Is there any real truth to the rumor that UCO is going division 1 in football

[Dob Hooligan]

I think that the current professionalization of college athletics is so unknown that any upward movement by a school is incredibly risky.

[Snowman]

I think that the current professionalization of college athletics is so unknown that any upward movement by a school is incredibly risky.

That probably is going to be much more a thing within the power 4 conferences, the G5 conferences probably will not be impacted as much. There might be an argument there will be more reasons for transfers, but it seems questionable how many were passing offers in the current system.

[BoulderSooner]

I think that the current professionalization of college athletics is so unknown that any upward movement by a school is incredibly risky.

it would be FCS if so .... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...tball_programs

if it was true it would be huge for their basketball team ...

[Midtowner]

One of the huge barriers to going FCS would be the travel schedule though.

They'd probably be the best fit in the UAC for FCS schools. In fact, several of the former members of the Lone Star Conference, Tarleton and Abilene Christian are FCS, but there are ZERO Oklahoma FCS schools, and these would be the closest opponents.

That travel schedule would probably be the largest impediment for any kind of business case for UCO to move up.

That said, I'm not sure the travel distances in the current conference are all that much better than what they'd have in the UAC.

[BoulderSooner]

One of the huge barriers to going FCS would be the travel schedule though.

the other is how many sports you sponsor

D2 is 5 mens and 5 womens min ..

EDIT: looks like they would need to add 1 mens sports .. and have womens covered .. (to be 6 men 8 women)

also the scholarship funding issue is a big deal ..

[Pete]

It's funny to think that it wasn't that long ago when OCU played D1 basketball.

Abe Lemmons and the Cheifs.

[BoulderSooner]

It's funny to think that it wasn't that long ago when OCU played D1 basketball.

Abe Lemmons and the Cheifs.

1984 ...


Oklahoma only has 4 D1 schools ..

Louisiana has 12

[Pete]

1984 ...


Oklahoma only has 4 D1 schools ..

Louisiana has 12

But most Big 10 states only have a few D1 schools and usually only one in a major conference (Wisconsin, Minnesota, Nebraska, Illinois, even Ohio until very recently).

[BoulderSooner]

But most Big 10 states only have a few D1 schools and usually only one in a major conference (Wisconsin, Minnesota, Nebraska, Illinois, even Ohio until very recently).

pennsylvania has 14
ohio has 13 D1 schools and all most all have been D1 for a long time
Illinois has 13
indiana has 11
maryland has 9
new jersey has 8
michigan has 7
iowa has 4
wisconsin has 4
nebraska has 3
minnesota has 2

future big 10 ..

California has 27
Oregon has 4
Washington has 5

[Midtowner]

the other is how many sports you sponsor

D2 is 5 mens and 5 womens min ..

EDIT: looks like they would need to add 1 mens sports .. and have womens covered .. (to be 6 men 8 women)

also the scholarship funding issue is a big deal ..

Really, I just looked at the UAC footprint. Outside of the Utah schools, most of the other schools are about 1 day travel to/from on a bus.

As far as the enrollment size, in that league, UCO would be one of the largest schools. ACU is only an enrollment of 6,000 or so. With OU going to the SEC, a lot of families will be priced out of the OU gameday experience. There's a big opportunity there for a school like UCO.

[Pete]

My point about D1 schools in Big 10 states was for some very large populations they have comparatively few in major conferences when compared to Oklahoma.

In fact, I'm sure the same holds true for the SEC, ACC, etc.

[BoulderSooner]

Really, I just looked at the UAC footprint. Outside of the Utah schools, most of the other schools are about 1 day travel to/from on a bus.

As far as the enrollment size, in that league, UCO would be one of the largest schools. ACU is only an enrollment of 6,000 or so. With OU going to the SEC, a lot of families will be priced out of the OU gameday experience. There's a big opportunity there for a school like UCO.

i agree and with the local bball talent they could be competitive in that conf from Day 1 ..

[BoulderSooner]

My point about D1 schools in Big 10 states was for some very large populations they have comparatively few in major conferences when compared to Oklahoma.

In fact, I'm sure the same holds true for the SEC, ACC, etc.

Indiana has Purdue IU and Notre Dame so 3 in major conf football plus Butler who is in a major conf for basketball (the BIG EAST)

illinois has Illinois and northwestern in the big 10 ... plus depaul in the Big east ..

creighton is major conf basketball as well

and ohio has 2 major conf football and xavier major conf basketball

[Pete]

Indiana has Purdue IU and Notre Dame so 3 in major conf football plus Butler who is in a major conf for basketball (the BIG EAST)

You are just arguing to argue.

Doesn't change anything.

[Midtowner]

i agree and with the local bball talent they could be competitive in that conf from Day 1 ..

The biggest problem is that UCO doesn't get donor support like OU and OSU get--a lot of that is probably due to the historic nature of it as a commuter school and the lack of a very strong identity. UCO does a poor job at that.

I'm a bit concerned that Todd Lamb is going to be a problem where it comes to donors, but I'm willing to give him a shot. He's already as much as run Chad Richison off, who was the all time historic #1 donor to UCO, but who knows? With Lamb's conservative politics and connections, he might be able to draw an 'anti-woke' crowd of donors to pick up the slack. I'm sure that dollar signs were what the regents saw then they picked a former Lt. Governor with no experience running an office with more than ten or so people to run a school with 14,000+ students and upwards of 1,000 staff and faculty. Otherwise, I'm not sure what on his resume was compelling.

UCO is also in the regional system, which I think holds it back. The state could support a third research university, and it would absolutely make sense for UCO to have more graduate, especially PhD programs, especially in the areas of education and liberal arts, but I'm sure the politics in this state, both in terms of Tulsa interests and rural interests are going to hold UCO back from climbing out of that hole for the foreseeable future.

[BoulderSooner]

The biggest problem is that UCO doesn't get donor support like OU and OSU get--a lot of that is probably due to the historic nature of it as a commuter school and the lack of a very strong identity. UCO does a poor job at that.

I'm a bit concerned that Todd Lamb is going to be a problem where it comes to donors, but I'm willing to give him a shot. He's already as much as run Chad Richison off, who was the all time historic #1 donor to UCO, but who knows? With Lamb's conservative politics and connections, he might be able to draw an 'anti-woke' crowd of donors to pick up the slack. I'm sure that dollar signs were what the regents saw then they picked a former Lt. Governor with no experience running an office with more than ten or so people to run a school with 14,000+ students and upwards of 1,000 staff and faculty. Otherwise, I'm not sure what on his resume was compelling.

UCO is also in the regional system, which I think holds it back. The state could support a third research university, and it would absolutely make sense for UCO to have more graduate, especially PhD programs, especially in the areas of education and liberal arts, but I'm sure the politics in this state, both in terms of Tulsa interests and rural interests are going to hold UCO back from climbing out of that hole for the foreseeable future.

agree on all counts ...

[The]

The biggest problem is that UCO doesn't get donor support like OU and OSU get--a lot of that is probably due to the historic nature of it as a commuter school and the lack of a very strong identity. UCO does a poor job at that.

I'm a bit concerned that Todd Lamb is going to be a problem where it comes to donors, but I'm willing to give him a shot. He's already as much as run Chad Richison off, who was the all time historic #1 donor to UCO, but who knows? With Lamb's conservative politics and connections, he might be able to draw an 'anti-woke' crowd of donors to pick up the slack. I'm sure that dollar signs were what the regents saw then they picked a former Lt. Governor with no experience running an office with more than ten or so people to run a school with 14,000+ students and upwards of 1,000 staff and faculty. Otherwise, I'm not sure what on his resume was compelling.

UCO is also in the regional system, which I think holds it back. The state could support a third research university, and it would absolutely make sense for UCO to have more graduate, especially PhD programs, especially in the areas of education and liberal arts, but I'm sure the politics in this state, both in terms of Tulsa interests and rural interests are going to hold UCO back from climbing out of that hole for the foreseeable future.

Is Tulsa not already the state's third research university?

[AFCM]

With OU going to the SEC, a lot of families will be priced out of the OU gameday experience. There's a big opportunity there for a school like UCO.

Plus, as I mentioned earlier, UCO could serve as OU’s sacrificial lamb every now and then since SEC programs love to schedule local FCS programs to add “automatic” wins for postseason eligibility. This would allow OU to play an in-state team other than Tulsa, and it would help put the UCO athletic department in the black while also giving a little nationwide exposure, albeit on the receiving end of a lopsided score in an EPSN stat column.

[Midtowner]

Is Tulsa not already the state's third research university?

Is it? I'm pretty sure it's just a private liberal arts university with a law school. Kind of like OKCU with a football team.

[Zuplar]

Tulsa is a private research university, at least according to Wikipedia.

[fortpatches]

Is it? I'm pretty sure it's just a private liberal arts university with a law school. Kind of like OKCU with a football team.

OU and OSU are R1 Universities.
TU is an R2 university.

Where R1 are Doctoral Universities with Very high research activity and R2 are Doctoral Universities with High research activity

[Pete]

For some reason, Tulsa had been the top-rated university in the state by US News.

Now at #195, it is well below OU at #124 and even below OSU at #185. The only other rated National University is OCU at #280.

Not to get into yet another debate about the veracity of these ratings, but that is a significant fall and like it or not, applicants very much care about this stat.

[Jake]

Didn't TU basically get rid of the majority of their liberal arts programs? I'm sure that had something to do with it.

[Pete]

^

Thanks, I had forgotten about that; happened in 2019 which coincided with their dramatic ratings slide:

University of Tulsa slashes its liberal arts programs, prompting protests, accusations of mismanagement

[Pete]

I fear for OCU and the various smaller colleges, especially the relatively undistinguished private varieties.

Tuition has become crazy expensive and there are so many more appealing choices. In the information age, applicants care a ton about ratings and return on their investment.