Sooners begin spring practice later
Defending Big 12 champion Oklahoma will start spring practice later than usual. Workouts begin March 21, with the spring game scheduled for April 8.
With practice opening on March 21, Oklahoma football’s spring season will begin a little bit later than in previous years.
Last year, OU opened practice on March 5 with everything concluding by April 16.
This time around, OU’s practices must end by April 23.
Though the practices are beginning at different times, the 2017 spring game is the same weekend as the 2016 spring game. The game is set for April 8 this season, while it occurred on April 9 last year. With the shift in the schedule, the Sooners will have more practice time after the spring game than in previous seasons. In addition to the practices, OU will also hold its pro day on March 8 for NFL hopefuls.
According to NCAA bylaws, teams are allowed to hold 15 spring practices, including the spring game, and all sessions have to occur in a 34-day window. Spring break and exam dates aren’t included in that window.
Last year, Oklahoma’s spring break fell in the middle of the practice period, lasting from March 12-20, and though the Sooners were permitted to practice during that week, coach Bob Stoops gave his squad the week off. The Sooners’ break this year falls before spring practice.
Contact drills are only permitted in 12 of those practices with tackling allowed in just eight. No more than three of the tackling practices may be devoted primarily to 11-on-11 scrimmages.
The Sooners’ 2017 spring schedule also kicks off after nearly every other Big 12 program. Iowa State begins the earliest, with players reporting to spring practice on Feb. 28. TCU and Texas Tech begin on March 4, while Oklahoma State and Texas will open on March 6.
Kansas State players are scheduled to report on March 29, making Bill Snyder’s team the only program to begin practice later than the Sooners. Snyder was recently diagnosed with throat cancer, but he’s expected to be at the start of the Wildcats’ spring practices.
Sooners shift season ticket renewal timeline
The payment process for OU football season ticket renewals is changing slightly for the 2017 season.
For season ticket holders purchasing tickets with a payment plan, Wednesday was the deadline for the first installment.
In previous years, the first installment of a payment plan was due on March 31, the same day as the contribution deadline to the Sooner Club. That day was also the deadline for season ticket holders to pay in full if they were not using the payment plan. Subsequent installments for season ticket holders using the payment plan were due on April 30 and May 31.
This year, the first payment plan for 2017 season tickets was due on Wednesday, and the second installment is due on March 15. The final installment for the payment plan is due on April 12. The deadline for season ticket holders who choose to pay in full is also April 12.
The initial plan for the 2017 season was to make all payments due on March 31 to coincide with the Sooner Club contribution deadline, but internal delays pushed that deadline back to April 12, an OU spokesman said.
The change in timeline also gives ticket holders who opt to pay in full a little more time to make the payment. For the third time in five years, the ticket prices did not increase. Prices also didn’t go up in 2013 and 2015.
Though the ticket renewal period is still far from over, the ticket numbers are tracking at a 95 percent renewal rate.