SKELLY STADIUM

[StoopTroup]

...should be plowed to the ground.

We should never schedule another game there until they build a new stadium.

It has become the most pathetic Div I venue I've ever seen....

I thought the Independence Bowl in Shreveport was bad...

Skelly stadium has got to be one of the bottom dwellers now.

I remember as a kid thinking...someday TU is going to really fix this place up to be a cool place to watch a football game....

I don't think they'll need to demolition it....

It's going to fall down on it's own....

[Sooner_Havok]

...should be plowed to the ground.

We should never schedule another game there until they build a new stadium.

It has become the most pathetic Div I venue I've ever seen....

I thought the Independence Bowl in Shreveport was bad...

Skelly stadium has got to be one of the bottom dwellers now.

I remember as a kid thinking...someday TU is going to really fix this place up to be a cool place to watch a football game....

I don't think they'll need to demolition it....

It's going to fall down on it's own....

So what are you really trying to say here?
Let us know how you really feel.

[StoopTroup]

So what are you really trying to say here?
Let us know how you really feel.
OK....

Dear TU....

It's time....

http://www.atst.ru/cat9b.jpg

:pop:

[Soonerus]

With a 2500 yearly student base it is harder to raise funds...

[Sooner_Havok]

So...
http://www.cincinnati-transit.net/implosion101.jpg

would be a fair assessment of your feeling?

[Miko]

So what are you really trying to say here?
Let us know how you really feel.

Havok;s right you know. This is the internet, after all. Just open up and say what you really mean.

I did see the shot of a tu supporter holding a beer. I thought that was banned in college ball after the tear gas incident with cu/csu.

[Sooner_Havok]

With a 2500 yearly student base it is harder to raise funds...


Someone might want to pass that piece of information on to lOSUr before their enrollment gets down around that level.:D

[SicEmBaylor]

With a 2500 yearly student base it is harder to raise funds...
They're a privy. Can't they get the alumni base into this and divert some cash from other funds?

[StuIsTheMan]

They're a privy. Can't they get the alumni base into this and divert some cash from other funds?

WTF you doing here SicEm...Get to DRUNKEYTOWN ASAP!

[StoopTroup]

They have the dough....

[Soonerus]

They have the dough....

and it shows in their facilities...

[StuIsTheMan]

and it shows in their fecal matter...


ewwe rus...:D

[silverwheels]

I think they're renovating it after this season.

[StoopTroup]

and it shows in their facilities...
One just needs to look around the campus and see all the land they have bought up....

They have invested quite a bit in the last few years....

They need to start a stadium fund if they haven't already...

[DarrellZero]

They announced on the telecast that they're renovating the stadium next year ...

and reducing capacity from 40K to 30K. WTF?

The ESPN announcers took a shot at their pressbox, suggesting that they install air conditioning and a bathroom, not necessarily in that order.

[silverwheels]

They announced on the telecast that they're renovating the stadium next year ...

and reducing capacity from 40K to 30K. WTF?

The ESPN announcers took a shot at their pressbox, suggesting that they install air conditioning and a bathroom, not necessarily in that order.

Well, they do have the smallest undergrad enrollment in Div. 1-A, so I can't imagine why they'd need 40K seats unless they were just really good. They're a solid program, but they don't need 40K seats.

I've never been to Skelly, but apparently it's a dump, which is why the announcers were making cracks on the press box and why Tulsa is renovating it.

[aurorasooner]

The ESPN announcers took a shot at their pressbox, suggesting that they install air conditioning and a bathroom, not necessarily in that order. Yeah, I heard that. The next time ESPN does a game with these announcers in Tulsa, the TU fans need to give both of them a gift certificate to Kohls or Target for their shirt and tie sale. An AC unit wouldn't have helped much with them in the 1st half with those 2 carrying on like a couple of HS girls all that ND hot air floating around.

[StuIsTheMan]

All i heard the announcers talk about wad Notre Dumb...I pressed mute after the first quarter...

[SanDiegoSoonerGal]

wad Notre Dumb

heh heh, you said wad in the same sentence as ND.

I'm in drunkytown and I'm going to bed now.

but one last thing...


BOOOOMER!!!!!

[StuIsTheMan]

heh heh, you said wad in the same sentence as ND.

I'm in drunkytown and I'm going to bed now.

but one last thing...


BOOOOMER!!!!!

SOONER....Nighty night....need me to tuck ya in?:D

[jwlynn64]

SOOOONER!!!!

Couldn't leave you hanging.

[NorthernIowaSooner]

oh its no longer skelly stadium its Skelly Field at H.A. Chapman Stadium

[goingoneight]

Tulsa likes old piles of shart. Look how long they kept the Camelot! :D

[Scott D]

and here my thought was if you are going to have a "golden" goalline, it should at least be oh I don't know.....visible to anyone with eyes.

[tulsaoilerfan]

With a 2500 yearly student base it is harder to raise funds...
As much as it costs to go to school there they should use some of that Tuition $ to build a new stadium:pop:

[tulsaoilerfan]

and here my thought was if you are going to have a "golden" goalline, it should at least be oh I don't know.....visible to anyone with eyes.
No ****; that was the worst goal line paint job i've ever seen

[Okla-homey]

Listen people, TU has planned to completely renovate the aging and decrepit facility after the last game of this season. The renovation will be total, and it will be ready for use by the first home game of the '08 season. So....CTFO.

http://aycu09.webshots.com/image/28848/2000989380669417542_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2000989380669417542)


In exactly one year -- on Sept. 20, 2008 -- Tulsa will play its first football game in the renovated H.A. Chapman Stadium.

Fans who attend Friday night's game against Oklahoma probably won't recognize the stadium next fall after it receives a much-needed face-lift.

"We've very excited," TU football coach Todd Graham said. "We're not talking about something happening three years down the road. So many people for so many years have known what needed to be done here and to see it happening at a brisk pace is great."

Here's what Hurricane fans will see when they visit campus for the 2008 home opener, tentatively scheduled against New Mexico:

A large press box with 20 luxury suites will be built on the west side. A $1.5 million scoreboard will loom over the south stands. Each seat in the stadium will be replaced, with 6,800 of the current seats being replaced with a bench with a chair back. The football field will be replaced with new turf.

Aesthetically, two grand plazas will be on each side of the stadium, with Florence Avenue being replaced with trees behind the west stands. The blue and gold goes away, and will be changed to Tennessee Ledgestone and beige colors to be consistent with the rest of the buildings on campus.

Progress will also eat up seating. Capacity at the stadium will hover around 30,000, which makes it the smallest in Conference USA behind Houston and SMU (32,000 each). The number of "fixed seats"at Chapman will be about 26,000.

Construction on the $20-24 million renovation project is scheduled to begin right after Tulsa plays its final home football game, which may be as late as December if the Hurricane hosts the Conference USA championship game.

Whenever the start date, renovation may have been long overdue for the 76-year-old stadium.

"This is extremely exciting," TU athletic director Bubba Cunningham said. "We probably talk about it too much, but the transformation of the campus has been extraordinary for the past 24 months."

The football stadium's renovation will coincide with the university's new south entrance, Cunningham said. The area has already been filled with new apartments for student housing.

Cunningham said that while boosters and fans are excited about the changes, the top question to him has been about capacity, which takes into account not only seated fans but everyone within the gates of Chapman Stadium.

The new capacity will be around 30,000, a 25 percent decrease from 2005 when the venue held 40,385. Five thousand seats were lost when the Case Athletic Complex was built where the north end zone stands were located.

Despite the reduction, the athletic director said the new stadium "fits our needs. If you look at the historical attendance figures, even with the paid and (complimentary) tickets, that the new capacity is plenty.

"I thought the BYU crowd (which was 24,445) was absolutely terrific and that crowd will fit in the new stadium," he added.

Cunningham said the capacity figures won't deter power conference programs from visiting Tulsa in the future.

"We've had conversations with BCS schools about coming and we'll get some of the contracts signed shortly, so it won't be an issue with scheduling," he said.

He mentioned Oklahoma and Oklahoma State and said, "when you bring those schools in, you allocate 5,000 tickets to the visiting team. As long as we can do that, they're comfortable with that."

Two C-USA athletic directors with similar-sized stadiums said their capacity is a perfect fit.

"The size of our stadium has worked fine for us; it's not a big concern," Houston athletic director Dave Maggard said. "If they are around 30,000, it should not be a problem. That is about where we are."

Reigning C-USA champion Houston averaged 21,910 fans a game last season. Tulsa averaged 21,364 in 2006.

Added SMU athletic director Steve Orsini: "I feel that (32,000 capacity) is a very good number. . . . we wanted a size that was manageable with compliance to Division I-A and something that we can fill up."

Cunningham hopes attendance booms and that the need to "bowl in" the southeast and southwest corners of Chapman Stadium is a must.

"We'll definitely take a look at that when we get to that position," he said. "I think that selling out on a season basis or more consistently from game-to-game is what we're trying to do."

Stanford lowered its capacity from 85,500 to 50,000 during a 2006 renovation, and Cunningham said season-ticket sales for the Cardinal went from 11,000 to 30,000.

Naming rights for the stadium came after a $9 million gift from the Chapman Foundation. Additional financing will come from the 20 suites. A 10-year agreement costs between $300,000-$400,000, and only four openings remain.

The average fan will notice the new bench seating. Code doesn't allow the whole stadium to have bench backs. Many of the west side stands and the 50-yard line area on the east side will have backing.

The new $1.5 million scoreboard will be a solid metal structure and enclosed with Tennessee ledgestone. It will be a full-screen video board that can include a scoreboard, clock and video.

"It is very high-tech, and we definitely need to enhance what we currently have," Cunningham said.

Graham said the new-look stadium goes hand-in-hand with his goal of being a top 25 program.

"To have this new stadium is paramount," Graham said. "The stadium will help our recruiting in a big, big way."

[Scott D]

Listen people, TU has planned to completely renovate the aging and decrepit facility after the last game of this season. The renovation will be total, and it will be ready for use by the first home game of the '08 season. So....CTFO.

http://aycu09.webshots.com/image/28848/2000989380669417542_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2000989380669417542)

but will people be able to see the goal line? I mean those highly watched CSTV games just won't seem right if you can't see the goal line.

[JohnnyMack]

Bubba Cunningham is a good man.

And it's nice to see the old guard coughing up some dough to fix up that campus. It'll be nice once it's all finished.

[KaiserSooner]

Hmm, can't fill the stadium. What to do? One team is cutting capacity (TU), another increases capacity (OSU).

[Jacie]

From what was visible on tv, the area around old Skelly has changed a lot since, oh, 1968. It used to be like Memorial Stadium with houses right across the street (you could get a full can of beer from the top row seats with a fairly decent lob, though it was a waste of a good smuggled-in beer but I digress . . . ). If they can make the place nicer by downsizing then maybe that is the way to go. One doesn't have to look far to see that there are stadiums that seat 100,000+ and having em full of fans hasn't helped THAT team very much.

[JohnnyMack]

TU's stadium will be very similar in feel to SMU's once it's finished (SMU's pressbox is a hell of a lot bigger though). It'll be nice.

[bluedogok]

We went to the Tech-SMU game this year and Ford Stadium is much nicer than the old Ownby Stadium they played in after coming back from the death penalty, the size seems perfect for a school like SMU and should be good for Tulsa.

Here was a quote from Bubba Cunningham in today's Oklahoman.


NewsOK.com - At the game, crimson color left Tulsa fans feeling blue (http://newsok.com/article/3131608/1190438919)
Click on the link above for the rest of the article.

[snippage]

Cunningham offers this explanation: "If we had every living alum sitting in our stadium, we'd have 5,000 empty seats.”

[snippage]

[StoopTroup]

oh its no longer skelly stadium its Skelly Field at H.A. Chapman Stadium
They should tear all of that down too.

I guarantee this....

If they think they are going to keep the small concrete infrastructure intact that should have been torn down 20 years ago and just put up facades and new private boxes....

It's still a terd.

From the pics I see posted....

It will still be a POS....

[ultimatesooner1]

will they be adding a visible goal line?

[Okla-homey]

will they be adding a visible goal line?

small, elite, expensive, private universities do not require a visible goal line. ;)

[OklahomaTuba]

The goal line is visible from the field. That's all that matters. If you're that blind, look for the bright orange pylons then.

If TU needs to bulldoze something, its those dumbass apartments they have built everywhere. The campus looks like an apartment complex with a ****ty stadium in the middle of it now.

[King Crimson]

elite, expensive privates (non-ivy) would be Duke, Northwestern, Stanford, Emory and Vanderbilt.

not Tulsa.

[SicEmBaylor]

elite, expensive privates (non-ivy) would be Duke, Northwestern, Stanford, Emory and Vanderbilt.

not Tulsa.
It's hard to consider any institution to be "elite" that would have me as a student. ;)

[EstablishedSooner1967]

they need to paint the goal lines...

[Cam]

The goal line is visible from the field. That's all that matters. If you're that blind, look for the bright orange pylons then.
Then somebody needs to make Dr appointments for Allen Patrick and Chris Brown. Looked like both of them thought they were already in the end zone last night when they weren't.

[Okla-homey]

elite, expensive privates (non-ivy) would be Duke, Northwestern, Stanford, Emory and Vanderbilt.

not Tulsa.

There are only sixteen private universities in the US. Tulsa is one of them. Tulsa is also ranked in the US News "Top 100 Universities" in the US. Actually, quite a bit higher than OU. Also, oSucc did not make the cut.;)

[bluedogok]

How did you come up with that number? There are many, many, more than that. There are more than that in the Boston area alone.

[Okla-homey]

How did you come up with that number? There are many, many, more than that. There are more than that in the Boston area alone.

Universities, not colleges.

[bluedogok]

Really, what is the difference? A name? I would think Boston College is equivalent to about any private "university" out there. There are more than 16 private schools with "university" in the name here in Texas.

Geez, I guess the University of Phoenix is better because they have it in their name. BTW, they are a private university :rolleyes:

[Okla-homey]

It's hard to consider any institution to be "elite" that would have me as a student. ;)

Still have your acceptance letter? If not, I call BS and say STFU.

[Cam]

Universities, not colleges.
I'm assuming you're only counting Universities with D1 athletics. Otherwise, you're number's way off. The NAIA is littered with private schools who use University instead of College. SNU, Baker University, Brescia University, just to name a few.

[Okla-homey]

Really, what is the difference? A name? I would think Boston College is equivalent to about any private "university" out there. There are more than 16 private schools with "university" in the name here in Texas.

Geez, I guess the University of Phoenix is better because they have it in their name. BTW, they are a private university :rolleyes:

There is a difference. Universities grant doctoral or terminal degrees. If they don't, they aren't universities. Colleges don't grant terminal degrees.

[King Crimson]

There are only sixteen private universities in the US. Tulsa is one of them. Tulsa is also ranked in the US News "Top 100 Universities" in the US. Actually, quite a bit higher than OU. Also, oSucc did not make the cut.;)

Tulsa is not an elite school. sorry bro.

Tulsa is not anywhere near the caliber of Duke, Vandy, Emory, Notre Dame, N'Western. it's more like U of Denver.

closer to 100 than 25.

[King Crimson]

There is a difference. Universities grant doctoral or terminal degrees. If they don't, they aren't universities. Colleges don't grant terminal degrees.

the difference is meaningless in terms of undergrad education. there are many "colleges" that are far better educational institutions than many "universities".

[Newbomb Turk]

this is a football forum boys - lets keep the scholastic smack to a minimun.

[King Crimson]

dude, Bob Davie is talking. he's almost as smart as God.

[Newbomb Turk]

dude, Bob Davie is talking. he's almost as smart as God.

being an ex-notre dame guy, he gets a pass of being as smart as God.

[bluedogok]

There is a difference. Universities grant doctoral or terminal degrees. If they don't, they aren't universities. Colleges don't grant terminal degrees.The only difference is a name and there are plenty of "university" schools out there without doctoral programs. That is an antiquated way of classifying schools, the name doesn't mean a thing anymore. Boston College (http://www.bc.edu/) has many Doctoral programs, MIT has doctoral programs but yet they do not have "university" in the name.

Using your criteria here are the private schools in just the Boston area with doctoral programs.


Boston area colleges and universities (http://www.december.com/places/bos/higher.html)

Boston College; independent; undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral
Brandeis University; independent; undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral; Waltham
Boston University; independent; undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral
Clark University; independent; undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral; Worcester
Emerson College; independent; undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral
Harvard University; independent; undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral; Cambridge
Lesley University; independent; undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral; Cambridge
Massachusetts Institute of Technology; independent; undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral; Cambridge
New England Conservatory of Music; independent; undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral
Northeastern University; independent; undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral
Simmons College; independent; undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral
Suffolk University; independent; undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral
Tufts University; independent; undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral; Medford

Seems to be some "colleges" in there that grant doctoral degrees.

I'm not getting on Tulsa, it is still a good school and in some programs is probably one of the best in the state. I was just taking exception to your claim of only 16 private universities in existence when I know for a fact there are way more than that. Now there may be only 16 in D-I football, I could come closer to buying that.

[StoopTroup]

Only an idiot would go to any of those. ;)

[Primo]

...should be plowed to the ground.

We should never schedule another game there until they build a new stadium.

It has become the most pathetic Div I venue I've ever seen....

I thought the Independence Bowl in Shreveport was bad...

Skelly stadium has got to be one of the bottom dwellers now.

I remember as a kid thinking...someday TU is going to really fix this place up to be a cool place to watch a football game....

I don't think they'll need to demolition it....

It's going to fall down on it's own....

My feelings echo yours. In 30 years of attending OU games, Chapman/Skelly was by far the worst Division I stadium I have seen.

[SicEmBaylor]

Still have your acceptance letter? If not, I call BS and say STFU.

Homey, with no due respect whatsoever, you don't know a g-damned thing about me. You must honestly think that I drooled and colored my way through school as some sort of mental vegetable barely capable of writing my own name and incapable of even coloring between the lines. I somehow managed to attend college, but my 3.6 GPA is just an act of affirmative action for developmentally challenged students. :rolleyes:

Clearly, the only place that I could possibly have been accepted to is Baylor and Connors. Only in my wildest dreams could I ever imagine getting accepted to a place as great as the University of Tulsa. Only in my dreams.......:rolleyes:

For the record, I applied to every major school in OK plus Baylor and Georgetown. Georgetown rejected me.

[Okla-homey]

I'm assuming you're only counting Universities with D1 athletics. Otherwise, you're number's way off. The NAIA is littered with private schools who use University instead of College. SNU, Baker University, Brescia University, just to name a few.

I think you are correct. After further review, D-1 is the context in which I saw the number 16.

[Vaevictis]

Heh.

I know someone who flunked out of OU, transferred to and graduated from TU.

So, I guess they're elite but not very selective? :D

[OklaUalum]

Read in the paper that a few years ago it seated around 40,000 now it's around 34-35. How does that happen? If you're making capital improvements which minimize the seating, why isn't the rest improved? Last time I was there it was a complete dump.

[47straight]

Homey, with no due respect whatsoever, you don't know a g-damned thing about me.

On the contrary, that you would choose Baylor over Tulsa tells Homey everything he needs to know about you. :texan:

[sooneron]

Heh.

I know someone who flunked out of OU, transferred to and graduated from TU.

So, I guess they're elite but not very selective? :D
Private can also mean cash and carry.




sometimes

[Dan Thompson]

TU is the smallest Div-IA school, so why are you picking on them. You didn't have to go to the game.:)

Which bring up a point. My school has about 20,000 and is still in Div-IAA.

[ouwasp]

Read in the paper that a few years ago it seated around 40,000 now it's around 34-35. How does that happen? If you're making capital improvements which minimize the seating, why isn't the rest improved? Last time I was there it was a complete dump.

That swanky looking office bldg in the north endzone? That's where 5,000 seats used to be...

[humblesooner]

That swanky looking office bldg in the north endzone? That's where 5,000 seats used to be...

That is where the bleachers they called the North End Zone used to be.

[SicEmBaylor]

On the contrary, that you would choose Baylor over Tulsa tells Homey everything he needs to know about you. :texan:
I didn't dislike Tulsa at the time -- it just didn't do anything for me like Baylor did at the time. I also didn't want to go to school so damned close to home (only 45 mins away). I was looking to go out of state.

It was a long time ago, but it seems like cost was also a factor. At the time, I think TU was a few thousand more a year than Baylor. I think Baylor is more now, but if I remember correctly the price tag for TU was heftier.

I always liked TU though just fine. I just didn't want to go to school there.

[bri]

Hmm, can't fill the stadium. What to do? One team is cutting capacity (TU), another increases capacity (OSU).

Actually, it's more like one team is getting better, and the other one whines about mean old Jenni Carlson in postgame press conferences...