Oklahoma Cancels Spring Game

Spring football is over at Oklahoma.

OU athletic director Joe Castiglione on Wednesday made the announcement during a radio interview on WWLS The Sports Animal in Oklahoma City.

"While we haven't come out and announced the spring game date being canceled," Castiglione said, "I don't see any way that (playing the game) is going to happen. I really don't."

A cancellation of the spring game, set for April 18, was widely expected, as OU and the Big 12 Conference had already canceled the rest of the season for all spring sports as the nation manages the Coronavirus pandemic.

Big 12 ADs met via conference call earlier Wednesday and decided in fairness to all programs, canceling the remainder of spring practice and spring games.

Castiglione told reporters on a conference call last Thursday that canceling the spring football game “remains a possibility, for sure.”

He said, “To try to simplify it as best we could, we tried to differentiate between those sports who could still have seasons versus those sports who either are already out of season or by virtue of some of the decisions that have already been made in conference or on the national level have had seasons come to a close. With that in mind, we would consider the sport of football in the out-of-season category.

“… But what we’re trying to do is work through these time segments that elapse in other parts of the collegiate world. … We definitely understand things could change, but that’s more than a month away, and I think a decision about the spring game isn’t as important right now as making prudent decisions in other cases. We realize that some might disagree, but we’re trying to take them in the right order here. If we’re going to continually delay the start of — the continuation, I should say, of spring practice, then obviously we would quickly decide whether we would change the date of the spring game or eliminate it altogether.”

Oklahoma under Lincoln Riley has turned the annual spring game into the biggest recruiting day of the year, with multiple high-level prospects spending the weekend on official or unofficial visits in Norman.

Fan attendance has reached all-time highs in the last two years (43,000 and 52,000) as OU has experimented with both day and night kickoffs and also added all-day fanfest experiences that included concerts and other entertainment.

This year's event was expected to be the biggest yet with 2017 Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield - arguably the most popular player in school history - back on campus for the unveiling of his Heisman Park statue. Coach Lincoln Riley said the plan was to unveil the statue in the stadium as part of the spring game festivities, so all fans can enjoy it, rather than during a pregame ceremony in the park across the street.

Castiglione said last week that Big 12 athletic directors “had agreed that it was best to move forward in unison. Now, as I mentioned at the start of this call, things can change hour to hour and can certainly change day to day in the weeks ahead. But at the time we had the conversation, that’s the way we voted so we would all have some consistency.”

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