Men's Basketball

Oklahoma City University

2501 N. Blackwelder - Oklahoma City, OK - 73106
Team Office: Tel: (405) 521-5310 Fax: (405) 521-5305
Team website: www.ocusports.com

Founded in 1904, Oklahoma City University is a highly regarded mid-size liberal arts institution. OCU takes pride in its dual role as the city's university and as the university for the United Methodist Church in Oklahoma. OKCU offers over 40 Bachelor degree programs and over a dozen graduate degrees through its schools of Nursing, Business, Law, Dance, and Arts and Sciences. OKCU is the only school in the country that offers a degree in tap dance. Other majors offered include Piano and Organ, Criminal Justice, and Management Information Systems. US News 2008 report on America's Best Colleges ranked Oklahoma City #23 among universities in the west offering a Master's degree.

The campus is located in the heart of Oklahoma City (pop.500k).

School website
www.okcu.edu

College Profile

Type:

Private, Co-educational

Religious Affiliation:

United Methodist

Enrollment:

3,700

Getting In:

Moderately difficult. ACT 25/75: 22-27

Tuition + Room & Board:

In-state: ~$27,000
Out-of-State: Same

Most Popular Majors

Liberal Arts - Visual and Performing Arts - Health

Misc. Information

Head coach Ray Harper completed his third season at OC in 2007-08. Harper took over from Win Case in 2005-06. Under Case, the Stars won 315 games against just 97 losses while capturing two national championships (94 and 96). OCU was fortunate in getting Harper who comes from perrenial D2 powerhouse Kentucky Wesleyan where he led the Panthers to two NCAA Division II National Championships and four national runner-up titles, while boasting a 242-45 (.843) coaching record. The Bremen, Ky., native is a seven-time National Coach of the Year and claims five consecutive 30-win season from 1997-2002, which is an NCAA record. Harper started his collegiate playing career at the University of Texas, under the direction of former OCU basketball coach Abe Lemons in 1981-83. After winning the NAIA I national championship in 2006-07, the Stars went 31-7 in 2007-08 and claimed another National Championship, beating Mountain State. It was OCU's sixth national championship.

Team Name	Stars
Colors	Blue and White
Division	NAIA I
All-Time Record	?

Recent Record (Last 8 Years)

	Last Yr	Last Yr - 1	Last Yr - 2	Previous 5 Years
Overall	31-7	35-2	29-8	103-49 (.677)
Conference	18-4	17-1	16-2	55-33 (.625)
Conf. Finish	1	3, 1, ?, ?, ?	1	?
Post Appear.	Nat'l Ch	Natl' Ch	Finals	NAIA 2x
Final 25 Rank	#7	#2	#7	?

Coaches

Head Coach	Ray Harper
	Birthday: 0000-00-00
Started at Oklahoma City	2005-06
Contract Expires	?
Record as Head Coach	337-61 (.846)
Record at Oklahoma City	95-16 (.855)
Coaching Awards	Nat'l COTY 7x

Asst. Coaches	Tommy Wade, Andrew Hale

Recruiting Coordinator

Ray Harper, (405) 208-5310, rharper@okcu.edu

Conference and Schedule

OKCU plays in the Sooner Athletic Conference (www.soonerathletic.org) which is recognized as one of the strongest NAIA conferences in the nation. The SAC is comprised of twelve schools from Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. There is usually a two week winter break. The 18 game league schedule starts in early January with games often played on Thursday and Saturdays. The season concludes with the SAC tourney which takes the top eight teams in order of final conference standings. The winner is an automatic NAIA tournament qualifier.

Conference Opponents

John Brown, Northwestern Oklahoma, Oklahoma Baptist, Oklahoma Christian, Lubbock Christian, Southern Nazarene, Mid America Chrisitan, Rogers State, St. Gregory's, U. of Science and Arts, and Wayland Baptist.

Facilities

Abe Lemons Arena
Capacity 3,300, Average attendance (?)

Style/Stats

In 2006-07, OK City was ranked #18 in offense, averaging 82.4 ppg. In 2006-07, they were ranked #12 in defense, limiting opponents to 66.2. ppg.