When it came time for former Oklahoma linebacker Dante Jones’ daughters to consider where to attend college, it wasn’t in one of the many four-year institutions in North Texas.
It was OU all the way.
Sure, thanks to Dad, the girls were Oklahoma football fans.
Dante, who was an All-American and a Butkus Award nominee in Norman, said he actually wanted them to stay in state because OU’s out-of-state fees were a tad expensive.
But another reason won out in the end.
“Distance is a factor,” Dante told me. “It’s out of state, but it’s only three hours away.”
And that seems to be a big reason OU won’t — or ever has been — a visitor to the Dallas area for the annual Red River Rivalry.
It’s close enough to be regarded as the home team.
Really.
The OU flag might as well be the Seventh Flag Over Texas.
The OU flag might as well be the Seventh Flag Over Texas.
Cotton Bowl stadium will be split evenly between burnt orange and crimson, but don’t be surprised to see more splotches of crimson in the burnt orange.
Believe it or not, OU-Texas favors the Sooners in the greater Dallas-Fort Worth area.
The campuses are of near-equal distance to Dallas. Yeah, the game’s on Texas soil, the Texas flag is everywhere, there’s Big Tex, and Texas-ness is embraced everywhere.
But D-FW is Oklahoma territory. The OU flag might as well be the Seventh Flag Over Texas.
How can a place decidedly so Texan support anything from Oklahoma?
My guess: D-FW is too diverse, too fractured to support one Texas athletic team. You’ve got TCU, SMU and commuter schools like the University of North Texas and UT-Arlington, competing with the UT and Texas A&M fan base. UT might not even be bigger than Baylor in Central Texas.
I’d be willing to bet that A&M is bigger in D-FW than UT.
This isn’t new news. OU has always been big here, but it seems to have grown to a bigger presence here lately.
Go through any suburb on a fall Saturday and OU flags are hanging on houses everywhere. Go to any sporting goods store — or even a Wal-Mart for that matter — and OU gear hangs with the Texas schools.
It’s even safe to wear an crimson Oklahoma shirt anywhere in Texas. Try wearing burnt orange in Norman.
According to the University of Oklahoma, one-fourth of the students in last year’s freshman class were from Texas.
Of the 111 players on a roster posted on SoonerSports.com, 46 hail from Texas. A good chunk of those players were standouts in the D-FW area.
I’ve been here a quarter of a century and I’ve seen OU’s presence grow every year.
Maybe it’s because of the Sooners’ sustained success. Maybe it’s better exposure on TV. Maybe it’s because an Oklahoma teacher can make a better salary in Texas (teachers can make about $20K more a year in some cases — and not pay state income taxes).
Texas recruits Oklahoma teachers. OU has been recruiting Texans for years.
Dante was one of those recruited out of Skyline High in Dallas in 1983. I’ve known Dante through Facebook for several years. He has a clique of former OU teammates who live in the DF-dub and cheer for OU.
If he were still in high school, he’d put OU at the top of his list, even if he has to pay higher tuition for daughters who love the school.
“I think all ex-players’ kids should get in-state fees,” he said. “But that’s a no.”
— Tommy
Go through any (Dallas-Fort Worth) suburb on a fall Saturday and OU flags are hanging on houses everywhere.
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