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| Location:
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Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
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| Division:
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NAIA Division I
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| Conference (basketball):
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Sooner Athletic Conference
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| Arena:
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Abe Lemons Arena
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The Oklahoma City University Stars compete as members of the Sooner Athletic Conference in NAIA Division I basketball. The school has not sponsored football since 1950. Oklahoma City is a private Methodist institution located in the capital city of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The school has an undergraduate enrollment of around 3,000.
OCU is located in midtown Oklahoma City, on NW 23rd Street between Virginia and Blackwelder Avenues. Exit 2B off I-235 is the 23rd Street exit, about a mile east of campus. (Alternatively, exit 130 off I-35, also 23rd Street, is three miles east of campus.) Abe Lemons Arena (3,500) is on the north side of campus at the corner of NW 27th Street and Florida Avenue.
Oklahoma City's main rival in the present is Oklahoma Christian, but back in the glory days the school shared heated rivalries with Tulsa and Oral Roberts.
OCU sent 10 players to the NFL back in the good old days, led by Pro-Bowl linemen Hugh Taylor and Orville Tuttle. In basketball, there have been six OCU alumni in the NBA or ABA, most prominently Rockets G Allen Leavell. More noteworthy, perhaps, was Eric Manuel, the former Kentucky Wildcat who was banned from playing for any NCAA school due to irregularities with his college entrance exams. Manuel was initially banned by the NAIA as well, until a court ruling allowed him to enroll at OCU, where he led the team to two consecutive NAIA championships. The face of OCU basketball -- OCU athletics, really -- was legendary coach and noted wit Abe Lemons, who spent 25 years at OCU interrupted by stints at Texas-Pan American and Texas.
Conference Affiliations
Basketball
Post-Season Appearances
Basketball
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| NCAA Division I Men's Tournament
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1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1973
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| National Invitation Tournament
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1959, 1968
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| NAIA Men's Basketball Tournament Championship Game
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1991, 1992, 1994, 1996, 2006, 2007, 2008
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| NAIA Men's Basketball Tournament
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1986, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010
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Championships
Basketball
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| Midwestern City Conference Regular Season Champions
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1981
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| NAIA Division I Men's Basketball Champions
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1992, 1994, 1996, 2007, 2008
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| NAIA Men's Basketball Champions
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1991
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| Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament Champions
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1994, 1995, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2008
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| Sooner Athletic Conference Regular Season Champions
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1987, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2006, 2007, 2008
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| NAIA District 9 Champions
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1986, 1991, 1992, 1993
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Note: - information regarding Oklahoma Collegiate Conference basketball championships not currently available.
External Links
Oklahoma City University Athletics
