Oklahoma State football season is a little closer as the University of Oklahoma announced it will reschedule its opening game. University of Oklahoma Vice President and Director of Athletics Joe Castiglione said this is a unique opportunity for his OU.
Tuesday, April 9, 2024, 12:06 p.m.
by:
news on 6,
News 9,
Osaka Mainland Athletics Club
Oklahoma State football season is a little closer as the University of Oklahoma announced it will reschedule its opening game.
The Sooners will play the Temple Owls on Friday, August 30th instead of Saturday, August 31st. OU said this will be the first Friday night home game in the stadium's history. University of Oklahoma Vice President and Director of Athletics Joe Castiglione made the announcement Tuesday, calling this a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for OU.
“We were asked to consider moving the season opener a day earlier so that ESPN could air our first game as an SEC affiliate in a prime time slot,” Castiglione said. “This is a unique and exciting opportunity for us as it will be the first Friday night game to be played at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in the history of the Gaylord family, and we are excited to give our team significant national recognition. Another big advantage, considering kick times, is that our players should benefit from cooler temperatures for the fans. It's natural to expect that some of the heat issues we face will be greatly reduced. Our first-ever “Friday Night Lights” will definitely be a great way to start the season and our first year in the SEC. I'm excited to be opening. ”
The heat index in Norman for OU's past three season openers has reached 93 degrees in 2023, 96 degrees in 2022 and 105 degrees in 2021, according to OU Athletics. Three of his past four years have had record highs with a heat index of at least 100 degrees or higher. It was 98 degrees in Norman on August 31st.
“We recognize that this schedule change will impact some fans' travel plans. Hotels in our area will have limited availability to accommodate the change from Saturday's game to Friday night's game. I urge you to work closely with the people,” Castiglione said.
The Sooners will officially join the SEC on July 1st.
