The National SPOTLIGHT
Oklahoma Athletichs is a household name due to the overwhelming media attention that hoves around the Sooners. Writers and broadcasters representing the nation’s most recognized media outlets regularly interact with Sooner players and coaches and routinely spend time in Norman.
The men’s gymnastics team has had regular television coverage thanks to consistent top-three rankings through the years. The nation will focus it’s eyes on Norman in April 2012 when the Sooners host the NCAA Men’s Gymnastics National Championships at Lloyd Noble Center.
And when they can’t come to campus, those same observers keep tabs on OU thanks to extensive televsion coverage. The Sooners are at the very center of the college athletics and everybody is watching.
The Women’s College World Series is hosted in Oklahoma City each year, with all games shown live across the nation.
In 2011, all 13 Oklahoma football games appeared on live television. OU ended the season with a streak of 125 consecutive televised games and has been shown on TV 335 times dating back to the 1953 season. During the 2010-2011 season, the men’s basketball team received live television coverage of 31 games, including nine nationally televised contests. The women’s basketball team was seen live for 25 games during the 2010-2011 season, including national coverage for 14 contests. The OU baseball team received television coverage for 20 games in 2011, including 6 on national networks. The softball team had nine games televised live in 2010, including three games on national networks. The women’s gymnastics team had three meets televised in 2010. The Sooners’ quad meet with Ohio State, Illinois and TWU was broadcasted locally, while the 2011 Big 12 Championship and 2011 NCAA Six were replayed nationally. OU’s wrestling and volleyball teams both had live television coverage during the 2010-2011 season. Wrestling’s match with Oklahoma State was covered live as a part of the Bedlam series on Dec. 12, 2010 and Feb. 20, 2011. Volleyball’s home game against Texas A&M was covered live on Nov. 2, 2010.
The popularity of the Sooners is evident in the immense amount of products and apparel purchased by fans. OU ranks 11th in the Collegiate Licensing Consortium. Since 2000, Oklahoma student-athletes have appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated 13 times. Sooner football is one of the most popular subjects for SI with 34 cover appearances. Over the past nine years, ESPN’s popular College Football Gameday production has broadcast on site from 24 of Oklahoma’s games. An average of over 3 million people logged on to SoonerSports.com every month last year, making the official Web site of the Oklahoma Athletics Department one of the top collegiate sites in the nation. Many former Sooners have gone on to successful careers as talent for the nation’s top media outlets including CBS’ Spencer Tillman and Stacey Dales, formerly with ESPN. Former OU athletes are often called on to provide color commentary during regional broadcasts due to their championship experience and athletics expertise.