UPDATE ON H.A. CHAPMAN STADIUM RENOVATION . . . (updated, June 19, 2008) . . . Terry Hossack, associate vice president of facilities and campus services, shares some pertinent information regarding the renovation of H.A. Chapman Stadium. An OAC (owners, architects and contractors) meeting takes place every Wednesday in which topics discussed include: reviewing the schedule, budget and programming. This group has met for 26 straight weeks, and will continue meeting most likely through the first home game on September 20.
Here's some bullet points from Terry regarding the renovation: • Five of of the last eight days have been lost due to weather related issues, but the project is still on schedule. • There has been 20" of rain on site since Memorial Day. • The north and south stairwells are now complete and are being used by crews to traverse the tower • Framing of the club and first level of suites has commenced, and the walls are taking shape. • Fireproofing is complete. • Tepco Windows motorized window system installation has commenced . Motors and window mullions are being installed on the east façade. • Bench and chair installation in the seating bowl is expected to begin in the next week. • New Daktronics 16mmHD scoreboard installation will commence July 7th with the demolition of the existing and installation of the new 55' by 32 high definition screen complete by approx. August 1st. (Terry and Director of Video Services Mike Bilbow returned on Tuesday from Arizona, where they saw the Arizona Diamondbacks video screen, common to the one being installed at Chapman Stadium) • The broadcast control room (Reynolds Center) which will serve as a common control room for the Donald W. Reynolds Center and H.A. Chapman is underway with a completion date of September 1st...it's a $600,000 commitment to new technologies. • Most if not all furniture for the press box and suites has been ordered and has begun to arrive. •Space has been allocated for a new Hurricane Storm Center Store, which will be a permanent location on game day for merchandise in the southwest corner of the stadium on the interior concourse.As we get in the stretch run to completion date and home opener on Sept. 20, we'll attempt to update fans in this section of the website at least ever couple weeks, and maybe more as milestones are met.
FORMER BASKETBALL PLAYERS ON CAMPUS . . . (updated June 16, 2008) . . . It was good to see some former players on campus last week working the Doug Wojcik Basketball Camps -- Charles Ramsdell, Chris Wallace, Jason Parker and Dante Swanson -- were all working the basketball camp last week . . . DAVIS SIGNS . . . don't know if you saw it, but former Tulsa kickoff return specialist Ashlan Davis signed a free agent contract with the New York Jets last week . . . SUMMER . . . after 12 days of hosting the NCAA Tennis Championships, things have slowed down a little bit on the athletics side, except for all the summer camps in football, basketball, soccer and volleyball and planning for the 2008-09 academic year . . . look for the non-conference men's basketball schedule to be completed withn the next couple weeks . . . STADIUM . . . the renovation continues at H.A. Chapman Stadium . . . the placement of the Tennessee Ledgestone on the upper east wall of the stadium began last week, and the press box is taking shape more each day . . . ENJOY . . . enjoy your summer and if you haven't purchased your season tickets yet for football, you can do it online or call 631-4688.
TENNIS OVER HALF-WAY POINT . . . (updated May 22, 2008) . . . We have reached the 8th of 12 days for the NCAA Tournament, normally its 7 am until 10 pm, or later for some of us . . . it's been a success from an operations perspective and from being able to accommodate student-athletes and coaches . . . it's been an all-out effort from athletic staff, facilities, dining services and many other departments around campus . . . with all the great tennis going on, we can quickly forget how these athletes are still students -- Assistant Athletics Director in Academics Michael Stevenson has been called into service to proctor exams from Tuesday through Friday for Harvard University which is in final exams this week . . . GOING TO CHINA . . . Ben Uzoh will be joining the Memphis basketball team and players from UTEP and Southern Miss on a foreignt trip to China for three games vs. the Chinese Olympic/National Team, May 28-June 1 . . . Jerome Jordan was invited to attend as well and was planning to join his teammate and Coach Doug Wojcik, but since USA basketball is the sponsor of the trip, and Jerome is an international student from Jamaica and doesn't have a green card, his VISA was denied.
TRUE BLUE TU . . . (updated May 9, 2008) . . . A true friend of University of Tulsa Athletics was buried on Thursday at a funeral at Trinity Episcopal Church in downtown Tulsa. Though not an alumnus of TU, Bill Babb was truly one of our favorite fans and supporters. When he moved here from Minnesota in the early 70's, he adopted TU as his school. We were certainly better for it. Mike Strain of the Tulsa World probably best depicted Bill Babb's impact on TU Athletics recently in a column far better than my poor power to add or detract. His description of Bill and the "Railbirds" was right on, and the scene at the end of one of the practices when the team huddled around him and gave him a jersey tells you enough. As does the fact that Head Football Coach Todd Graham was one of two eulogizing our good friend Thursday. Isn't it interesting, perhaps even sad, that it takes a funeral for some of us to realize the real impact of someone? Did you know Bill was heavily involved in his church, Trinity Episcopal? So much so that one of the rectors in the service called him a "shepherd" who was so often in charge of organizing the efforts to get the layman to the liturgy. Did you know Bill was a longtime contributor to the "Gridiron" show, put on by the Tulsa Press Club? The "Gridiron", not necessarily football related, is a comedy/parody show put on once a year to lampoon national and area politicians, current events, and sometimes sports figures. Bill was a writer, performer, singer, producer and director in various capacities through the years. I only know this because when I first started writing for the "Gridiron" three years ago, Bill Babb was the director. Did you know Bill came to Tulsa to work for the Jaycees? It shouldn't surprise any of us who saw him donate hours to some of his favorite causes. When the Jaycees job went away, Bill stayed and made Tulsa and TU his home. Last fall, he was named the "volunteer of the year" by The University of Tulsa. It took a funeral to have a full understanding of how many lives Bill Babb touched. The place was packed. Bill, you will not be soon forgotten. God Bless, and say hello to Glenn Dobbs up there for us. (Author...Bruce Howard/BH)
CHAPMAN SCOREBOARD . . . (updated April 18, 2008) . . . The scoreboard in the south end zone of H.A. Chapman Stadium will be installed in the month of July baring any unforeseen problems with footings . . . the scoreboard will measure 55 feet by 35 feet with a 16mm HD video screen . . . WEBCAM . . . We're hoping to install a second webcam within the next couple weeks to be focused on the work being done on the inside of H.A. Chapman Stadium. The current webcam is focused on the Press Box construction from the west side of the field (behind the press box) . . . FORMER TU TRAINER HONORED . . . Some of you might remember former athletic trainer Scott McGonagle, now the head athletic trainer at the University of Miami in Florida. Scott will be inducted into the Oklahoma Athletic Trainers Association Hall of Fame on May 11 in ceremonies at Stillwater, Oklahoma . . . RINGS . . . Tulsa football players will receive Bowl Rings at a special Senior Recognition dinner tonight. Some specialty awards will also be given. (Author... Don Tomkalski/DT)
NEW TURF . . . (updated April 17, 2008) . . . The south side of Mabee Gymnasium has been turned from two basketball courts into an inside practice football field with FieldTurf . . . the new field runs east to west and is 37 yards long . . . the finishing touches of laying the sand-and-rubber mixture into the turf went into the evening on Thursday and is epected to be finished by Friday . . . the indoor field will also be used for softball and soccer . . . square turf bases for softball have been inlaid in the indoor field . . . NEW TURF AT H.A. CHAPMAN STADIUM . . . at H.A. Chapman Stadium, the current turf will be removed and the removal process is expected to start Friday and it's expeted that laying the new turf will take three weeks . . . an improved version of the current FieldTurf will be installed . . . no more painting of the numbers, logos or lines will be needed, it will now be inlaid into the turf . . . A ROOF . . . if you've seen the stadium lately, the metal has been going up for the press box. The roof of the 4th level (photo deck) is expected be completed by May 4th, pending any weather issues . . . FINAL FOOTBALL PRACTICE DELAYED . . . The Annual Spring Game is scheduled for Saturday at 5 pm at the Hardesty practice field, but it will not be the final spring football practice for the Hurricane. With the poor weather on Thursday, Tulsa's Thursday night practice was cancelled, and the team is now expected to finish on Tuesday at Hardesty practice field. (Author . . . Don Tomkalski/DT)
HONORING COACH RADER . . . (updated April 15, 2008) . . . Tonight in Oklahoma City former TU Head Football Coach Dave Rader, also a TU letterman and former starting quarterback, will be recognized by the Oklahoma Chapter of the National Football Foundation wth the Merv Johnson Integrity in Coaching Award . . . TU Athletic Director Bubba Cunningham will introduce Coach Rader . . . seven TU staff members will make the trek down to Oklahoma City for the presentation, while Bubba Cunningham also extended invitations to some of Coach Rader's former players . . . a well-deserved honor for a great person . . . THANK YOU TULSA . . . On my last post, sorry it's been awhile, I said let's sell-out the CBI Championbship Game 3 against Bradley. We Did. Thanks to everyone who bought a ticket. What an awesome crowd. Reminded a lot of people of a number of seasons in the 1980s, '90s and early 2000s . . . SPRING GAME . . . Don't forget about the spring game. Remember last year when Coach Graham had fans call a play, that will happen again this season, but we've also added some other on-field contests . . . You might have a chance to throw a pass to NCAA record-setting receiver Brennan Marion, or catch a pass from quarterback David Johnson. It should be a lot of fun at the Hardesty practice field (between Bama Pie and the Case Tennis Center). The Lettermen's Flag Football Game starts at 4:30 pm, followed by Spring Game at 5 pm. Inflatables, Band, Concessions will be available. Bring a lounge chair and picnic . . . shuttles from the Reynolds Center parking lots will be running . . . DID YOU REALIZE . . . Did any one realize - that Tulsa had the first Div.1 game of the college football season, we were the second-to-last game to end the football season. We opened the basketball season on the first week that you could play basketball, and now we closed the basketball season on the last weekend. A long year, but an exciting one . . . TULSA SPORTS CHARITIES . . . Coach Wojcik will speak at the Tulsa Sports Charities Luncheon this Thursday, April 17. Lunch begins at 12 noon at Freddies Steakhouse in Sapulpa. You can RSVP by emailing tommy@premier-staff.com. (Author . . . Don Tomkalski/DT)
LET'S SELL OUT . . . (updated April 3, 2008) . . . One more game is left to the basketball season, and it's for a championship -- whether it's the NCAA, CBI or NIT -- it's still for a championship . . . Tulsans have responded greatly through the first four home games of the CBI, and this game appears to be no different from early ticket sales, but let's give these young men who have worked so hard for so long a great send-off to the season -- LET'S SELL OUT . . . in the first 15 minutes this morning 921 tickets were sold only, while at the 25-minute mark it reached 1,450 and in 50 minutes the online count was at 2,200. As of 10:30 am, the total number of tickets sold was 4,717, while at 1 pm it had risen to 5,800 tickets sold . . . LAST NIGHT . . . Following the game last night, the charter flight was somewhat delayed. We lifted off at around 11 pm, and arrived around 12:45 am. As you can imagine, it was an even a longer flight after a loss, but coaches were breaking down the game video while the players were getting some shut-eye. (Author . . . Don Tomkalski/DT)
THOUGHT'S ON THE BRADLEY SERIES . . . (updated March 28, 2008) . . . When TU hosts Bradley in the Reynolds Center on Monday in the first game of the championship series of the College Basketball Invitational, it will bring back numerous memories for Tulsa fans. This will be the first time Bradley has played in the Reynolds Center, but most fans still have fond memories of the battles at the Convention Center, the Peoria Civic Center, and the old Bradley home gym, Robertson Field House. I never had the pleasure of broadcasting from the old gym, but it has been described to me as anything from a little band box to an airport hangar. Must have been a great atmosphere. Speaking of atmosphere, have there been any louder crowds at the Reynolds Center this year than what we've witnessed in the CBI? I don't think so. Though some TU faithful probably have more colorful memories of Bradley-Tulsa from the 1980's, when the rivalry was one of the best in the Missouri Valley Conference (just bringing up Nolan Richardson, Dick Versace, Tony Barone and J.D. Barnett can tell you how intense it must have been), I have my own personal remembrances of TU-Bradley. In Tubby Smith's third year, Bradley came to the Convention Center with a team that appeared to me to be much less athletically gifted than Tulsa. With veterans like Gary Collier, Lou Dawkins and younger studs like Alvin Williamson and Shea Seals, TU looked in warm ups (and early in the game) like a mismatch for the young Braves. The only guy on the Bradley roster that seemed to measure up physically was Marcus Pollard, who would later play tight end in the NFL. But led by Deon Jackson and Anthony Parker, Bradley fought back and won the game. They later beat Tulsa in Peoria, but TU got the last laugh with their first Sweet 16 appearance. The following year, Bradley was even better and the two teams squared off in an early season showdown for the lead in the MVC. TU was coming off a disappointing loss at Illinois State (95-79, when current TU assistant coach David Cason repeatedly dribbled through the Hurricane press for easy baskets and assists--9 pts, 8 rebounds, 10 assists--close to a triple double!), and needed a big game at Peoria. In what was an unbelievably dominating performance at a road site, TU never let Bradley into the game, winning 73-53, setting the stage for a Missouri Valley Conference regular season championship and later, another Sweet 16 appearance. Never had I observed Tubby Smith as happy as on that plane ride back home on a crisp, clear January afternoon. The TU-Bradley pendulum swung back the other way during the regular season of Steve Robinson's first year, when Bradley rallied twice to beat TU two times, both in overtime. The game in Peoria was especially frustrating, as Tulsa had a 20-point lead, and lost by 13 in overtime. As a strange aside, when we got back to the office on Monday, there was an unbelievably vulgar two minute tirade on Sports Information Director Don Tomkalski's voice mail from someone (we don't know who) who had obviously bet a large sum of money on TU that day. Since the spread was something like Bradley by 3 points, this person went ballistic when TU not only lost the lead, but lost by 13. His comments about throwing games and some of his name calling made the Rice Owl marching band comments about Todd Graham seem mild in comparison. At any rate, as the season marched on, TU went into the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament needing to win it all to get back to the NCAA Tournament. Bradley had already won the regular season, and was a lock for an at-large berth. Coach Robinson, his assistants and team put together three superior defensive efforts. In the MVC title game, the Hurricane destroyed Bradley 60-46 in what was TU's final game in the Valley (and last meeting to this point, against the Braves). I'll never forget the Tulsa World's headline, "Adios Valley!". The Missouri Valley Conference has certainly survived and thrived without TU. And TU certainly did the right thing in moving on to the WAC and then C-USA. It's kind of like missing that sibling who used to aggravate the dickens out of you in the old days. It will be fun to welcome a long lost brother back to Tulsa on Monday night. (Author...Bruce Howard/BH)
TICKET UPDATE . . . (updated March 27, 2008) . . .We ended regular office hours today at just over 4,850 tickets sold for the CBI Championship game opener against Bradley on Monday . . . with internet sales, we could begin Friday with over 5,000 tickets sold . . . purchasing tickets online has has definitely relieved the demand on the ticket office, although the line was long this morning . . . internet sales has allowed fans to get tickets sooner and more efficiently . . . in the first 5 minutes this morning 700 tickets were sold on the internet, while in the first 25 minutes 1,400 tickets were sold via the web . . . IF THERE'S A GAME 3 . . . if Game 3 is necessary in the best-of-three series, it will be in Tulsa on Friday, April 4, and tickets for that game would go on sale Thursday, April 3 . . . FACILITIES STAFF IS BUSY . . . the Reynolds Center court was torn down on Thursday for a big Saturday event. The court will be put back and available for team practices by 2 pm Sunday . . . a student concert by Ben Folds is scheduled for Thursday night, when the court will be torn down again and then put back up by Friday early morning . . . BRADLEY MEMORIES . . . Playing Bradley brings back a lot of great memories of some classic games, great players and wonderful people at the two universities. My first ever athletic event as an employee was the Tulsa-Bradley basketball game on January 7, 1984 at the Tulsa Convention Center. I was serving as the TV statistician for a Peoria TV station and with not knowing many of the players on either team, the scoreboard went out during the game, thus making my job a little bit more complex . . . I remember Hersey Hawkins, Nowata's Donald Powell, Jim Les, now the Braves' head coach, and many more outstanding Bradley players, not to mention the great TU players -- Ricky Ross, Steve Harris, Herb Johnson, Tracy Moore and more . . . do you remember when Bradley came to the Convention Center ranked 9th in the country in J.D. Barnett's first year as head coach for the MVC Tournament championship game -- Tulsa won 74-58, after losing the two regular season games. Tulsa went on to get the MVC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and then faced Doug Wojcik and David Robinson's Navy team . . . I've also heard the stories of Bradley assistant coach Tony Barone going over the bench into the Tulsa crowd -- I guess they were being heckled too much . . . on a bad note, I've forgotten as much as possible though, when we had a 20-point lead at Bradley in Steve Robinson's first season and lost . . . then there was the win in the championship game over Bradley in St. Louis that same season, 60-46, again giving Tulsa the NCAA's automatic bid . . . LOOK FOR A CHANGE IN TULSA'S FOOTBALL SCHEDULE . . . it may happen as soon as Friday, when it could be final that Tulsa will now open the season against Conference USA foe UAB the weekend of August 30. It would move from Nov. 8, thus giving Tulsa a week off after the Arkansas game on Nov. 1 and before finishing with three C-USA games at Houston, home vs. Tulane and at Marshall. The move would break-up 11 straight weeks of playing. Open days will now be Sept. 13 and Nov. 8. (Author... Don Tomkalski/DT)
BASKETBALL IS STILL PLAYING; FOOTBALL BACK ON THE FIELD . . . (updated March 26, 2008) . . . Tonight Tulsa hosts Conference USA foe Houston in the semifinal round of the CBI . . . as of 3 pm, the ticekt count was a little over 4,700. Still over 1,000 tickets to go to match Monday's quarterfinal attendance against Utah . . . the CBI has been quiet on the seeding of the Final Four. We've all figured it was 1. Virginia, 2. Tulsa, 3. Houston and 4. Bradley . . . well that's been confirmed today by the CBI. so if Virginia wins tonight against Bradley, the winner of the Tulsa-Houston will play two games at Virginia and one home game, but if Bradley wins, the Tulsa-Houston winner will get the two home games . . . the format will be March 31 at the top seed, April 2 at the lower seed, and if necessary game 3 on April 4 will again be at the site of the top seed . . . SURPRISE . . . Head Coach Doug Wojcik won his 50th career game at the C-USA Tournament against UAB. On Tuesday following practice and a brief video session, the Tulsa team, led by the three seniors, presented their head coach with a commemorative basketball, written on it was -- Doug Wojcik • 50th Career Win • March 13, 2008 • Tulsa 78, UAB 68 -- needless to say it was a surprise to their head coach . . . FOOTBALL'S FOCUS . . . after spring break last week, the Tulsa football team was back on the practice field on Tuesday for their third practice of the spring. . . you can tell where one of the main focuses is this spring on the offensive side of the ball . . . Tulsa may have led the nation last year in total offense with 543.9 yards per game, but the Hurricane ranked 103rd in the nation in turnovers . . . the offensive focus - eliminate turnovers . . . just look at the T-shirts the Tulsa offensive coaches are wearing during spring drills -- the front side says - Own The Ball; and the back side says - 103. (Author... Don Tomkalski/DT)
WHAT'S HAPPENING . . . (updated March 24, 2008) . . . We'll begin Monday with a little over 4,200 tickets sold for Monday night's CBI second round game against Utah . . . Let's see if we can beat the 5,365 attendance total from the opening round (it was the largest of all eight CBI first round games, and 97-percent of what Tulsa's season attendance average was) . . . if you had the opportunity to see the last Tulsa-Utah game in Tulsa in February 1997, when the Utes were ranked 5th nationally and came to the Convention Center Arena, you'll remember the names of Utah's Keith Van Horn and Andre Miller and Tulsa's Shea Seals. It was a heck of a game with Tulsa losing by 2 points . . . Monday's game will be a big test for the Hurricane, Utah has three players shooting over 40-percent from three point range and have a 7-1 player as their leading scoer and rebounder. Their two leading scoers both come off the bench. (Author...Don Tomkalski/DT)
THE CBI . . . (updated March 17, 2008) . . . By now most people now what the CBI is -- College Basketball Invitational and Tulsa will be hosting a first round game on Wednesday night . . . ticket sales were brisk for most of the day on Monday since being put on sale at 8:30 am.... as of 4:30 pm the count is at 2,800 tickets sold, but we have a long way to go, so if you don't have a ticket and love basketball, there's no better time to come watch the Golden Hurricane with ticket prices as low as $5, $10 and $15 . . . I can also say that fans who saw the Hurricane play at home during the season, but did not attend the C-USA Tournament, you haven't seen seven-footer Jerome Jordan at his best . . . he came into his own during the tournament and is on the brink of becoming a dominant big man . . . there were a number of pro scouts at the first two rounds of the C-USA Tourney, and the talk turned to the sophomore and what he can be in two more years of adding strength and playing basketball . . . make plans to attend the CBI game against Miami on Wednesday night, let's show Conference USA that Tulsa fans can support and want a Conference USA Tournament in this town. (Author...Don Tomkalski/DT)
DID COACH CALIPARI HAVE A PREMONITION . . . (updated March 14, 2008) . . . earlier this week, Tulsa coach Doug Wojcik received a text message from Memphis John Calipari, saying Good win over UCF in the season finale, and won't see you until the finals on Saturday . . . THE AFTERMATH . . . it's an early morning for everyone . . . the team left the arena early following its media commitments, leaving Wojcik behind to complete his media interviews . . . he met with play-by-play announcer Dick Enberg, color analyst Bob Wenzel and producer Craig Silver from CBS before leaving the arena . . . when Wojcik had a chance to check his phone messages following his media commitments on Friday night, he had 23 text messages congratulating he and the team . . . when the team arrived at the hotel, it was dinner, and then after Wojcik arrived, the team reviewed personnel of Memphis before calling it lights out... 8 am pre-game meal, and the team wake-up call won't be much before that. (Author... Don Tomkalski/DT)
C-USA TOURNAMENT THOUGHTS . . . (updated March 13, 2008) . . . The future looks bright for Tulsa basketball with sophomores Jerome Jordan and Ben Uzoh . . . what a performance each of those sophomores had in the win against UAB . . . Tulsa basketball fans who haven't had season tickets as well as the casual basketball fan in the northeastern Oklahoma area may want to rethink it and purchase season tickets for next season, because you may be seeing a potential NBA star in the likes of seven-foot Jerome Jordan. I can guarantee there will be plenty of NBA scouts visiting the Reynolds Center the next two years. There were a handful of scouts that went away impressed on Thursday after Jordan's 23-point, 17-rebound performance against the second-place UAB Blazers . . . one scout that was there was a familiar face, former TU coach Buzz Peterson, who is now with the Charlotte Bobcats personnel office . . . BISHOP'S STATUS . . . if you haven't yet heard, Bishop Wheatley suffered a fractured left ankle in the UAB contest, leaving Tulsa a roster of basically eight players who have seen considerable action this year . . . CHEERING SECTION . . . as in Tulsa last year for the C-USA Women's Tournament, Memphis has bused in kids from local elementary schools for the afternoon games, and some of those youngsters adopted TU as their team the last two days. Thanks to the TU cheerleaders who went up to the students and taught them some basic cheers . . . The TU Band has also added great vocal support as well as great music to the Tulsa games this week . . . PREP WORK . . . the team remained to watch the entire UTEP-Houston game this afternoon. At about 9 pm, the Tulsa team used a large meeting room at the Marriott Downtown to review the scouting report against UTEP. All four teams will have an opportunity to shoot-around at the FedEx Forum on Friday. (Author... Don Tomkalski/DT)
STATUS OF HURTT . . . (updated March 7, 2008) . . . We've had some questions recently about Justin Hurtt's injuries and his rehab . . . here's his status . . . he underwent surgery on his left shoulder on Feb. 22, and is scheduled to undergo surgery on his right shoulder on March 28 . . . a six-month rehab is expected, so that would put him at full strength and back on the basketball court by September . . . MORE FOOTBALL SIGNEES . . . Look for Tulsa to add two more football signees in the next few days . . . commitments have been made, but an official announcement will not be made until next week when the official papers are returned . . . Tulsa will add a junior college offensive lineman and a high school linebacker . . . the LB will gray-shirt next season and join Tulsa in January 2009, while the JC lineman will join the team for August drills . . . SENIORS FINAL GAME . . . If you don't have plans for Saturday night, come out and send off Tulsa's three seniors in grand style . . . look for a big turnout by Tulsa football players to support their fellow athletes . . . EARLS BACK . . . senior guard Rod Earls, who suffered a scratched eye on Wednesday night, was back at practice on Friday wearing a stylish pair of goggles. He looked to be very accurate with his perimeter shooting . . . NO SPRING GAME SITE YET . . . Someone jumped the gun on a message board stating that Tulsa will play its spring football game on Aprii 19 at Union High School . . . Not So Fast . . . due to construction at H.A. Chapman Stadium, the spring game will not be played there, but no decision has been made yet as to where it will be played . . . an inquiry has been made to Union officials as to see if Union-Tuttle Stadium would be available, but that's as far as it goes right now . . . a decision could be made next week. (Author... Don Tomkalski/DT)
ROD EARLS IS DOING FINE . . . (posted March 6, 2008)As many of you may know Rod Earls went out of last night's game at UAB with an eye injury. It was a scratched eye. He was examined and released from a Birmingham hospital and traveled back with the team last night. He was examined again in Tulsa this morning. He's doing fine. He will not practice today, but is expected to play in his final game at the Reynolds Center on Saturday. He will be wearing goggles for a while . . . CONGRATS WOMEN . . . Congratulations to the Tulsa women's basketball team, the #10 seed at the C-USA tournament, defeated the #7-seed Memphis 85-63 in the 11 am (CT) game just a short time ago and will face #2-seed SMU at 11 am (CT) on Friday. Tulsa lost to Memphis during the season by 23 points, and defeated the Tigers by 22 today. Tulsa won both regular season meetings against SMU this year. (Author...Don Tomkalski/DT)
LET'S HOPE IT TRANSLATES . . . (posted March 5, 2008) At today's 11-12 pm shoot-around at Bartow Arena, Tulsa has a shooting drill in which players have four minutes to make as many jump shots as possible from four different spots on the court, getting one minute at each spot before going to the next spot. In all the practices I've seen this year, the 105 that the players connected on today has been the most. Hopefully, we'll be carry that over tonight against UAB, winners of 13 of 14 hoem games this year with the only loss coming against #1 Memphis by one point, 79-78 . . . JUST RUMORS . . . a rumor that started earlier in the week reached one local news outlet who had to check-out its validity. It was about Kansas playing at Tulsa next season at the BOK Center. So if you've heard this rumor there is no truth to it. Tulsa will have non-conference home games next year against Oklahoma, ORU, Missouri State and BYU. The Cougars have been nationally ranked this season. (Author...Don Tomkalski/DT)
BACK ONLINE . . . (posted Feb. 28, 2008) . . . Sorry that we haven't been updating "TRACKING THE HURRICANE", been a little busy, but from here on out we'll have updates at least 2-3 times weekly, and hopefully more . . . THE MEMPHIS TRIP . . . took the six-hour bus trip to Memphis from Tulsa, left at 12 noon on Tuesday and arrived at 6 pm. The players then went to the Memphis Grizzlies-Phoenix Suns Game . . . who'd have now that Sam Mitchell was a big Amare Stoudemire fan, but people could tell as he walked into the FedEx Forum wearing a Stoudemire jersey . . . Phoenix won the game . . . Today, practice was scheduled on the main arena floor from 12:30-1:30 pm, but this morning we were informed that it would have to be moved back this morning to 1:45 pm -- the reason was that when the night crew replaced the Grizzlies court and installed the University of Memphis court, it was put down wrong and there were gaps between the pieces of floor. They worked feverishly to get it fixed, but the first 35 minutes of shoot-around today was held in the Grizzlies practice gym at the FedEx Forum. When the work was completed, Tulsa was able to get in about 25 minutes of drills and shooting on the main court . . . Memphis, like usual, practiced at their campus facility . . . Billy Packer, who is serving as color analyst on the CSTV crew tonight, watched practice today, amidst telling some great stories. Following practice the Tulsa players all went over to introduce themselves to Billy Packer. Following the game, Tulsa will return to Tulsa with arrival time about 4 am -- payers have classes int he morning... BOK CENTER . . . I see that the BOK Center announced an NBA game for October 2008 - Magic vs. Rockets - don't be surprised if TU plays a regular season game at the BOK Center in the 2008-09 season. It could be the Oklahoma game which is already on the schedule for Tulsa. (Author... Don Tomkalski/DT)
BIG ROAD TRIP . . . (posted January 26, 2008) . . . Just returned to the Marriott Hotel from the men's basketball shoot-around at the Don Haskins Center . . . a later shoot-around than normal, 1:30-2:30 pm, because the Miners have a women's-men's doubleheader, and all four teams needed to get in practice times, obviously, Tulsa was the last to practice . . . one thing is pretty obvious, this is a big two-game road swing for the Hurricane . . . UTEP tonight, back home, and then back on the road Tuesday night with a charter flight to Marshall for a Wednesday game . . . it wil not be an easy task for Tulsa as the two opponents have combined for a 17-3 home record, UTEP 8-1 and Marshall 9-2 . . . Tulsa coaches were very pleased with the players' focus at today's hour practice . . . hopefully it translates into a good performance tonight . . . players and coaches spent a good portion of the morning after 10:30 am breakfast watching the Memphis-Gonzaga game, since it was a 10:00 am local time tip-off on ESPN. (Author...Don Tomkalski/DT)
A FEW THOUGHTS REGARDING FOOTBALL SCHEDULING . . . (posted January 15, 2008) . . . Football Scheduling . . .
Our goal: to participate in a BCS Bowl game. Our strategy: to create a schedule that gives us the best opportunity to participate in a BCS game.
Three of the last five years a non-automatic qualifying conference has qualified a team for the BCS Bowl game: Utah, Boise State and Hawaii. The only way under our current system to quality for a BCS game is to go undefeated. We are attempting to build schedules that will allow us to go undefeated. The ideal schedule that we have in mind is one that features -- one BCS opponent; two games against Bowl Subdivision (formerly NCAA Division IA) opponents that are from non-automatic-qualifying leagues; and, one opponent of the Championship Subdivision (formerly NCAA Division I-AA).
In our estimation this is a manageable schedule and it does give us an opportunity to complete a season undefeated. A non-automatic-qualifying conference has yet to produce a team for a BCS game that has not gone undefeated.
This is an ambitious goal we believe is in line with where we are headed with our football program. I hope this clears up the confusion or disappointment regarding our schedule. However, this does give us the best chance to participate in a BCS bowl game.
Thanks for your continued support of the Tulsa Athletic Department. (Author... BC)
IS WWE HIS NEXT STOP? RICHARD YOUNG IS NOW ATLAS DABONE . . . (posted Jan. 12, 2008) . . . Former TU linebacker Richard Young (#42), who played football for the Golden Hurricane from 1996-97, is now is a professional wrestler in the Ohio Valley Wrestling Association as ATLAS DABONE . . . the OVW is an official training ground for the WWE . . . DaBone is one of OVW's most charismatic superstars and his finishing move is "The Boneyard Boogie" . . . he claims that he has "the guns that make the funds" and that he's all about "cashin' checks and breakin' necks" . . . Young transferred to TU from Glendale Community College . . . he had 177 career tackles and started his senior season while tallying 131 tackles . . . before moving to professional wrestling, Young played for seven years in the Arena Football League, most recently with the Colorado Crush. (Author... DT)
YES IT IS UCA . . . (posted Jan. 11, 2008) . . . There's been some grumbling among a few Tulsa fans that the Golden Hurricane football team will play Central Arkansas during the 2008 season . . . Yes, it's true . . . UCA is a member of NCAA Championship Subdivision (formerly NCAA Div. I-AA) . . . UCA is only on the schedule after Army decided to buy-out of its game at Tulsa for the 2008 campaign and have decided not to continue the series with the Hurricane . . . Look for Tulsa's non-conference schedule to be officially released soon . . . there's been an interesting twist with 2008 non-conference schedule that has occurred within the last couple weeks. (Author... DT)
TRAVELING WITH THE HURRICANE . . . (posted Jan. 11, 2008) . . . I've noticed something I hadn't seen in awhile when traveling with the Tulsa basketball team . . . on our way to Orlando for Saturday's UCF game, seven-footer Jerome Jordan drew numerous looks, and second looks during a layover at the Dallas Airport . . . How tall? He's tall? He must play basketball! were some of the words uttered. (Author... DT)
GOOD NEWS FOR TU ATHLETICS . . . (posted Jan. 10, 2008) In the U.S. Sports Academy Directors' Cup Final Fall Standings just released this morning, Tulsa comes in ranked 43rd nationally, the highest ranking for a Conference USA member. UCF follows at 69 . . . Tulsa received a total of 136 points , and received points for cross country (16 points), football (45 points), men's soccer (50 points) and volleyball (25 points) . . . The U.S. Sports Academy Directors' Cup was developed as a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and USA Today. Points are awarded based on each institution's finish in up to 20 sports - 10 women's and 10 men's . . . these midseason standings are unofficial . . . California is ranked first, followed by USC, Stanford, Oregon and Penn State rounding out the top-five teams . . . Official standings will not be published until the completion of the spring season. (Author...DT)
HOORAY FOR AJ . . . (posted Jan 3, 2008) In my 20+ years at The University of Tulsa, our student-athletes continue to reinforce why I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at TU . . . on Tuesday, another example of the great kids we have had here at Tulsa was evident when I witnessed junior running back Aaron Johnson (#22), just before a team meeting, loaded down with luggage heading to a automobile parked at the hotel . . . was he leaving Mobile for Tulsa? . . . No, he was assisting an elderly lady and another woman in getting their luggage to their car . . . just another example of the "good" in athletics. (Author... DT)
TULSA COULD MAKE NCAA HISTORY IN GMAC BOWL . . . (posted Jan. 2, 2008) Tulsa enters the GMAC Bowl on Sunday with an opportunity to become the first school in NCAA history to have a 5,000-yard passer, 1,000-yard rusher and three 1,000-yard receivers . . . Tarrion Adams has already rushed for over 1,000 yards with 1,113 yards this year, while Brennan Marion and Trae Johnson have 1,244 and 1,039 yards receiving, respectively . . . with 247 passing yards by Paul Smith and 45 more receiving yards by Charles Clay ---- the Hurricane would do just that, as Smith currently has 4,753 passing yards and Clay has 955 receiving yards . . . in 2001, Fresno State had a 4,000-yard passer (David Carr), 1,000-yard rusher (Paris Gaines) and two 1,000-yard receivers (Rodney Wright and Bernard Berrian).
There has not been much talk from Tulsa players or coaches about the possibility of setting this NCAA Record, although it would be something special for the Tulsa offense to accomplish. The same could be said for the possibility of becoming only the sixth team in school history to win 10 games in a single season - the five 10-win seasons in Tulsa history are 1916, 1920, 1942, 1982 and 1991. (Author... DT)
The first day of the New Year (Jan. 1, 2008) was the first blog of the new feature on www.tulsahurricane.com "Tracking the Hurricane." Blogs listed here will be straight from the TU athletic department, giving insight about Golden Hurricane athletics and the goings on around TU sports.
ALL THE TALK . . . (posted Jan. 1, 2008) Tulsa basketball coach Doug Wojcik's comments concerning game atmosphere following the Tulsa-Mississippi Valley State basketball game has sparked a lot of talk among TU fans . . . BOTTOM LINE, all the talk is good for internet message boards and radio talk shows . . . it will also create some good recommendations for increasing attendance and improving game atmosphere . . . but it will not happen overnight . . . season ticket sales have dropped 2,023 in the five-year period from 6,659 in 2002-03 to 4,636 in 2006-07 . . . there was a drop again this year of nearly 200 season tickets . . . Tulsa's paid attendance (not necessarily those who have attended the game) is 4,856 -- it ranks third in Conference USA for highest home attendance average behind Memphis (17,314) and UTEP (7,853) . . . the problem? those of the 4,400+ season ticket holders who do not show up . . . everyone has their reasons -- whether it's family obligations, work, prediction of bad weather, out-of-town, not a "name" opponent, or just rather stay at home and watch a game on TV, and I'm sure many more reasons -- BOTTOM LINE again, when TU season ticket holders fill the seats that they've purchased, automatically, the game atmosphere improves . . . there is no question that other aspects of our game atmosphere and fan entertainment has to improve . . . it's unfortunate that a game -- on a Sunday afternoon, with school out of session, no TU band and an opponent ranked 332 by the Sagarin ratings -- has to be the cause of this discussion . . . the game was, however, the highest attended home contest this year with 5,175 paid tickets/tickets distributed . . . there's no question as an athletic department staff we have work to do, the process had already begun . . . EVERYBODY - fans, players, coaches and staff - have the same common goals -- wins, post-season play and an environment to help reach those goals. (Author... DT)
HAVE YOU SEEN? . . . (posted Jan. 1, 2008) If you haven't been on campus lately, the football stadium press box is being taken apart piece by piece . . . you can check out the videocam of the stadium renovation on the front page of this website by clicking on H.A. CHAPMAN STADIUM RENOVATION CENTRAL . . . the plan is to add another videocam for another stadium view as construction continues. (Author... DT)
