2023-24 MBB Schedule

[dbl78]

I have not been to Homecoming for many, many years, however, a wing that I lived on at ORU (Disciples) is planning a reunion so I will be going this year.  I spoke to the Alumni Relations office a couple weeks ago, and it was clear to me that they do not care about the basketball game. 

The key to them is the President's Dinner which apparently is held on the floor of the Mabee Center.  They provide the lame excuse that Tulsa gets ice storms in February, so they do not want to have attendance hurt by the possibility of a storm.  In reality, if they scheduled Homecoming during the regular season, they would have to move the dinner, as the Summit League schedule has games on Saturday night, and the Mabee Center floor could not be used for their dinner.  In my opinion, this reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of the mission of the school.

In prior years, I have viewed Hall of Fame night as my Homecoming, as I want to honor the athletes who have represented our school so well.

[Keenan Henderson]

If you go to the Summit League website then it looks like they have secretly posted the league schedule for next year. First go to the composite schedule and put the calendar on November through March.  It will show a few non conference games and then on Dec. 29th it says ORU at KC at 7PM. 

I do not know how to download the link but maybe someone can put it on the sports forum.  The Summit League website has all of ORU's 16 conference games listed.  It seems strange that they have hidden this on their website.

[titansforever]

See if this link works:

https://thesummitleague.org/calendar.aspx?path=mbball 

(Maybe the schedule isn't "final" at this point.)

Edited August 3, 2023 by titansforever
add a sentence for clarity

[Keenan Henderson]

Conference schedule according to Summit League:

@KC on 12-29

@Denver on 12-31

South Dakota on 1-11

St. Thomas on 1-13

@North Dakota on 1-18

@NDSU on 1-20

Omaha on 1-25

SDSU on 1-27

Denver on 2-3

@St. Thomas on 2-8

@SDSU on 2-10

NDSU on 2-15

North Dakota on 2-17

@Omaha on 2-22

@South Dakota on 2-24

KC on 3-2

 

[Keenan Henderson]

At the end of the day, the alumni weekend or homecoming is a fundraiser for ORU.  They show off the campus and then people donate at the banquet.  ORU basketball tickets are $8 and people are paying 1 to 10,000 for tables at the banquet.  So, which event is the main attraction?

I do like the conference schedule.  It seems they have moved around the teams and mixed up the travel partners, which is a nice change of pace.  I thought for sure that ORU would start at SDSU.  The early road games at KC and Denver are winnable, as both these teams are rebuilding.

[titansforever]

NOW it's official!

https://thesummitleague.org/news/2023/8/2/mens-basketball-2023-24-summit-league-basketball-schedules-unveiled.aspx

[MrsSmith]

I hijacked the thread with my homecoming rant, but no one will listen to me anywhere else.    I would love to see numbers for out of town alumni when homecoming was Feb and when it was Nov.  I haven't seen an out of town friend at homecoming in years.  I used to see several.  It was sad too that for our 40th reunion, nothing was planned.

ONE year there was an ice storm in February!!   November and December are so busy for families.  I even try to make sure our bible studies end by the first of November.  January or February are great for events to break the winter boredom.

Feel free to disagree with me.  

[EagleManiac]

20 hours ago, Keenan Henderson said:

At the end of the day, the alumni weekend or homecoming is a fundraiser for ORU.  They show off the campus and then people donate at the banquet.  ORU basketball tickets are $8 and people are paying 1 to 10,000 for tables at the banquet.  So, which event is the main attraction?

This is the heart of my frustration with ORU. EVERYTHING is just another fundraiser. 

I get that donations are important and are the only way ORU stays operational. But what if every now and then they did something for fans/alumni that focused on building our community/fanbase and not just on convincing rich folks to open up their wallets again? 

13 minutes ago, MrsSmith said:

ONE year there was an ice storm in February!!   November and December are so busy for families.  I even try to make sure our bible studies end by the first of November.  January or February are great for events to break the winter boredom.

100% correct. February travel can be difficult due to weather. November conflicts make travel impossible for almost everyone. 

[titansforever]

We did a survey many years ago to see what dates alumni would prefer. Believe it or not, a significant number thought March would be good, and many said it "wasn't essential" to have a basketball game at Homecoming. Some thought a baseball game would be fine. 

Also, please know that the Alumni office has nothing to do with the basketball schedule. Athletics controls that. We, too, would love to have a high-profile team for Homecoming!

And when it comes to class reunions...no one from those classes ever wants to take the lead on planning them! It's a lot of work! The Alumni team is small and can't manage additional reunions on top of all the other events that take place. When my class had its 40th, we formed a small, committed, determined committee that worked for months to pull it together. It was fantastic! I also have to tip my hat to Paul Palmer, a Class of 1972 alum who created the Pioneers group from scratch, using Facebook to build momentum. He also helped wrangle the Alpha Class (1965 alums/staff/faculty) in order to have events for them. These are two strong groups of alumni who get together at every Homecoming for receptions, dinners, etc. They also present awards to special faculty and staff members who meant a lot to them. 

In 2011, Tulsa had 17 inches of snow just before Homecoming in February. A lot of the events had to be canceled. February is just a very risky month for asking people to travel.

[Keenan Henderson]

There are a few die hard fans on the forum that want to see a good basketball game (Tulsa or some mid major team) during Homecoming but most of the alumni are not coming to see a basketball game.  They are coming to Homecoming because they have not been on campus for 20 years and want to see how it has changed or relive old memories.

Playing non D1 teams may not excite the sports forum members but it allows the non fan that comes to Homecoming to see a fast paced high scoring game that ORU wins 98-65.  In other words, it makes the Eagles look good to most of the Alumni who may not follow the team the rest of the season.  

[dave]

9 hours ago, Keenan Henderson said:

There are a few die hard fans on the forum that want to see a good basketball game (Tulsa or some mid major team) during Homecoming but most of the alumni are not coming to see a basketball game.  They are coming to Homecoming because they have not been on campus for 20 years and want to see how it has changed or relive old memories.

Playing non D1 teams may not excite the sports forum members but it allows the non fan that comes to Homecoming to see a fast paced high scoring game that ORU wins 98-65.  In other words, it makes the Eagles look good to most of the Alumni who may not follow the team the rest of the season.  

You are right Keenan. Homecoming IS much more that a game. I am kind of one-sided on the issue. And to titansforever, I know what it is like to work on major events and have very few people to lift the heavy load of planning and carry out the details. So, the game might not be as nig a deal to some as it is to me. I appreciate the input.

[Bogus Smith]

23 hours ago, titansforever said:

We did a survey many years ago to see what dates alumni would prefer. Believe it or not, a significant number thought March would be good, and many said it "wasn't essential" to have a basketball game at Homecoming. Some thought a baseball game would be fine. 

Also, please know that the Alumni office has nothing to do with the basketball schedule. Athletics controls that. We, too, would love to have a high-profile team for Homecoming!

And when it comes to class reunions...no one from those classes ever wants to take the lead on planning them! It's a lot of work! The Alumni team is small and can't manage additional reunions on top of all the other events that take place. When my class had its 40th, we formed a small, committed, determined committee that worked for months to pull it together. It was fantastic! I also have to tip my hat to Paul Palmer, a Class of 1972 alum who created the Pioneers group from scratch, using Facebook to build momentum. He also helped wrangle the Alpha Class (1965 alums/staff/faculty) in order to have events for them. These are two strong groups of alumni who get together at every Homecoming for receptions, dinners, etc. They also present awards to special faculty and staff members who meant a lot to them. 

In 2011, Tulsa had 17 inches of snow just before Homecoming in February. A lot of the events had to be canceled. February is just a very risky month for asking people to travel.

@titansforever, please don't take any of this as personal as I know you don't have much authority in this area, but there is much more that can be done with Homecoming with the number of alums in the Tulsa area.  Yes, it takes a lot of effort "herding cats" and finding those that enjoy the event planning and execution, but that is what relationship building is all about.  Homecoming can (and should) be bigger than the Development and Alumni staff. 

We and another couple offered to work on the 40th for our reunion and it was met with crickets.  There was no interest in doing any more for Homecoming that year than what was required or done the year before.  It may also be that the Homecoming Dinner is not intended to be overshadowed (which I get, even if I wouldn't agree). Most nonprofits, K-12 schools, and other like-minded organizations rely on volunteers heavily to do the heavy lifting and look to the staff to participate, but also lead.

As for the February 2011, once-every-ten-to-twelve-year snowstorm?  There was a reason for that....it was winter time and it happens sometimes.  If sports is not a focal point of Homecoming (which I believe it is) then we can have Homecoming any time we want.  September, October, March are just as good a time to do homecoming as any time during the basketball/baseball seasons - that is if sports isn't a factor. Tulsa alums can come to a sporting event any time, but the out-of-towners are the ones that benefit greatly from the excitement of being at the Mabee/JLJ.  If the survey was skewed to the Tulsa crowd, that may be why sporting events are not such a big deal. 

If you want the Tulsa alums to come out to Homecoming, work with athletics to make it a meaningful game that they will circle on their calendar - even if you have to share in the cost to buy the game; otherwise, the Tulsa alums will wait for a meaningful game (because they can) and see the same people that they want to see anyway.  Building community with all alums - not just the local ones that stuck around - is important (IMHO).

This isn't meant to be harsh as I know we are all busy.  Let's make Homecoming a priority for our alums to have the chance to reconnect and make a community of lifelong relationships.

I hope that the Mrs. will allow me to post again after this. 

[Texasgrip]

Good post @Bogus Smith!

[Keenan Henderson]

On 8/3/2023 at 1:50 PM, titansforever said:

NOW it's official!

https://thesummitleague.org/news/2023/8/2/mens-basketball-2023-24-summit-league-basketball-schedules-unveiled.aspx

Did anyone notice that the Summit League has ORU sometimes playing two games a night including matchups with Oakland, Pepperdine, Montana, and OK State?  It seems somehow they added ORU's non conference schedule from one of Mills first teams maybe around 2017-2018.  A little strange but hey we all make mistakes.

[ORUSwagger]

On 8/5/2023 at 12:10 PM, Bogus Smith said:

@titansforever, please don't take any of this as personal as I know you don't have much authority in this area, but there is much more that can be done with Homecoming with the number of alums in the Tulsa area.  Yes, it takes a lot of effort "herding cats" and finding those that enjoy the event planning and execution, but that is what relationship building is all about.  Homecoming can (and should) be bigger than the Development and Alumni staff. 

We and another couple offered to work on the 40th for our reunion and it was met with crickets.  There was no interest in doing any more for Homecoming that year than what was required or done the year before.  It may also be that the Homecoming Dinner is not intended to be overshadowed (which I get, even if I wouldn't agree). Most nonprofits, K-12 schools, and other like-minded organizations rely on volunteers heavily to do the heavy lifting and look to the staff to participate, but also lead.

As for the February 2011, once-every-ten-to-twelve-year snowstorm?  There was a reason for that....it was winter time and it happens sometimes.  If sports is not a focal point of Homecoming (which I believe it is) then we can have Homecoming any time we want.  September, October, March are just as good a time to do homecoming as any time during the basketball/baseball seasons - that is if sports isn't a factor. Tulsa alums can come to a sporting event any time, but the out-of-towners are the ones that benefit greatly from the excitement of being at the Mabee/JLJ.  If the survey was skewed to the Tulsa crowd, that may be why sporting events are not such a big deal. 

If you want the Tulsa alums to come out to Homecoming, work with athletics to make it a meaningful game that they will circle on their calendar - even if you have to share in the cost to buy the game; otherwise, the Tulsa alums will wait for a meaningful game (because they can) and see the same people that they want to see anyway.  Building community with all alums - not just the local ones that stuck around - is important (IMHO).

This isn't meant to be harsh as I know we are all busy.  Let's make Homecoming a priority for our alums to have the chance to reconnect and make a community of lifelong relationships.

I hope that the Mrs. will allow me to post again after this. 

[ORUSwagger]

On 8/5/2023 at 12:10 PM, Bogus Smith said:

@titansforever, please don't take any of this as personal as I know you don't have much authority in this area, but there is much more that can be done with Homecoming with the number of alums in the Tulsa area.  Yes, it takes a lot of effort "herding cats" and finding those that enjoy the event planning and execution, but that is what relationship building is all about.  Homecoming can (and should) be bigger than the Development and Alumni staff. 

We and another couple offered to work on the 40th for our reunion and it was met with crickets.  There was no interest in doing any more for Homecoming that year than what was required or done the year before.  It may also be that the Homecoming Dinner is not intended to be overshadowed (which I get, even if I wouldn't agree). Most nonprofits, K-12 schools, and other like-minded organizations rely on volunteers heavily to do the heavy lifting and look to the staff to participate, but also lead.

As for the February 2011, once-every-ten-to-twelve-year snowstorm?  There was a reason for that....it was winter time and it happens sometimes.  If sports is not a focal point of Homecoming (which I believe it is) then we can have Homecoming any time we want.  September, October, March are just as good a time to do homecoming as any time during the basketball/baseball seasons - that is if sports isn't a factor. Tulsa alums can come to a sporting event any time, but the out-of-towners are the ones that benefit greatly from the excitement of being at the Mabee/JLJ.  If the survey was skewed to the Tulsa crowd, that may be why sporting events are not such a big deal. 

If you want the Tulsa alums to come out to Homecoming, work with athletics to make it a meaningful game that they will circle on their calendar - even if you have to share in the cost to buy the game; otherwise, the Tulsa alums will wait for a meaningful game (because they can) and see the same people that they want to see anyway.  Building community with all alums - not just the local ones that stuck around - is important (IMHO).

This isn't meant to be harsh as I know we are all busy.  Let's make Homecoming a priority for our alums to have the chance to reconnect and make a community of lifelong relationships.

I hope that the Mrs. will allow me to post again after this. 

Bogus Smith for ORU Alumni Board 2024

[titansforever]

Deleting my post; I saw that the info was posted elsewhere.

[ORUalum]