Too often students get caught up in the “sexy” OU sports like football, men’s basketball and baseball.
In some ways, it’s entirely understandable.
Income from football ticket sales, concessions and merchandising drives much of the athletics budget. And let’s be honest — the vast majority of students don’t come to Norman itching to watch the Sooners compete in golf.
Few students will care about graduation rates for the football team if OU wins the national championship.
Who cares as long as you produce a winner right?
Wrong.
Since Joe Castiglione landed the athletic director position at OU in April 1998, he has crafted OU into perhaps the most well-rounded athletics program in the nation.
Hiring Bob Stoops as head football coach is what Castiglione is most well-known for. The athletic director from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., ought to be evaluated collectively.
How many of the following names do you recognize: Veronique Drouin, K.J. Kindler, Dave Mullins, John Roddick, Martin Smith and Mark Williams?
If I gave you a matching worksheet with these six coaches’ names on one side and their respective sports mixed around on the other side, I bet 90 percent of students couldn’t match three without help.
For the record, Drouin coaches women’s golf, Kindler runs women’s gymnastics, Mullins heads women’s tennis, Roddick coaches men’s tennis, Smith run the cross country team and Williams coaches the men’s gymnastics team.
What do these six names have common beside the fact that Castiglione hired them? They all lead nationally relevant programs. And, sadly, each coach’s program goes largely unnoticed.
Drouin’s golf team is considered a favorite to win the Big 12 after leading the team to the best fall season in team history.
Kindler and Williams have their respective gymnastics teams ranked in the top four nationally.
Under Smith, OU’s men’s cross country team finished a program-best fifth in the NCAA championships to go along with its first NCAA regional title.
Mullins helped women’s tennis earn its third-highest preseason ranking in program history, entering the season ranked No. 39. The men’s tennis team is ranked 24th under Roddick.
I could go on and on about all of the sports that are not named football.
It would be easy, too.
There are far more statistics and noteworthy achievements across the board than I have paper to write on.
Students should take pride in the fact that the Sooners are prominent in almost every sport.
Do yourself a favor and forget the sexy sports every now and again.
And while you’re at it, think about Castiglione’s true legacy, and let Boomer Sooner stand for something more than another football Saturday.
— Josh Helmer, journalism sophomore
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dbh 1 year, 3 months ago
NICE TAKE ON OVERALL SPORTS PICTURE AT OU.. SOMETHING ALL OF US SHOULD BE MORE AWARE AND PROUD OF... BOOMER SOONER OKLAHOMA DAILY!!!!