Tag: national champions

Notre Dame visits White House with other national champions

Well, this sure was interesting timing.

For two straight years now, Notre Dame’s men’s lacrosse team has reigned atop the college world. Having won its second consecutive national championship, the team was invited to the White House along with other national champions from all over the country. The day finally has arrived, and this fantastic image on the South Lawn should warm Irish fans all over social media:

That not enough for you? Don’t worry. Those aren’t the only photos that were tweeted out:

And if you want to go a little further back, here’s the team at dinner the night before:

Vice President Kamala Harris hosted the event, and the fact that the Irish were in her presence and at the location they were at less than 24 hours after a major related news event is absolutely wild. This will be a story the players tell their kids and grandkids. They would have told them about visiting the White House anyway, but the timing of it all takes this to another level.

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1974 Oklahoma one of ESPN’s top 15 most influential teams of all time

The 1974 Oklahoma Sooners were ranked as the 13th most influential college football team ever, according to ESPN’s Bill Connelly.

According to ESPN’s Bill Connelly (ESPN+), the 1974 Oklahoma Sooners are the 13th most influential college football team of all time.

Connelly released the second half of his list of the 30 most influential college football teams on Thursday, unveiling teams ranked 1-15. The 1974 Sooners landed at No. 13.

Of course, this team was coached by [autotag]Barry Switzer[/autotag], and was perhaps “The King’s” best team. The Sooners went 11-0 (7-0 in the Big Eight) and won the national championship. It was the first of two straight titles in the mid-1970s for Switzer.

Oklahoma was on probation from 1973 to 1975. However, 1974 was the only year out of that stretch that OU didn’t appear on television or in a bowl game. In those three seasons, the Sooners lost just one game and were tied just once.

The Sooners boasted a dominant roster on both sides of the ball in 1974. Only one opponent played the Sooners within two touchdowns and four foes failed to find the endzone at all. Meanwhile, Oklahoma led the country in scoring offense with an average of 43 points per game, led by [autotag]Joe Washington[/autotag] at running back

A few years before 1974, with Oklahoma having won just 20 games in three seasons, embattled head coach [autotag]Chuck Fairbanks[/autotag] sent his bright, young offensive coordinator Barry Switzer to Austin to learn the Wishbone from its inventor, Texas coordinator Emory Bellard. (That Texas head coach Darrell Royal allowed this speaks to an almost foolish level of generosity on his part.)…With both the secrets of this revolutionary offense and Oklahoma’s limitless speed in tow, OU proceeded to destroy Texas with its own invention. – Connelly, ESPN

The Sooners were named national champions by the Associated Press after the season. Oklahoma was not named the consensus national champion, however, as the Coaches Poll named USC as its national champion after the Trojans won the Rose Bowl.

Despite the probation and not being seen on television, the ’74 Sooners rolled through their entire regular season and didn’t need a bowl game to convince AP voters they were college football’s best team.

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1956 Oklahoma among most influential teams of all-time per ESPN

Bill Connelly ranked the 1956 Oklahoma Sooners as the 25th most influential college football teams of all time.

According to ESPN’s Bill Connelly (ESPN+), the 1956 Oklahoma Sooners football team is the 25th most influential college football team of all time.

Connelly released the first half of his list of the 30 most influential college football teams on Wednesday, unveiling teams ranked 16-30. The 1956 Sooners landed at No. 25.

Of course, this team was coached by the legendary [autotag]Bud Wilkinson[/autotag], and was part of OU’s record-setting 47-game winning streak. The team went 10-0 (6-0 in the Big Seven) and won the national championship for the second year in a row.

Here’s what Connelly had to say about the 1956 Sooners.

Step 1: A coach at a middleweight (or lower) school crafts a game-changing innovation.

Step 2: A few years later, a coach with greater recruiting prowess and a better roster adopts the innovation and destroys the innovator with his own invention.

It’s a story that has played out many times in college football’s history, and this was a pretty clear case of it. Taught all the ins and outs of Faurot’s Split-T, Wilkinson used it with increasingly dominant effect. Oklahoma went 31-2 from 1948 to 1950, winning its first national title in 1950. And starting with a 19-14 win over Texas in 1953 — and perhaps with a bit of help from a player-payment slush fund that would earn NCAA punishment on a couple of occasions — the Sooners ripped off a record-setting 47-game winning streak. – Connelly, ESPN

The Sooners reached a level of dominance that few other teams ever have. Running Wilkinson’s iconic Split-T offense, the team outscored its opponents 466 to 51 over the 10-game season.

The one game that season that wasn’t a complete blowout was a 27-19 win on the road against Colorado. The 1956 Sooners pitched six shutouts, and only four teams scored on them all season. The defense held all ten opponents under 20 points. Perhaps best of all, they shut out Texas and Oklahoma A&M (later Oklahoma State) 45-0 and 53-0.

Oklahoma would finish the year ranked first in both polls after the regular season concluded. Back in those days, the Big Seven had a no-repeat rule for bowl games, so OU wasn’t able to participate in the Orange Bowl. But the ’56 Sooners were the undisputed national champs of that season, even without playing in a bowl game.

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Trio of Oklahoma softball players enter the transfer portal

The Sooners need to replace three players after losing them to the transfer portal.

The Oklahoma Sooners are fresh off victory in the Women’s College World Series final, winning their fourth NCAA national championship in row. It’s championship No. 8 overall for the program, all in the 21st century.

But, heavy is the head that wears the crown. OU had three players depart via the [autotag]transfer portal[/autotag] on Monday.

D1softball’s Justin McLeod posted on social media that [autotag]Avery Hodge[/autotag], [autotag]Quincee Lilio[/autotag] and [autotag]S.J. Geurin[/autotag] will test the portal waters.

Hodge is the most surprising of the departures and the biggest loss of the three. The infielder stepped up when her role increased in the [autotag]Women’s College World Series[/autotag]. She is a career .278 hitter in 114 games and 97 at-bats.

Lilio is another loss in the infield, owning a .211 batting average in her career. She’s mostly played in a utility role, coming off the bench in pinch-hit situations. In 88 games, Lilio has just 71 at-bats.

Geurin is the first pitcher to depart the team. She pitched 10 innings in 2024 after a redshirt season in 2023.

While roster turnover is expected every year, the offseason is just beginning in college softball. [autotag]Patty Gasso[/autotag] will no doubt seek to improve the champs via the [autotag]transfer portal[/autotag] to chase ring No. 9. It’s likely the Sooners will be active in the portal, but they are adding eight true freshmen this fall as part of the 2024 signing class.

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Oklahoma’s senior class pulled off the unthinkable with four-peat

Five of Oklahoma’s seniors earned four national title during their time with the Sooners. An absolutely unbelievable run.

Winning one championship in sports is difficult. Winning two straight puts you in the history books forever. Winning three in a row means you’re a legend. But winning four straight? That’s unheard of in team sports, only being accomplished by a small handful of times throughout history.

“People say, ‘Let’s go win one,’” OU coach Patty Gasso said. “You’re like, ‘OK.’ It’s not like that. It’s very difficult. Everything has to go right. The thing about them is they’re resilient. They have a lot of pride in that.

The 2024 senior class for the Oklahoma Sooners softball team will finish their college careers not knowing how it feels to walk away from a season without a championship.

[autotag]Rylie Boone[/autotag], [autotag]Jayda Coleman[/autotag], [autotag]Kinzie Hansen[/autotag], [autotag]Tiare Jennings[/autotag] and [autotag]Nicole May[/autotag] now have four rings. They’re joined in this senior class by [autotag]Alyssa Brito[/autotag], [autotag]Karlie Keeney[/autotag], [autotag]Riley Ludlam[/autotag], [autotag]Kelly Maxwell[/autotag] and [autotag]Alynah Torres[/autotag], all transfers who started their careers elsewhere.

“This one was the hardest one that I’ve ever had to work for in my life,” Jennings said via The Oklahoman. “This team, the adversity that we went through, we did it and we overcame everything.”

Oklahoma’s senior class finished with as many national championships as [autotag]NCAA Tournament[/autotag] loses, as OU finished off Texas on Thursday night. It was an 8-4 victory in Game 2 of the [autotag]WCWS[/autotag] final to win championship number eight, tied for the second-most all-time.

The Sooners won their unprecedented fourth-straight championship, giving [autotag]Patty Gasso[/autotag] a record-tying eight rings. Half of them have now come in succession.

The Sooner seniors wowed many inside and outside the world of sports with a career sweep of national championships, but a quote from their head coach tells their story better than anyone else can.

“This is the best senior class that has ever played the game, and I’ll stand behind that as long as I live,” said Gasso of their incredible run.

Patty Gasso has built a historic dynasty in Norman, and this senior class has pulled off something few imagined could ever be done. And we may never see another run like this again. But given what Oklahoma’s done, who’s to say they can’t run it back.

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Kelly Maxwell saves Sooners to earn her first national title

After transferring to Oklahoma from Oklahoma State, Kelly Maxwell was there for the Sooners when her team needed her.

Oklahoma Sooners pitcher [autotag]Kelly Maxwell[/autotag] received a lot of backlash for her decision to cross the Bedlam lines and transfer to OU last fall.

She faced immense pressure following her decision to move to Norman from Stillwater. Maxwell also stepped into the unenviable role of replacing [autotag]Jordy Bahl[/autotag], a dominant pitcher who was a legend in the crimson and cream.

Maxwell shouldered some of the blame when the 2024 edition of the Sooners didn’t always measure up to previous championship iterations.

But make no mistake about it, the Sooners don’t finish off their four-peat if Maxwell stays in Stillwater instead of moving to Norman. She was instrumental in making history happen. It was an emotional roller coaster of a season and the emotions came to a head on Thursday night.

“Just gratitude,” Maxwell said after helping the Sooners win their unprecedented fourth consecutive WCWS title. “Just thankful for everything that I’ve been through and all that I’ve gone through and just being able to have a team that loves me an supports me — all the glory to God — and I think just being able to fight for them as they had my back too.”

Maxwell’s incredible week included shutting out UCLA in a 1-0 win on Saturday, rescuing the Sooners from elimination in a marathon win over Florida on Tuesday, and winning Game 1 against Texas on Wednesday on no rest.

All of this happened before [autotag]Patty Gasso[/autotag] called her in to seal the deal in Game 2 against the Longhorns on Thursday night.

The game teetered in the balance, as the ‘Horns were making a comeback in the top of the sixth inning. Maxwell, normally a starting pitcher, was brought into the game with two outs and two on to save the day. Maxwell got OU out of the inning with the lead, then finished off Texas 1-2-3 in the seventh to get the sweep.

Maxwell’s performances earned her Most Outstanding Player honors for the [autotag]NCAA Tournament[/autotag]. She was 5-0 with two saves and a 1.88 ERA, etching her name in history following a gutsy three week display of excellence.

When the book is written about the Sooners Dynasty, let’s all make sure we save a chapter for Kelly Maxwell. Championship number eight doesn’t happen without No. 28 refusing to back down and rising to the occasion to earn her first national title.

More: Social media reacts to Oklahoma’s national championship win over Texas

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Former Notre Dame quarterback Tyler Buchner to walk on as receiver

Welcome back, Tyler!

[autotag]Tyler Buchner[/autotag] has to have had one of the most unique paths in all of college football lately. After two years of quarterbacking at Notre Dame, he transferred to Alabama for the 2023 season but didn’t win the starting job. He then transferred back to Notre Dame and won a national championship with the men’s lacrosse team. Now, he’s coming back to the Irish football team as a walk-on receiver.

Here’s the official announcement by the Irish:

Although Buchner is walking on, he’ll count towards the football program’s 85-scholarship limit if he appears in a game. That will be an interesting decision for the Irish since he has not caught any passes during his time in college football, of which he has two years of eligibility remaining. So it stands to reason he’ll be starting from scratch with the Irish.

Until we find out exactly how his second Irish tenure will go, here are some images from his first time with the program:

Best images from UConn’s second straight national championship

Check out these images from UConn’s 75-60 win over Purdue on Monday night.

For the first time since the 2006 and 2007 seasons, we have back-to-back national champions. The UConn Huskies secured their sixth title since 1999 when they won their first championship.

Much like last season, the Huskies were in a class of their own with each victory by 10 or more points. The team was led by Tristen Newton’s 15.1 points per game and Donovan Clingan’s 7.4 rebounds per game.

Purdue big man Zach Edey did all he could to bring the title home to West Lafayette, Indiana, but even his 37-point and 10-rebound night wasn’t enough for the Boilermakers.

The Huskies join the Florida Gators, the Duke Blue Devils, and the UCLA Bruins as the only teams to win back-to-back titles since 1970.

Images from the 2024 National Championship game

Notre Dame fencing team member Spencer Vermeule killed in car accident

Awful news.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The Notre Dame fencing program is in mourning after losing one of its own. Sophomore [autotag]Spencer Vermeule[/autotag], who was on the 2023 national championship team, died Saturday after the Audi A3 he was driving hit a tree and flipped over in Elkhart County. He was pronounced dead at the accident’s scene, and an investigation is continuing.

Notre Dame’s president, the [autotag]Rev. John Jenkins[/autotag], released the following statement:

“We are deeply saddened by Spencer’s tragic death. On behalf of the entire Notre Dame community, I extend our deepest sympathies to the Vermeule family, and offer prayers of comfort and peace to Spencer’s family, friends and all who knew and loved him.”

A moment for silence for Vermeuhle was planned before the women’s basketball team’s sold-out home finale against Louisville at Purcell Pavilion. We at Fighting Irish Wire join Notre Dame in offering our deepest condolences to his family and friends during this difficult time.

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Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

The Boz among those who would have benefitted the most from NIL

With NIL being as massive as it is now, CBSSports looks back at what former players could have benefitted the most.

The name, image and likeness (NIL) era has taken over college football. Some fans love it but others hate it and are ready for it to be gone.

Unfortunately for those fans, NIL appears to be here for the long haul. This offseason particularly proved to be a wild ride with NIL. You are seeing teams like [autotag]Ole Miss[/autotag] or [autotag]Missouri[/autotag] using NIL heavily to plug some holes to try to make a deep run next year.

We know about the stars today and can usually get a rough estimate about how much they are getting from NIL but that got CBSSports thinking. What former stars would have benefitted the most from NIL? One of those is Oklahoma Sooners legend, [autotag]Brian Bosworth[/autotag].

The conversation mostly focused on those years in the 1990s and 2000s that tracked with college football’s explosion in the national consciousness, but Tom Fornelli delivered an excellent assessment of how the two-time All-American from Oklahoma could have benefited from the NIL era. “Brian Bosworth was a social media superstar 40 years before social media existed,” Tom Fornelli said. Yes, with wild hair and vocal opposition to the NCAA, you could say that “The Boz” created trending topics before we were tracking such things. He controlled the conversation, created intrigue in his off-field endeavors as well his on-field success, and he would have gotten plenty of financial opportunities through NIL throughout the state of Oklahoma. – Chip Patterson CBSSports

Bosworth was a marketing genius. He knew exactly what to say and when to say it. I’d argue he might have benefitted the most from NIL because we really haven’t seen anyone be able to market themselves as well as he did. He would have been in just about every local commercial as would have had a number of public appearances. Just think about the amount of “the sight of burnt orange makes me puke” shirts that would be sold.
I know I’d buy one.

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