A suggestion for OU staff to consider

[Sooner Cal]

That we have a message board for women’s gymnastics is fantastic. The fact that it goes dark for 7 months of the year is sad.

The best way to promote the sport to the next level is to build fan knowledge and awareness. Look at football, we know about kids a couple of years or more before they show up on campus. We know about the top high school teams. Granted, much of this is due to the growth in recruiting services, but football is a huge business, minor sports aren’t.

In softball, we knew of Jayda and Tiare well before they arrived in Norman. The only surprise I can recall was Alo’s signing. We were fortunate that we have a few folks who share info from a couple of sites, but X (Twitter) is probably the best source.

NCAA rules prohibit coaches speaking publicly about recruits, but it’s clear that coaches everywhere leak names and info to recruiting services. I believe that coaches in the minor sports would grow their sport if they kept the fan base engaged in the offseason.

It took a long time to get where we are in football recruiting. One can make a case that the industry has overgrown and is due a contraction. When I was at OU in the late 60’s, Jack Mildren was the only recruit I’d heard of before he arrived. It really wasn’t until the late 70’s (Sooners Illustrated) that Isaw recruiting coverage. In California in 1980, I learned about recruiting mainly in the LA Times and Long Beach Press Telegram coverage of high school games.

I think a similar coverage of major competitions where high school age athletes compete would develop fan awareness and interest.

Maybe it could start with the OU daily or the Oklahoman with the staff helping them (using that vehicle) to educate and familiarize fans with the sport.