ESPN Ranks College Basketball Programs Since 1984 - ORU Ranks 124th

[ORUJason]

ESPN has ranked all college basketball programs based upon their prestige due to their success since  the 1984-85 season (when the NCAA tournament expanded to a field of 64).  They excluded any teams which have not been D-1 for at least the last 15 years, so Oakland, IUPUI, IPFW, NDSU, and SDSU did not qualify to be considered for the rankings.

ORU is ranked 124th, Valparaiso is ranked 56th, and Chicago State is 296 (out of 300).  I have listed the other Summit League teams below. 

Summit

T-124. Oral Roberts

T-210. Southern Utah

T-241. UMKC

T-268. Centenary

T-276. Western Illinois

When you consider that the Elite Eight run for ORU happened in the 70s, and was therefore not considered in the ranking, then a rank of 124 is probably about right for a team that has had 3 NCAA appearances during that time (since our 1984 tournament appearance was in the 83-84 season, it also would not have counted toward this ranking).

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=3481843

[Old Titan]

I think it says a lot about basketball in this area that apparently Tulsa, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Arkansas have all made the yet-to-be-named Top 40 programs in the country, post '84.

Says even more that the past ten years, we've been competitive with every single one of them. 

[tmh8286]

Interesting also that at the 124 spot we are tied with Big 12 member Kansas State and the Pac 10's Washington.

[theeagleman5]

sorry, but we are BEHIND  Austin Peay????......cut me a break.....

[theeagleman5]

....then again, i guess we have to factor in all those years we were down in NAIA.....so i guess being in the TOP 50% isn't THAT bad.....

[LarryL]

I almost hate to get this pronunciation thing started again, but I've always wondered - is it pronounced  Austin "Pee" or "Pay"? 

[TrueBlue82]

I almost hate to get this pronunciation thing started again, but I've always wondered - is it pronounced  Austin "Pee" or "Pay"? 

It's Austin P.

[Old Titan]

Former ORU head coach Lake Kelly was the coach (and my dad was the AD) at Austin Peay when they went to the NCAA tournament in the late 80's.  This was the team that got Dick Vitale to stand on his head on SportsCenter when they upset Illinois, but then lost in the Sweet Sixteen round to Rick Pitino's Provicence club that went to the Final Four.  That was Austin Peay's second foray into the big time; the first was during Kelly's first stint in the early 70's with James "Fly" Williams.  They deserve their ranking.

Best college basketball cheer ever:  "The Fly Is Open - Let's Go Peay!"

[tmh8286]

Former ORU head coach Lake Kelly was the coach (and my dad was the AD) at Austin Peay when they went to the NCAA tournament in the late 80's.  This was the team that got Dick Vitale to stand on his head on SportsCenter when they upset Illinois, but then lost in the Sweet Sixteen round to Rick Pitino's Provicence club that went to the Final Four.  That was Austin Peay's second foray into the big time; the first was during Kelly's first stint in the early 70's with James "Fly" Williams.  They deserve their ranking.

Best college basketball cheer ever:  "The Fly Is Open - Let's Go Peay!"

Do you mean, OT, that after his many years of service at ORU your dad left ORU and was AD at Austin Peay?  I didn't realize that - I thought he'd been involved at ORU from the time he arrived in the early days of ORU until he retired.

[Old Titan]

Do you mean, OT, that after his many years of service at ORU your dad left ORU and was AD at Austin Peay?  I didn't realize that - I thought he'd been involved at ORU from the time he arrived in the early days of ORU until he retired.

He was basically the sacrificial lamb in the wake of the Ken Hayes firing - he was removed in spring of '83 and was replaced by Larry Cochell.  He then went to Austin Peay, and brought Lake Kelly back to Clarksville a year later in one of the few times on the D-1 level where re-hiring a former successful coach has paid off for a school.  Ken Trickey then hired him back to ORU in 1991 as associate AD to spearhead the return to NCAA status from the NAIA hiatus, and he retired in 1993, just after the hiring of Bill Self.

His first official business when he came back as AD in 1991 was to meet with the NCAA to determine if a return by ORU to D-1 status would result in an immediate investigation and/or probation for the alleged infractions that were rumored to have forced ORU into the NAIA in the first place in 1989 under then AD Jack Wallace.  The NCAA investigator famously replied that they wouldn't bother:  two years at the NAIA level, along with the several years required to re-attain NCAA status, was punishment enough. 

And they were right... 

[Cletus]

Thanks OT for the ORU sports history.

I always learn something on this sports board.

I remember all those names, Wallace, Cochell, Brooks, Hayes.  It ties the pieces together a little more for me.  I missed out on all those years and events.

[tmh8286]

Thanks OT for the ORU sports history.

I always learn something on this sports board.

I remember all those names, Wallace, Cochell, Brooks, Hayes.  It ties the pieces together a little more for me.  I missed out on all those years and events.

Ditto that, OT.  You're a walking, talking, posting encyclopedia of ORU basketball and sports department history. 

You just don't get any better posts than that on the board.

[theeagleman5]

OT...thanks for that fabulous post....a walk down memory lane in the years after i left ORU in 1976....would love to chat with you sometime...oh yeah, who the heck make Jack Wallace the AD???...he was Dean of Men while I was at ORU and we never saw eye to eye...the guy was just flat out a major stroker.....   (may he rest in peace!!!)

[Old Titan]

OT...thanks for that fabulous post....a walk down memory lane in the years after i left ORU in 1976....would love to chat with you sometime...oh yeah, who the heck make Jack Wallace the AD???...he was Dean of Men while I was at ORU and we never saw eye to eye...the guy was just flat out a major stroker.....   (may he rest in peace!!!)

Don't get me started on Jack The Ripper... 

[theeagleman5]

LOL, OT...i went toe to toe with Jack's boy wonder, Bill Techanchuck on many occasions and it killed the guy never to be able to catch me and my YB buddies doing something outside of the rules....he wasn't clever enough....but i was never stupid enough to take on Jack W. himself....the guy was marine tough and a total wackjob.....who did he have pictures of to get named AD???....it was bad enough he was dean of men....who was he friends with???... ....you can send me a private message if you choose not to air this in public.....

[LarryL]

Quote:

"His first official business when he came back as AD in 1991 was to meet with the NCAA to determine if a return by ORU to D-1 status would result in an immediate investigation and/or probation for the alleged infractions that were rumored to have forced ORU into the NAIA in the first place in 1989 under then AD Jack Wallace.  The NCAA investigator famously replied that they wouldn't bother:  two years at the NAIA level, along with the several years required to re-attain NCAA status, was punishment enough. "

And they were right...   

Thanks OT.

This is a very interesting topic and fascinating information.  I had always assumed that the reason we plummeted down into the NAIA was a result of a succession of coach firings/resignations, which led to poor recruiting, leading to losing, which led to poor attendance, etc.  I guess I kind of lost interest in ORU basketball during those brief few years.

One of the hardest statements to stomach that I ever heard come out of RR's mouth was when he was rationalizing about dropping down to the NAIA, by saying, "Actually, the the NAIA is a much older organization than the NCAA . . . " - Yeah, but who cares? 

[Old Titan]

LOL, OT...i went toe to toe with Jack's boy wonder, Bill Techanchuck on many occasions and it killed the guy never to be able to catch me and my YB buddies doing something outside of the rules....he wasn't clever enough....but i was never stupid enough to take on Jack W. himself....the guy was marine tough and a total wackjob.....who did he have pictures of to get named AD???....it was bad enough he was dean of men....who was he friends with???... ....you can send me a private message if you choose not to air this in public.....

Typical Wallace story:  When I was a junior, I was doing the baseball PA in the Johnson Stadium press box, and my roommate was running the scoreboard next to me.  His girlfriend was in the booth during a couple of the innings, standing behind him and rubbing his shoulders while she watched the game. 

Wallace was seated in the back row of the press box with his infamous partner-in-crime, J.W. Brewington, complaining loudly like they always did about everything from the umpires to Cochell's coaching ability.  On this particular day, Wallace kept leering over at my roommate's girlfriend before finally saying something along the lines of, "Tell that girl to get out of here; we don't need her kind up here doing stuff like that." 

The look of embarrassment on the couple's faces as she had to leave the press box was more than I could take.  At the bottom of the inning, I stormed out of the PA booth and yelled at Wallace, "YA KNOW, THIS IS A PRESS BOX, NOT SOME LUXURY SUITE!!  YOU HAVE A BOX SEAT DOWN THERE IN THE STANDS - WHY DON'T YOU GO SIT IN IT WHERE YOU BELONG??"

Then, it dawned on me what I had done, and I stumbled back into the booth in kind of a daze.  My roommate looked at me like I had just shot someone.

Funny thing was, after a few whispered exchanges with Brewington, Wallace actually did leave. 

And the next day in my PO box, I had a letter informing me I was indefinitely suspended from school. 

Fortunately, I left with the baseball team on a 10-day road trip to California the next day, so I was able to get the whole thing ironed out over the phone by agreeing to pay a fine and write an apology.  Cost me fifty bucks and a letter full of insincere explanations for my behavior.

But, it was worth every penny to unload on that horse's rear end, even if it was for just a minute... 

[Mike Minyard]

Typical Wallace story:  When I was a junior, I was doing the baseball PA in the Johnson Stadium press box, and my roommate was running the scoreboard next to me.  His girlfriend was in the booth during a couple of the innings, standing behind him and rubbing his shoulders while she watched the game. 

Wallace was seated in the back row of the press box with his infamous partner-in-crime, J.W. Brewington, complaining loudly like they always did about everything from the umpires to Cochell's coaching ability.  On this particular day, Wallace kept leering over at my roommate's girlfriend before finally saying something along the lines of, "Tell that girl to get out of here; we don't need her kind up here doing stuff like that." 

The look of embarrassment on the couple's faces as she had to leave the press box was more than I could take.  At the bottom of the inning, I stormed out of the PA booth and yelled at Wallace, "YA KNOW, THIS IS A PRESS BOX, NOT SOME LUXURY SUITE!!  YOU HAVE A BOX SEAT DOWN THERE IN THE STANDS - WHY DON'T YOU GO SIT IN IT WHERE YOU BELONG??"

Then, it dawned on me what I had done, and I stumbled back into the booth in kind of a daze.  My roommate looked at me like I had just shot someone.

Funny thing was, after a few whispered exchanges with Brewington, Wallace actually did leave. 

And the next day in my PO box, I had a letter informing me I was indefinitely suspended from school. 

Fortunately, I left with the baseball team on a 10-day road trip to California the next day, so I was able to get the whole thing ironed out over the phone by agreeing to pay a fine and write an apology.  Cost me fifty bucks and a letter full of insincere explanations for my behavior.

But, it was worth every penny to unload on that horse's rear end, even if it was for just a minute... 

Hearing a story like that makes us extremely fortunate to have a person like OT as a part of the ORU athletic family.  I've heard a lot of stories of experiences while at ORU, but it is great to actually hear a story of someone taking a stance against the "ORU way".  It wears me out how some people involved with ORU care way too much about what other people do with their lives.  Don't get me wrong... there are way more awesome people at ORU than their are bad people.  That's what has allowed ORU to survive this long.  We... the good people... just have to take a stance against people in the wrong so that ORU gets on track to being the institution God intended.  Done with my preaching... aka my stance as an alumni board member... it's time to get back in vacation mode.  Too bad my Cardinals have gone 0-2 so far against the Brew Crew.  I would be having a little bit better of a time if they wouldn't blow the biggest series of the year.  Oh well... I'm having a great time no matter what!

PS... I've said it many of times with people involved with ORU.  Opinions that didn't line up with certain people on campus were not appreciated, and that is what kills progress.  Progress happens when people go against the grain.  Just doing what makes everyone happy will not bring on new ideas or improvements.  So the campus has to understand that people will disagree... and that's OK... and still have a good time with each other.  Not really rocket science in other parts of the world, but sometimes in the Christian world it's like trying to find the cure of cancer.

+1,000 for OT