A few of the many things that fans have been asking for from the Oklahoma men's basketball program has been wins, more resources and a big-time nonconference home game. In the last several seasons, the Sooners have played their biggest early season games away for Norman for one simple reason: NIL.
In the age of college athletics where more money and resources are needed to be successful every day, these types of events are becoming more needed every year. The 2026-27 nonconference schedule resembles the ones that we have seen over the last couple of years.
Have we seen the last of exciting nonconfernce schedules in Norman?
The Sooners are scheduled to face Arizona State, Oklahoma State, Purdue and Pittsburgh in neutral site contests. The biggest nonconference opponent who will come to Norman is when they will face Syracuse as part the 2026 ACC/SEC Challenge on Dec. 1. But this Syracuse team doesn't have Carmelo Anthony walking through that door. After a 15-17 season, the Orange brought back Anthony's former teammate, Gerry McNamara, to lead the program after spending the last two seasons as the head coach of Sienna.
The lack of major nonconference game added another level Monday afternoon when CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein reported that Oklahoma and SMU will begin a home-and-home series over the next two seasons. The Sooners will head to Dallas this season and the Mustangs will make the return trip to Norman in 2027.
The rest of the nonconference schedule doesn't provide the anticipation that many Sooner fans and season ticket holders would hope for. Games against Mississippi Valley State, East Texas A&M and Alabama State really suck the mood out of the early part of the season.
Read more: Oklahoma fans have every right to hate this Sooners schedule
The Sooners' schedule sets up a lot like the ones of the last several years where they are going to make some noise early in the season if they want to keep the fan base invested and ready to show up and make an impact when big-time SEC opponents come to Norman.
One of the big questions among fans has been why does Oklahoma play so many of these types of games? It's simple: NIL aspirations. The Sooners have added to their NIL funds when they play in these neutral site events, so even with additional resources, these games aren't going away anytime soon.
These events are more enticing to television companies. Many in the fan base believe that the game needs to go back to more home and home contests and less of these types of events.
If you watched any early season nonconference games for OU over the last couple of seasons, you saw how empty the LNC is during any one of these games, so it even makes sense from a monetary and program funding perspective. We don't have to like it or agree that it's good for the sport, but it's something we have to embrace as college athletics continues to evolve.
Add us as a preferred source on Google