Bill Haisten
Tulsa World Sports Columnist
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As the 2005-21 Oklahoma State athletic director, Mike Holder was an important influence on the development of the Cowboy football program and its facilities.
Holder did a lot of good for that school, and he did something great for the University of Tulsa.
As Holder was the initiator and driving force in the negotiation, Oklahoma State University and TU agreed six years ago to the terms of an eight-games-in-eight-seasons football contract.
“The two biggest markets for OSU fans are Oklahoma City and Tulsa,” Holder told the Tulsa World in 2019. “We can’t play a football game in Oklahoma City, but we can in Tulsa every other year.
“We do a lot of our recruiting of students in Tulsa. A lot of our students will graduate and go to work in Tulsa. The benefits of this football contract transcend just the playing of football games.”
For TU, the beauty of the deal is that four of the eight games are played on its home field — ensuring for the Golden Hurricane athletic department healthy shots of revenue last year and in 2026, 2028 and 2030.
The contract took effect in 2024 — with a 45-10 Cowboy win at TU’s H.A. Chapman Stadium — and resumes with Friday’s 6:30 p.m., ESPN-televised clash at OSU’s Boone Pickens Stadium. The Gateway-sponsored Turnpike Classic matches the 1-2 Golden Hurricane and the 1-1 Cowboys.
After the 2004 Cowboy win over TU, OSU officials were not excited about the future of the series. Emanating from Stillwater at that time was the discussion of a 3-for-1 possibility – a contract that would include three OSU home games and only one for the Golden Hurricane. It would have been a grossly unfair contract for TU.
“We have a sincere desire to continue playing them,” then-TU athletic director Judy MacLeod said in 2004. “It’s good for both programs. Their fans in Tulsa love it when OSU plays here, and they’ve had good attendance in Stillwater when we’ve played there.”
Numbers don’t lie
From a September 2004 Tulsa World sports section: From an attendance standpoint, the series has been positive for both schools. Six of TU’s 10 largest home crowds have been for OSU games. At Oklahoma State, TU dates have consistently drawn well.
The Bedlam games against Oklahoma are No. 1 on the Cowboys’ average-attendance chart, and the TU series ranks No. 2. The last five Nebraska-OSU games played in Stillwater attracted an average crowd of 38,569. The last five Tulsa-OSU games played in Stillwater attracted an average crowd of 45,274.
Considering that Tulsa games have resulted in brisk ticket sales at OSU, Golden Hurricane officials expressed surprise when the Cowboys recently finalized a home-and-home, non-conference arrangement with Arkansas State while still not having TU on future schedules.
In 1926-2000, there were 61 meetings of Golden Hurricane and Cowboy squads. In 1935-56, they were conference rivals in the Missouri Valley.
In 2001-16, there were only three Tulsa-OSU football games.
Holder was correct when he mentioned the win-win aspect of the TU-OSU series. As the campuses are separated by only 73 miles, it’s an inexpensive trip for the visiting team. Hurricane coach Tre Lamb and his players bus to Stillwater on Thursday afternoon.
The 2020 Tulsa-OSU game was witnessed by a tiny Boone Pickens Stadium crowd because of COVID limitations on attendance. When the Hurricane played at OSU in 2021, the attendance was 52,127. For the 2017 Tulsa-OSU contest in Stillwater, the attendance was 56,790.
For OSU’s last two appearances at TU’s 30,000-seat H.A. Chapman Stadium, the attendance totals were 30,915 last year and 28,612 in 2019.
Each of those home crowds by far was TU’s largest during those seasons. In 2019, no other Hurricane home game drew a crowd of better than 17,951.
A long time ago
As part of the current TU-OSU contract, the Cowboys get home games on Friday and in 2027, 2029 and 2031.
Overall, Oklahoma State has a 45-27-5 edge in the series. On home turf, the Cowboys are 28-6-3 and have a 23-game win streak.
It’s been 74 years since a Hurricane team prevailed at Oklahoma State. On Nov. 3, 1951, Tulsa was a 35-7 winner over the then-Oklahoma A&M Aggies. That Golden Hurricane team would finish 9-2. That Aggie squad would close with a four-game losing streak and a 3-7 record.
The 1951 Tulsa-OSU game was played exactly one month after Bobby Thomson belted one of the most famous home runs in baseball history. It was the “Shot Heard ’Round The World” homer beat the Brooklyn Dodgers for the National League pennant and sent the New York Giants to the World Series.
On Nov. 3, 1951, the OU Sooners prevailed 33-0 at Kansas State. The attendance for that one was 11,248.
On Nov. 3, 1951, the highest-paid of all college football coaches was Ohio State’s Woody Hayes at $12,500.
In 1951, the highest-paid professional athletes were baseball players — superstars Joe DiMaggio of the New York Yankees and Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox. That year, each of those legendary figures made $90,000.
When Tre Lamb was hired by the University of Tulsa, he noticed that the Golden Hurricane was locked into an eight-game contract with Oklahoma State of the Big 12 Conference. Lamb was thrilled.
“Extremely excited for that,” he said this week. “It’s great for the state, for high school football (recruiting), for our university and huge for our current players.”
When Tulsa last won a football game in Stillwater, Mike Holder was a 3-year-old. Lamb turned 36 on Tuesday.
They are 41 years apart in age but in lockstep with their shared belief that the TU-Oklahoma State football series is essential. These games meet at the intersection of common sense and smart business.
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Bill Haisten
Tulsa World Sports Columnist
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