OU or OSU: Which is the better job
In my rankings of college basketball’s best 30 jobs a few days ago, I put OU 18th and OSU 27th. Several years ago, I did a similar ranking and had OSU 19th and OU 20th.
What has changed? Well, not a lot. But it doesn’t take a lot. Truth is, you can put all the schools between 14 or so and 30, pull their names out of a hat, write their names down and no one could argue much. They’re all very close.
But here’s why I went with OU ahead of OSU this time:
1. OSU’s fan support has dropped off. It tailed off during Sean Sutton’s regime, then wasn’t revived in Travis Ford’s first season. At the end of the year, the crowds picked up, but fan support was one of the great selling points about Cowboy hoops, and now that’s no longer a given. OU always has had trouble filling Lloyd Noble Center for all but the big games, but you’d have to say now that the crowd support is about even for the Bedlam rivals. Look at it this way: what we’ve said about OU fans for years — that it takes a big game to get them excited — now is true about OSU.
2. Gallagher-Iba Arena is a much better homecourt than is Lloyd Noble. But OU’s practice facility, training complex and offices are much superior, which matters to coaches. OSU shares a practice court with the women’s team. OSU’s practice court, locker room, training facility and offices are spread all over Gallagher-Iba. OU’s are all together. So I would call this a wash.
3. The best way to determine winning tradition is NCAA Tournament wins, and OSU is strong at 38. OU has 35, which gives the Cowboys a slight edge. However, a greater percentage of OSU’s wins came more than half a century ago. Those wins matter, and contribute to tradition, but more recent success carries more weight. So tradition is a push, too.
4. OU has had more successful coaches. Three have been to the Final Four (Bruce Drake, Billy Tubbs, Kelvin Sampson), two others to the Sweet 16 (Dave Bliss, Jeff Capel). OSU has had only two Sweet 16 coaches (Henry Iba, Eddie Sutton), though Travis Ford certainly appears ready to add to that list. To me, this is the No. 1 factor in rating jobs. Have a wide variety of coaches succeeded at the school? That’s why North Carolina, UCLA, Duke, Kansas and Kentucky are at the top of the list.
5. Finances. OSU is in much better financial shape than it once was, thanks to Eddie Sutton and Boone Pickens, but OSU needs basketball to be a money-maker more than does OU. Financial pressures are not really a worry at OU, which makes a job more attractive.
6. OU has more stable administration. Mike Holder has done a good job as the OSU athletic director, and the hiring of Ford shows that Holder knows what he’s doing. But Holder’s job status depends on Boone Pickens, and there are some lesser OSU boosters not thrilled with Holder. Joe Castiglione is much more entrenched as the OU AD.
Add it all up, and both schools are good basketball jobs. Three years from now, the rankings might be different. But right now, OU’s is slightly better.
-------------Berry Tramel can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including AM-640 and FM-98.1. You can e-mail him here and follow him on Twitter @BerryTramel. Visit Berry's website here.
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Comments
OU leads the all-time series 123-88. OSU has the legendary coach in Hank Iba, but A&M’s NCAA tiles were won in an era when only 8 teams were in the field and the NIT was the more prestigious tournament. OU probably has better recent history and somewhat better prospects for success in the near future. Which is the better job now? OU by a nose.
If both jobs were open and paying the same money coaches would choose the OSU job. They have one of the top arenas in the country, a better tradition and a better following. Also, a coach does not play 2nd fiddle behind the football coach, no matter how bad the football team is and how good the basketball team is. Even when OSU is down opposing coaches hate coming to GIA to play. The same can not be said about LNC. Plus Ou has football fans that attend basketball games, OSU has basketball fans.
Berry: “However, a greater percentage of OSU’s wins came more than half a century ago.”
Do you apply the same logic to OU Football? How many football MNCs are relevant or irrelevant?
Additionally, in regard to Coaches, OU has had consecutive successful Coaches; however, you appear to greatly undervalue the fact that OSU has had two LEGENDARY Coaches. For all the talk about “Bud” and “Barry”, OU has no equivalent in Basketball; whereas OSU has 2 equivalent figures.
I have always found this exercise extremely difficult to conduct as it is near impossible to remove your bias. John Feinstein is a perfect example…he generally has his Duke blinders on.
Unfortunately here, I appears that you are overreacting to a very small period of time. Jeff Capel is clearly an up-and-comer in the Coaching ranks; however, have we even considered what life would be like had Capel not had the luxury of landing Blake Griffin? He certainly had a significant leg up on all other suitors in the regard. I certainly would not compare it to a situation like Rick Barnes going to Maryland to land Kevin Durant. Capel is an excellent recruiter, but we will find out much, much more about his abilities in the post-Griffin era. Is he as good as he seems, and how much of a Blake Griffin-effect have we experienced?
Just some additional thoughts on the conversation.
Finally, I think you have to take into consideration which jobs people would leave for. The media in the State is so consumed following Capel right now that it does not appear that any has investigated the fact that Ford turned down 3 jobs recently, 2 of which you have ranked ahead of OSU.
The bottom line is, both jobs are much, much closer than you’ve ranked them, and I believe you are taking too narrow of a view at this point.
One last thought: Missouri is a complete joke…0 Final Fours. Enough said.
On “recent better history”…what is the time horizon? 3 years? 5 years? 10 years? 15 years?
Who has been to the Final 4 most recently? Is that now irrelevant?
OU is always going to be a lesser job because it will never be higher than the #2 sport on campus. Think that doesn’t matter? Give an OU basketball coach some truth serum and then ask them.