Seth Duckworth
Last week we looked at Oklahoma State’s attendance, which was their highest in the past 22 years and possibly their highest of all time. Not to be outdone, OU also had some of their highest in recent memory.
OU averaged 1,380 per dual which topped all recorded averages from the Mat Talk Almanac since the 2018 season which had an average of 1,842. That year was largely carried by a dual with Northern Colorado dubbed as the “Beauty and the Beast” event hosted alongside a gymnastics meet at Lloyd Noble Center. That specific event had an attendance of 4,493. Since 2002, the first year MatTalk started keeping records, there are only two other seasons in which they averaged more than the 1,380 mark. 2014, when they beat Oklahoma State in Norman and averaged 1,443, and 2002 when they averaged 1,416. This season, they also had the highest single dual attendance in McCasland Fieldhouse in the past 15 years with Bedlam at 3,571.
Outside of the unique Beauty and the Beast event, the last year OU won Bedlam, and the 2002 season, this was the highest recorded average wrestling attendance for OU in the last 22 years. That’s a positive sign. Whether it’s the new staff connecting with fans, the excitement around some specific athletes, or maybe better marketing? It’s somewhat unclear what the catalyst for this was. But overall certainly a positive sign for the Sooners.
