Oklahoma City Stars

This article is about the athletic teams of Oklahoma City University. For the hockey team that competed in the CHL, see Oklahoma City Stars (ice hockey).
Oklahoma City Stars
University Oklahoma City University
Association NAIA
Conference Sooner Athletic Conference
Athletic director Jim Abbott
Location Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Varsity teams 17
Basketball arena Abe Lemons Arena
Baseball stadium Jim Wade Stadium
Soccer stadium Stars Field
Nickname Stars
Colors Blue and white[1]
         
Website www.ocusports.com

The Oklahoma City Stars are the athletic teams that represent Oklahoma City University, located in Oklahoma City, in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The university fields 17 varsity sports teams, and these teams compete in the NAIA and the Sooner Athletic Conference in all sports except women's wrestling which competes in the Women's College Wrestling Association.

Until 1986, the Stars competed in the NCAA Division I Horizon League, which was known as the Midwestern City Conference at that time.

Men's basketball

Oklahoma City has made 18 NAIA tournament appearances: 1987, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010. As a member of the NCAA, Oklahoma City went to the NCAA tournament 11 times, the most of any school no longer a member of the NCAA. OCU appeared in the NCAA tournament in 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, and 1973; and the NIT twice, in 1959 and 1968.

Baseball

Oklahoma City has had 71 Major League Baseball Draft selections since the draft began in 1965.[2]

National championships

In 2012, Kevin Patrick Hardy (class of 2013) became OCU's first national champion in wrestling, taking the national title at 165 pounds. Hardy was a Division 1 three time state champion at Solon High School in Ohio.

Through the Spring 2012 sports season, Oklahoma City has won 41 national championships. Of these, 36 are NAIA championships, and four are WCWA championships.

Oklahoma City won the NACDA Director's Cup for the NAIA in 2002, awarded annually to the college or university with the most success in collegiate athletics.[3]

OCU has won national championships in the following sports (number of championships in parentheses, NAIA titles unless otherwise specified):[4]

Total men's Championships: 18 (in 4 different men's team sports)

Total women's championships: 25 (in 4 different women's team sports)

Football

Oklahoma City's football program and head coach Os Doenges made multiple innovative attempts to improving the game.[6]

The first and most successful innovation was credited to opposing coach Dike Beede when the football team played in the 1941 Oklahoma City vs. Youngstown football game. This game marks the first American football game to use a penalty flag.[7]

The second innovation was an unsuccessful venture to allow a coach to be on the field with the offense to help call plays and provide additional coaching as time allows.[8] Doenges proposed tests with opposing coaches and at least two agreed to test the idea.[9] However, the concept itself was considered a success and rules changes eventually allowed coaches on the sidelines to call plays and send plays in with a substitute.[6]

Also, Doenges is credited with inventing the offensive V formation while at Oklahoma City. Nicknamed "Three dots and a dash" (Morse code for the letter "v"), the program presented the new offensive formation to great fanfare before losing to the Southwestern Moundbuilders by a score of 7–0.[10]

Nickname and mascot history

The school is currently known as the Stars, but was known as the Goldbugs or Gold Bugs in the 1920s, '30s and early '40s.[11][12] From 1944, the university was known as the Chiefs[13] a nickname changed in 1998 in reaction to the mounting pressure on schools to adopt names more sensitive to and respectful of Native American culture.[14]

References

  1. ↑ "Visual Identity Colors". Retrieved 2016-09-10.
  2. ↑ "MLB Amateur Draft Picks who came from "Oklahoma City University (Oklahoma City, OK)"". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-06-16.
  3. ↑ "Three Repeat Winners Claim Sears Directors' Cup; Oklahoma City University Wins First NAIA Award". National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics. 2002-06-18. Retrieved 2012-03-06.
  4. ↑ "Championships". Oklahoma City University Athletics website. Retrieved 2012-03-06.
  5. ↑ NAIA Division I tournament - Women's College Basketball - ESPN
  6. 1 2 Soldan, Ray (August 29, 1982). "Coach Brought Creative Touch To OCU Football". The Daily Oklahoman. Retrieved May 28, 2013.
  7. ↑ Bassetti, John (August 1, 1999). "First penalty flag has its roots in YSU football". The Youngstown Vindicator.
  8. ↑ "Coaches to Call Signals in Grid Game Saturday". St. Petersburg Times. November 7, 1940. Retrieved March 24, 2013.
  9. ↑ Snider, Dick (December 18, 2000). "12th man for Okie football team is coach in the huddle". Topeka Capital-Journal. Retrieved March 24, 2013.
  10. ↑ "V Formation Makes Debut" (PDF). New York Evening Post. September 14, 1941. Retrieved May 28, 2013.
  11. ↑ Tramel, Barry. "Happy Thanksgiving: An ode to Ace Gutowsky". Newsok.com. Retrieved 2012-03-06.
  12. ↑ "Indian Gold Bugs Invade Youngst'n" (PDF). The Jambar. Retrieved 2012-03-06.
  13. ↑ Crump, Laymond. "Oklahoma City U Strikes 'Goal' Rush". Toledo Blade. Retrieved 2012-03-06.
  14. ↑ United Methodist News Service. "Oklahoma City University athletes will no longer be 'Chiefs'". Worldwide Faith News. Retrieved 2012-03-06.
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