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August 27, 2005

Four captains, two mascots, thousands of fans, one Oklahoma

? New OU mascots debut at Big Red Rally

By James S. Tyree

Transcript Staff Writer

Four football team captains and two new mascots were introduced Friday during a University of Oklahoma pep rally that emphasized "There's only one Oklahoma."

A few thousand people, many of whom were OU students, braved the heat to attend Big Red Rally XII at the Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. The family-oriented Little Red Rally followed right afterward on the mall just north of the stadium.

"We wanted to see the end of (football practice) and we're so excited about OU athletics," said Natalie Kurkjian, a member of the Pi Phi sorority that showed up an hour before the rally started.

"And," she added a pause, "we wanted to show off our new pledges."

Head coach Bob Stoops introduced fullback J.D. Runnels and lineman Davin Joseph as offensive captains and lineman Dusty Dvoracek and linebacker Clint Ingram as defensive captains during the Big Red Rally.

Dvoracek, who was suspended last September following off-field incidents and recently reinstated, said, "It's great to be back and we're looking forward to a great year."

Ingram implored the crowd to be as tough as the Sooners come game day.

"Help us make this the worst place for anybody to come in and play," he said.

Similarly, Stoops said, "We're counting on you to be loud each and every game," and he was positive toward what some consider a rebuilding season.

"Unlike what you may have heard, we're still gonna go out and do our best to win championships," the coach said to a cheering audience.

No one at the stadium was more rabid than emcee Clarke Stroud, OU vice president of student affairs. He turned down the WWE-type excitement when introducing the new horse mascots and explaining their purpose.

Stroud said most venues involving OU teams can't have the Sooner Schooner, and student and university leaders decided the university needed consistent mascots to represent OU.

Thus, Boomer and Sooner. The twin light brown horse costumes feature reddish manes and tails and red sweaters emblazoned with interlocking "OU" on the front and their respective names on the back.

Stroud said the mascots are "an extension of the rich history of the university and the state of Oklahoma."

The rally, organized by the Campus Activities Council, began with OU's spirit squads and the Pride of Oklahoma band entertaining the crowd. Bob Barry Sr., the voice of the Sooners, addressed the crowd as did athletics director Joe Castiglione.

The AD spoke of OU's success on and off the field last year ? 282 out of more than 400 student-athletes having grade point averages of 3.0 or better, and a cumulative GPA of 2.94 and "going up," to go with five conference titles, and two individual and one team national championship.

Castiglione also said OU leads the conference in football attendance and that returning students have helped in building the program. Then, he turned to the freshmen.

"Those of you who are new, we don't just ask, we implore you to take ownership in our program," he said. "? Be a part of the Sooner magic."

Castiglione also dedicated the OU chant as the rally ended to OU president David Boren, who is recuperating from back surgery this month. The crowd pointed in the general direction of the Boyd House, where Boren lives.

James S. Tyree 366-3539 jtyree@normantranscript.com

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