Why Edmond didn’t move Memorial’s game with Stillwater

Mike Gundy was trying to make next week’s choice a little easier.

Stillwater High School, which features Gundy’s sun Gunnar at quarterback, opens the season Thursday, Aug. 31, on the road against Edmond Memorial. It’s the same night Oklahoma State hosts Tulsa.

Gundy was hoping a personal phone call to Edmond Public Schools superintendent Bret Towne would lead to a solution.

Towne and Edmond athletic director Mike Nunley had none. The game would remain at Edmond Santa Fe High School, the district’s lone high school football stadium.

“They’re going to lose probably half of the Stillwater crowd because they’re going to go to our game,” Gundy recently told colleague Jenni Carlson. “They have two stadiums now. They wouldn’t do it. I’m sure they had their reasons. I understand.”

As simple as it sounds to move the game, there are several reasons why it can’t be moved.

Friday, Sept. 1, is the first edition of Edlam. Santa Fe and North meet in Santa Fe’s stadium.

Nunley said he wanted that to remain the marquee game that night.

The schools also no longer use Central Oklahoma’s Wantland Stadium for their 15 combined home games, a product of working to build stadiums to avoid the rising costs. Also, Wantland Stadium is undergoing a heavy amount construction this season.

North is scheduled to open its new stadium in a year, but right now its field is under construction and unable to host. Memorial will get its new stadium in August 2019, but parking there is not feasible.

Moving to Saturday was briefly discussed, but never seriously an option on a holiday weekend.

Nunley also said money from concession sales go to the booster clubs. He didn’t want to lose that,

especially in the current funding crisis.

“That’s significant amount of money for them,” Nunley said. “Keeping it at home, at the end of the day there were nine positives and one negative.

“I don’t anticipate — I wish it would be — it’s going to be 10,000 people at our game. Just playing it at Santa Fe makes it the most simple for us.”

For Stillwater coach and athletic director Tucker Barnard, he understands where Edmond is stuck. His concern is the trend of college football games playing on traditional high school football nights.

“It’s something we’re going to have to figure out how to deal with,” Barnard said.

OSU plays the same night as Stillwater’s first two games, though the Cowboys hit the road in Week 2. The idea was to please the Big 12 and TV networks, hopefully avoiding more games on these nights for a few

seasons.

But that doesn’t stop it from affecting the local high school teams.

“It is a little more disappointing,” Barnard said.

Nunley added: “I wish colleges would leave Thursdays and Fridays open for high school people.”

Barnard said he has yet to hear from parents who won’t attend the games due to OSU playing. But he’s sure casual fans won’t travel to Edmond.

Perhaps they’ll return in Week 2.

“The one thing about that one is at least they’re on the road,” Barnard said. “We won’t have as many people that are out. Hopefully we can encourage people to get it on their DVRs and watch Oklahoma State later and come support us.

“We’ve got to put a product on the field that is exciting for people. If we do that, then people will come watch. I feel like it’s on us to get the job done.”