Best Athletic Year in School History???

[TrueBlue82]

Interrupting your summer to ask... was this the greatest year in ORU Sports history???  We have enough old-timers (like me) to help us analyze this, and I'd like to hear your opinions.  An NCAA bid in the two major sports (never happened before in a single year) was probably enough to claim the title, and the Regional sweep (and then pushing Clemson to the limit) was icing on the cake.  I would have to vote for 05-06 as the "best performance by ORU Athletics in any single school year".

Earning honorable mention (in chronological order):

73-74 Men's Basketball Elite 8 (dampened somewhat due to Ken Trickey's untimely DUI).  Baseball finished 24-22 that year.

77-78 Baseball earns a bid to the College World Series (ORU's only trip to Omaha) and a first-round shut-out of North Carolina.  Men's hoops finished 13-14 under Lake Kelly, but the Lady Titans finished 31-4 and won the AIAW State Championship (this was before the NCAA ran Women's sports).

80-81 Baseball finished 45-10, one game short of the CWS, and Men's Golf finishes runner-up (to BYU) at the NCAA golf championships at Stanford - the #2 ranking is the closest ORU has come to a national championship in any sport.  Unfortunately, the Men's hoops team records a disappointing 11-16 mark. (Still, my vote for "2nd best season").

82-83 Baseball breaks the 50 win barrier at 51-17, again one game short of Omaha.  Women's basketball completes an undefeated regular season, but loses in the Women's NIT to close the season 26-1.  Men's basketball suffers through a dismal 14-14 season, which includes the infamous December "Christmas Massacre" firing of Coach Ken Hayes.

83-84 Despite a 4-5 start, ORU wins the Midwestern City Conference tournament to earn ORU's second bid to the NCAA, and plays Memphis State tight to the end.  ORU baseball, however, has a rare "down" year with a 38-23 mark, and misses the NCAA tourney for the only year in a seven year period.

I'm sure there were other years worthy of mention - and perhaps even for consideration as the "best year ever".  For me, the NAIA years don't count, as the difference between the NAIA and NCAA D1 is too significant to allow comparison.  But, I'd be willing to hear your nominations for any year... and your vote for the best.  I may have also missed some noteworthy accomplishments by some of the other "minor" sports (to me, anything besides Men's Hoops and Baseball).  I know that the Lady Titans were consistent Volleyball winners in the early 80's - and that some of our track athletes have recorded big victories over the years.

Let the comparisons begin!

[tmh8286]

Your observations are very good, Blue.  I would say that this year would only be challenged by the Elite Eight run - not because of the cumulative success of multiple teams, but because of the notoriety that that singular success brought ORU.  What made that success even more notable was that it came to a program a mere ten years old. 

Which was a greater sports year?  I'd have a hard time picking one or the other.  But will ORU alum be talking about this year's success twenty years from now as we talk about '73-'74?

BTW, where did you find all of that info about the various seasons?

[Sterns78]

ORUBlue82, you are the man.  I'll have to go with 73-74, however this year's a close second. We go to World Series this year and I'd have to vote on this one.

[TrueBlue82]

I understand your points, guys.  Obviously, 73-74 was a great year, and propelled the University into the NCAA spotlight.  However, the NCAA was very different in the early 70's, and didn't capture the allure of March Madness that we have today.  Only 25 teams were invited to the "Dance", and UCLA had just won 7 titles in a row, making the tourney somewhat predictable (although NC State turned the tables in 74).  Although we call this an Elite Eight team, the term "Elite Eight" wasn't coined until years later.  Add that to the fact that ORU played the regional semifinal and final NCAA tourney games on its home court at the Mabee Center, and the Trickey DUI situation... and it lessens the accomplishment to a degree.  Also, we now have a 30+ year perspective on the 73-74 season, and an acknowledgement of what the NCAA tourney has become.  Thirty years from now, we may be talking (through our false teeth), about the 05-06 season that signalled a return to prominence for BOTH basketball and baseball programs.  Let it be so!

I still contend that this season was the best "all-around" athletic season in school history - and the beginning of the new "glory years" for ORU sports.

As for your question, tmh, most of the information came from living through the "original glory years" in the 78-82 period and working my way through college in the sports information department at ORU.  And online media guides help too, when the memory wanes!

[tmh8286]

I understand your points, guys.  Obviously, 73-74 was a great year, and propelled the University into the NCAA spotlight.  However, the NCAA was very different in the early 70's, and didn't capture the allure of March Madness that we have today. 

Good points all, Blue, particularly the one above.  I was thinking about that when I made my previous post.  That era was a time when the NIT was at least as prestigious as the NCAA tournament, if I'm not mistaken.  There is no doubt that this season's success rank it at or very near the top of all sports years in the forty plus years of the University.  As you said, let's hope that 2005-2006 marks the return or ORU athletics to prominence.

You've got a great memory to be able to pull all that info up, Blue.  I'm truly impressed!

And PLEASE talk to me before getting that false set of choppers!

[jmg1984]

dont forget prince mumbas 2nd and 3rd place finish at the track indoor and outdoor championships