Tag: Gaylord-Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium

How do Big 12 stadiums rank in capacity heading into 2023?

A look at how each Big 12 stadium stacks up in capacity heading into the 2023 season.

The 2023 college football season is nearly upon us. Week zero opens next Saturday. Schools in the Big 12 will begin their season in two weeks.

The league is welcoming four new teams, and four new venues into the Big 12 footprint for the season. BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF join the league adding new venues.

Here’s a look at how the 14 Big 12 stadiums rank in capacity heading into 2023.

Oklahoma Sooners Spring Game ushers in a new era in Norman

Nothing but good omens shined down on Norman, Oklahoma as the Sooners ushered in a new era of Oklahoma Football in front of more than 75,000 fans.

The minute I got off work, I got onto I-35 and drove to Norman as fast as possible. While exhausted from a lack of sleep and dealing with a nasty cold, there was no way I was going to miss the OU Spring Game.

I finally arrived about three minutes into the first quarter wearing my crimson Baker Mayfield jersey. I almost couldn’t believe it as I looked around: we really did it. We packed the palace.

75,000 Sooners fans showed up for an exhibition. [autotag]Baker Mayfield[/autotag]’s statue “reveal” got the audience it deserved.

It was overcast for the entirety of the first half. I hadn’t seen the sun all day.

And then Baker Mayfield came out.

You’d think I’m making this up, but I’m not. The second Baker’s feet touched Owen Field, the sun started to shine through the thick sheet of clouds covering Norman, Oklahoma.

The Southern sun shined on Baker Mayfield and Brent Venables as they gave speeches that had the 75,000 Sooners fans ready to run through a wall. He finished his speech with a nod toward his former backup QB Kyler Murray, who will join him in Heisman Park.

Venables did precisely what the head coach of a football program should do; provide some shine for the other programs on campus. The way he shouted out other OU teams was just fantastic.

I don’t know how much energy this guy has, but he brings it every time he speaks.

There’s a new feeling surrounding this team. The camaraderie seemed like something out of a movie.

That game will end up doing wonders for this program. The recruits all saw firsthand the kind of passion that Oklahoma fans bring to the palace.

Venables packed the palace with a challenge to OU fans. On Saturday, Venables gave Sooner Nation another challenge. Make Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial a nightmare for the rest of college football. Let’s rise to the occasion once more and answer the call this fall.

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Oklahoma ranks in top 10 for football facilities

The Oklahoma Sooners football facilities rank in the top 10 in the country. The Barry Switzer Center is a huge reason why.

One of the reasons that athletes have come to Norman, Oklahoma, to pursue their football careers has to be due to facilities. 247Sports called the Barry Switzer Center ‘one of the most futuristic pads.’ Where does it rank among the nation’s best? Brad Crawford of 247Sports put it in his top 10. Facilities are a major draw for top prospects along with what the football program offers. Given that the Sooners are consistently recruiting the top talent it seemed a given.

No. 10: Oklahoma Sooners 

Oklahoma’s updated Barry Switzer Center is one of the nation’s most futuristic pads with an ambience second to none in the Big 12. There’s the Red Room — meeting room with ‘Boomer’ and ‘Sooner’ decorating the walls, a Heisman hallway and snack bar with unlimited options. The Sooners’ recovery pool even has mood lighting. Oklahoma also introduced an upgraded video board this fall, and at 2,356 square feet (38 feet high by 62 feet wide), the north board is more than three times larger than its previous look.

According to Joe Castiglione, OU’s vice president and athletics director, Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium’s upgrades for 2019 included expanded Wi-Fi access and improved accessibility, giving the venue a “first-rate technological experience.”

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