Tulsa Golden Hurricane

Infobox college athletics

logo_width =
name = Tulsa Golden Hurricane
university = University of Tulsa
conference = Conference USA
association = NCAA
division = Division I
director = Bubba Cunningham
city = Tulsa
state = Oklahoma
stateabb = OK
teams = 18
stadium = Skelly Field at H.A. Chapman Stadium
arena = Reynolds Center
arena2 = Hurricane Soccer & Track Stadium Michael D. Case Tennis Center Donna J. Hardesty Sports and Recreation Complex
mascot = Captain Cane
nickname = Golden Hurricane
fightsong=
color1 = Old Gold
color2 = Royal Blue
color3 = Crimson
hex1 = CFB53B
hex2 = 084c9e
hex3 = DC143C
pageurl = http://tulsahurricane.cstv.com/
pagename = Tulsa Golden Hurricane

Tulsa Golden Hurricane athletics programs include the extramural and intramural sports team of the University of Tulsa. These teams are referred to as the Tulsa Golden Hurricane (or variously as Hurricane, Canes, TU or Tulsa). Before being named the Golden Hurricane in 1922, Tulsa has many team nicknames including Kendallites, Presbyterians, Tigers, Orange, Black and Tulsans. Originally, the name "Golden Tornadoes" was decided, but it was quickly found out that name was taken by Georgia Tech. The name then evolved to Golden Hurricane. [cite web | title=Traditions: History of Golden Hurricane | url=http://tulsahurricane.cstv.com/trads/tuls-trads.html | publisher=CSTV Networks, Inc | accessdate=2008-01-10 ]

Varsity sports

The Tulsa Golden Hurricane joined the Conference USA in 2005. Previously, it was a member of the Western Athletic Conference from 1996-2004 and the Missouri Valley Conference from 1935 to 1996. In 1985, the MVC dropped football so Tulsa participated as an Independent in football, but remained as an MVC member in other sports, including basketball. Prior to 1935, Tulsa was a member of several conferences. [cite web | title=Tulsa Golden Hurricane | publisher=cfbdatawarehouse.com | url=http://cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/div_ia/conferenceusa/tulsa/index.php | accessdate=2008-01-10 ]

Tulsa has won six national championships (three NCAA): four in women's golf and two in men's basketball. The University of Tulsa currently fields a varsity team in eight men's sports and ten women's sports. [cite web | title=TU Athletics Points of Pride | url=http://tulsahurricane.cstv.com/athletic-dept/tuls-points-of-pride.html | publisher=CSTV Networks, Inc | accessdate=2008-01-10 ] They are:

Football

Tulsa has the smallest undergraduate enrollment of all schools that participate in NCAA Bowl Sub-Division football. The football team is coached by Todd Graham. Graham replaced Steve Kragthorpe, who led the team to three bowl games in four seasons before accepting the head coaching job at the University of Louisville after the 2006-7 season. Graham, a former Tulsa defensive coordinator, returned to the team after serving as the head coach at Rice University for one season. Graham is largely credited with the Owls' first bowl appearance since 1961.

Tulsa defeated University of Central Florida 44-27 in Conference USA's inaugural championship game on December 3, 2005. The Tulsa Golden Hurricane also defeated the Fresno State Bulldogs 31-24 on December 31, 2005, at the Autozone Liberty Bowl in Memphis, Tennessee. This win brought their first bowl victory in 15 years. In 2006, the team went to the inaugural Armed Forces Bowl, but lost to the Utah Utes, 25-13. On October 15, 2006, Tulsa earned its first ranking in the BCS, breaking in at No. 25. This marked TU's first national ranking since the end of the 1991 season, when it was ranked No. 21 in both the AP and the USA Today polls.

Notable in Tulsa football tradition are the Missouri Valley Conference teams of 1964 & 1965 which compiled records of 9-2 & 8-3 & played in the Bluebonnet Bowl of both years; the passing attack famously featured Jerry Rhome to Howard Twilley, both of whom achieved lengthy careers in professional football; Rhome polled 2nd in the 1964 Heisman Trophy; Rhome & Twilley are in the College Football Hall of Fame. The 1952 Missouri Valley Conference team with its 8-2-1 record climbed to 11th in the AP Poll & was invited to the Gator Bowl, then 1 of only 5 post-season bowl games, although not one of the 4 major ones. Steve Largent was another talented Tulsa receiver who graduated to a long NFL career (1976-1989 Seattle), was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame because of numerous enduring records as a receiver, served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1994-2002, and then ran as one of the two major candidates for governor of Oklahoma in 2002.

Tulsa was the only team to play in five consecutive New Year's Day Bowl games. The Golden Hurricane also was handed one of the worst defeats in college football history when they were beaten in regular season play by Houston 100-6 on November, 23, 1968 [http://www.phys.utk.edu/sorensen/cfr/cfr/Output/1968/CF_1968_Games.html Retrieved on 09-06-2008.] . Dr. Phil McGraw played for TU at the time ["The Making of Dr. Phil: The Straight-Talking True Story of Everyone's Favorite Therapist"; Sophia Dembling, Lisa Gutierrez; John Wiley and Sons, 2003. p. 247] .

Tulsa finished the 2007 season with a 10-4 season concluding with a 63-7 win over Bowling Green State in the GMAC Bowl. This was the most points ever scored in any bowl game. Tulsa also became the first team in NCAA history to have a 5,000-yard passer (Paul Smith), a 1,000-yard rusher (Tarrion Adams) and three 1,000-yard receivers (Brennan Marion, Trae Johnson and Charles Clay) in a single season. Additionally, Smith became the NCAA record-holder for most consecutive games in one season (14) with over 300 yards passing.

Basketball

The Tulsa Golden Hurricane basketball program has had a history of success, including NIT championships in 1981 and 2001, an Elite Eight appearance in 2000, three Sweet Sixteen appearances, and 14 trips to the Big Dance. The Golden Hurricane have a long-standing basketball rivalry with Oral Roberts in the Mayor's Cup game played each season. Tulsa is also known for developing many coaches who have gone on to great success in the NCAA, including Minnesota's Tubby Smith, who won a national championship while he coached at the University of Kentucky, Kansas' Bill Self, and one of Arkansas' most notable former coaches, Nolan Richardson, who is the only head coach to win the NJCAA tournament (with Western Texas Junior College), the NIT (with Tulsa), and the NCAA tournament (with Arkansas). The current men's basketball head coach is Doug Wojcik.

In 2006, the Tulsa women's basketball team earned its first appearance in the NCAA tournament by winning Conference USA's regular-season and tournament championships. The Golden Hurricane's accomplishment came after back-to-back 19-win seasons and WNIT appearances.

Men's Soccer

The Tulsa Men's Soccer team has a strong history. TU has won two conference championships (1991 MVC and 2007 C-USA) and two conference tournaments (1991 MVC and 2007 C-USA). Tulsa holds the NCAA record for both consecutive home wins and consecutive home games without a loss, set during the same stretch of 39 games from 1988 to 1992. [cite web | title=OFFICIAL 2007 NCAA MEN’S AND WOMEN’S SOCCER RECORDS BOOK | url=http://www.ncaa.org/library/records/soccer/soccer_records_book/2007/2007_soccer_records.pdf | publisher=The National Collegiate Athletic Association | accessdate=2008-01-10 ] The school has produced first team All-American, Ryan Pore, who currently plays for the Kansas City Wizards of Major League Soccer. It has also produced goalkeeper Dominic Cervi who plays professionally for Celtic F.C. of Glasgow, Scotland. In the 2004 season the Golden Hurricane reached the elite-eight of the NCAA Men's Soccer Championship, and the team has been consistently ranked in the top 25. The current head coach is Tom McIntosh, a prominent figure in Tulsa soccer for over 20 years. The team plays in the Hurricane Soccer & Track Stadium, as does the track team.

Other sports

In the 2005-2006 season showed that Hurricane women's teams were on the rise. In addition to success in women's basketball, the 2006 season also saw the Golden Hurricane secure a Conference USA championship in women's softball.

The Men's Tennis team has also had recent success, including the 2006 Conference USA championship and a first-round victory in the NCAA tournament. Tulsa's top-ranked player Arnau Brugues also advanced to the round of sixteen in the NCAA Singles tournament. The University of Tulsa also boasts one of the nation's top tennis facilities, the Michael D. Case Tennis Center, which was host to the 2004 NCAA tennis championships and will host them again in 2008.

Mascot

Since 1994, Tulsa's mascot has been "Captain Cane", an anthropomorphized golden hurricane with human attributes such as biceps, clothes, and a perpetual smirk. From 1978 to 1994, the mascot was "Huffy".

References