STILLWATER —
Over the years Mike Gundy has made it known how he has no input when it comes to the scheduling for the Oklahoma State University football program.
On Thursday, a day after it was announced the Cowboy football team will open the 2014 season against Florida State at Cowboy Stadium in Dallas, Gundy explained his reason for not being a fan of games of that nature — as well as the 2013 season opener, which will be against Mississippi State at Reliant Stadium.
“I don’t like giving up a home game. I’d rather play here. Just so everybody knows, in recruiting, there’s nothing better than a home game,” Gundy said. “There’s nothing more effective than bringing a young man to your campus, letting him be around your crowd, he sees the tailgating — we have 35,000 people that tailgate now. It’s one of the most exciting home field advantage football stadiums in the country, in my opinion.”
Gundy may not be a full supporter of playing big games in NFL stadiums, but he did yield to the notion that the fact teams and stadiums want to include OSU in the early-season marquee matchups is a sign of the program on the rise.
“There’s no question. We’re going to have an opportunity to play in games of that style, for the next how-many-ever years,” the OSU coach said. “There’s no question about that.”
Wednesday’s announcement, along with the previous announcement of the 2013 opener against Mississippi State, is likely to make OSU’s biggest donor happy, as well. T. Boone Pickens, who has a suite at Cowboy Stadium, has said he’d like for his alma mater to play more meaningful games.
“I want an upgrade to the non-conference schedule,” Pickens said prior to the season opener against Savannah State. “... I think we can play there (Cowboy Stadium). We were actually going to be the first game in the stadium at one point and we couldn’t get Texas Tech to sign up.”
While Gundy is looking at prospective Cowboy players, those on the roster already like the opportunity of getting to play in a NFL stadium.
“I think it’s great exposure, especially for the university — and even for the recruits, getting to know that we’re going to play on prime time television in some big arenas,” said junior quarterback Clint Chelf, a native of Enid. “I think the exposure is great. I think it will be exciting.”
While Chelf will likely graduate before the 2014 opener in Dallas, redshirt freshman quarterback J.W. Walsh would be a junior at that time — and be a part of his second-straight season opener in an NFL stadium in his native Texas.
“It’s really cool. It’s really special to be able to play in such a big venue like that,” Walsh said. “I think it’ll also be a challenge for us, because you don’t want to go in there and just be in shock because you are playing in one of the bigger stadiums in the country.”
Playing in JerryWorld, as it’s also known, will be nothing new for Walsh, however. The quarterback from Denton, a suburb of the Metroplex, said he played several high school football games in the nearby Dallas stadium.
“We played about four or five games in Cowboy Stadium. For me, playing there won’t be anything new,” Walsh said. “I’ve played a few games there, including a state championship game.”
“So we’ve played in front of the big crowd there, too.”
The redshirt freshman quarterback said the first most notable difference about the arena in the Metroplex is the over-sized video screen hanging above the football field.
“The very first game, it was a little difficult,” Walsh said. “You’d catch yourself looking up at it because it’s so big and such a good picture.”
JASON ELMQUIST is the sports editor at the Stillwater NewsPress.
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OSU players excited about playing in big venue
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Tennis camps offered in Edmond
Edmond Raquet Club is offering a pair of tennis camps beginning May 28.
For ages 5-8, a camp is offered from 8:45-9:30 a.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays and for ages 7-15 a tennis camp is available from 6-6:55 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Both camps run from May 28-June 13 and cost is $99 per camp.
A camp session for ages 8-16 will run on Mondays and Wednesdays from 8:30-9:25 a.m. May 29-June 12 for the identical cost.
For more information concerning these camps and others, call 341-4241. -
UCO winds up 10th nationally
Taylor Neidy fired a final-round 75, but Central Oklahoma failed to move up in the team standings at the NCAA Division II Women’s Golf Championships in Daytona Beach, Fla. Saturday.
The Bronchos closed with a 323 — making 11 double bogeys and three triples — and finished 10th in the four-day, 72-hole tournament with a 1,298 total on the 6,228-yard, par-72 Arthur Hills Legends Course at LPGA International.
Lynn ended Nova Southeastern’s four-year reign as national championships, finishing with a 1,187 total to edge the Sharks by three strokes. -
Central Oklahoma softballers make World Series again
Hayley Hudson gave Central Oklahoma a 5-4 lead with a run-scoring single in the fifth inning and the No. 19-ranked Bronchos staved off a seventh-inning Winona State threat to capture the NCAA Division II Central Super Regional championship Saturday afternoon at Edmond North High School.
The Warriors put two runners on with two outs in the bottom of the seventh in a bid to pull out a late win and force a deciding game in the best-of-three series, but left fielder Devyn Frazier made a running catch in foul territory for the final out to set off a wild celebration on the field.
UCO improved to 47-11 — a school-record for wins — with its 23th consecutive home victory and advanced to the Division II World Series for the second straight year. The Bronchos will face Armstrong Atlantic in the eight-team World Series at 11 a.m. Thursday in Salem, Va.
“I’d say that was a nail-biter,” head coach Genny Stidham said. “It was a good game, both teams played well. Winona has a great team and they didn’t give up, but we came up with some big plays and came out on top. -
Central Oklahoma golf coach picks up award
Central Oklahoma’s Michael Bond has been named the NCAA Division II Central Region Coach of the Year by the Women’s Golf Coaches Association, with Aly Seng and Erica Bensch both earning All-Central Region honors.
Bond led the Bronchos to perhaps the best season in school history in 2012-13 with top-five finishes in 10 of their 12 tournaments. UCO won three titles, including the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association crown and its first-ever regional championship, and finished 10th in the Division II national tournament. -
Workman's blast cranks UCO's engine; Bronchos cruise to 5-2 win
Nicole Workman’s solo home run gave Central Oklahoma a lead it would never relinquish and the No. 19-ranked Bronchos went on to topple Winona State 5-2 in the first game of the NCAA Division II Central Super Regional Friday night at the Edmond North High School Softball Complex.
Workman blasted her 14th homer of the season to lead off the second inning, with UCO adding three runs in the third and one more in the fifth to take a commanding 5-0 lead before the Warriors created some anxious moments in their final at bat.
WSU scored two runs and had runners on second and third on with just one out in the top of the seventh, but Kalynn Shrock got the final two batters to close out her fourth straight complete-game outing of the postseason and put the Bronchos in control of the best-of-three series. -
Richters rip competition at KickingBird
The KickingBird 2-man scramble was won by Jeff and Josh Richter, finishing with a 57.9 on May 11.
Jeff Jester and Kevin Wright wrapped up second-place honors with a 59.9 and Rick Morales and Ronnie Roberts placed third (60.1).
In the second flight, the top score was 60.4 by Jerry Bernhardt and Ted Carter. Picking up silver was the tandem of Jerry Fuller and Ramona Jacobi (61.2) and the third-place squad was Dyke Hoppe and Mark VanSickle at 62.0.
Morales was closest to the pin on No. 6 and Jeff Richter landed a dart on hole 14. -
Eagles' season finished; Lopez earns national honor
Southeastern, Fla. eliminated Oklahoma Christian 4-0 om the National Christian College Athletic Association World Series in Mason, Ohio today to advance to the tournament semifinals, while OC closes at 26-26.
OC would have advanced to the semifinals with a win, but completed a terrific turnaround from an 8-34 season in 2012. The Eagles made only the second national-tournament appearance in the program's history, with the other coming in 1972, when OC finished third in the NAIA World Series. -
Multiple baseball camps offered in Edmond
Edmond Schools baseball coaches Kyle Roberts (Edmond Memorial), Jeff Shafer (Edmond Santa Fe) and Karl King (Edmond North) will instruct the Edmond All-Star Baseball Camps starting May 28 at Edmond North High School.
A pair of all-skills camps will take place for kids ages 5 and older from May 28-31 and June 3-6. Times are the same, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.
On June 7, a pitcher/catcher camp will be offered for ages 8 and older with the identical time frame. Cost is $35 for the pitcher/catcher camp and $125 for the all-skills camp.
For further inquiries, contact Karl King at 863-3570. -
Arthur Hills eating up Bronchos
Central Oklahoma’s struggles continued at the NCAA Division II Women’s Golf Championships in Daytona Beach, Fla. Friday.
The Bronchos made 10 double bogeys and two triple bogeys en route to a season-high 329 score on the rugged 6,228-yard, par-72 Arthur Hills Legends Course at LPGA International, leaving UCO in 10th place with a three-round total of 975.
Nova Southeastern has an 881 total heading into Saturday’s final round, giving the four-time defending champion Sharks a one-shot lead over second-place Lynn. -
Bronchos will make 12th appearance in national golf championship Monday
No. 18-ranked Central Oklahoma will make its 12th appearance in the NCAA Division II Men’s Golf Championships in Hershey, Pa. next week.
The 54-hole stroke play portion of the tournament runs Monday-Wednesday at the 7,061-yard, par-71 Hershey Country Club East Course, with the top-eight teams from the 20-team field advancing to match play. - More Sports Headlines
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Tennis camps offered in Edmond
