)
If the TU administration wouldn't have been so greedy to both charge ridiculous ticket prices AND move the game to 9:00 PM to get additional TV money, I would have been at the game. It's hilarious to see this after they whined so much last year at how high the ticket price was in Stillwater. $90 is about average for a Big 12 / notable non-conference game, not three times the regular price like TU is charging.
But What Do I Know? (last year)
I didn't know they were playing on Saturday.
whereintheworld (last year)
"TU fans complain constantly that OSU should play the Golden Hurricane in all sports."

Which TU fans?
I certainly don't.

"Then, TU fans don’t buy tickets."
Again, which TU fans?
I certainly do.

There are only 30,000 TU alumni in the entire world. Most of them do not live in Tulsa. Most are not fans of football. Football is a small part of life as a TU student and more of a whimsical interest for some TU alumni.

There are only a handful of TU fans and faithful and most get season tickets. That is how it has always been. Get over it.

I hate when TU plays OU and OSU. They are in a different league and its more of a "buy a win" for those teams. TU does not and should not compete on the level of teams like OU or even OSU. TU is an extremely small private university.

It is incredible enough that they can compete with the likes of SMU, UTEP, UH, USM, etc. along with big wins against great teams here and there (Hawaii, Ball St '08, ND, BYU '07).

If TU plays a "perfect" game and OU or OSU have a disaster, TU might be able to cover the spread and perhaps compete. That has not happened recently and there is no reason to believe it will happen again.

This is not dismissing TU athletics. Rather, it is commending the outstanding job they have done rising to the top of the non-AQ teams. Playing OU and OSU (esp. in the same season) takes away from all of that and destroys the reputation of Tulsa Football locally. The general perspective of Tulsa residents is: If TU isn't undefeated, no one cares. If TU can't beat OU or OSU, "they suck".

I have much more interest in TU playing Boise State, Houston, SMU, UCF, Marshall, etc than OU or OSU.
whereintheworld (last year)
Most TU fans get season tickets, so they won't complain about the price. Students get in free. TU alumni don't value football that much.

TU fans have no control over what the administration charges for tickets.

I've only heard OSU fans complain about the $95/ticket. Its obvious they charged $95/ticket as a response to OSU charging as much last year.
215312 (last year)
Whereintheworld... Well said and as season ticket holders we still paid a large chunk for this game, want it or not.
chad1968 (last year)
I really like your post and I can see almost all your points....my question is about the number of alumni worldwide.....where did you find that number? With an undergraduate enrollment of 3100 it would seem impossible for the number of graduates in the world to be 30,000. Even if you only graduate 50% of your undergrads you would have more than 30,000 in just 20 years
IraqVet0608 (last year)
I love to see TU play Oklahoma's "BIG BOYS". sadly TU rarely gets a win but I love the fact that they are willing to go toe to toe with BIG teams (just look at this years f1rst four games if you dont believe me....OU, BSU, and OSU should all be able to mop the floor with TU but they always schedule tough games. If I were in the States right now, I'd buy a ticket.... those who don't buy a ticket may just regret it after sat. (the late kick-off is a little weird though)
whereintheworld (last year)
chad, the 30,000 number is from the University of Tulsa alumni site.

TU's student population has increased quite a bit the last 30 years (Enrollment was around 2400 in 2004). The ratio of TU students to OSU students is about the same as TU alumni to OSU alumni (6.67 times more OSU students & alumni).

The "4 year graduation rate" is 47% which is typical.
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Klein's Korner

Tulsa World senior sports columnist John Klein is in his fourth decade of covering sports. He started his newspaper career at The Daily Ardmoreite in 1977 and moved to the Tulsa World in 1978. He served 10 years as sports editor for the Tulsa World before being named to his current position in 2005. He also spent five years as the Southwest Conference beat writer for the Houston Post. He has won many writing awards and is a former Oklahoma Sports Writer of the Year.

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