DEAR LETTERWINNERS, FOLLOW VARSITY O ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTER

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1 DEAR LETTERWINNERS, Our spring sports are off to a hot start and we have a few of number one ranked teams! We encourage all of you to come out and support them when you can. The weather should be starting to turn around and I know they will appreciate all the support they can get from other letterwinners! March is here and we are anxiously awaiting seeing all of our letterwinners at Spring Weekend next month! We always look forward to opportunities to connect with our letterwinners and welcome everyone back to campus. Please be looking for the brochure in your mailboxes and let us know if you didn t receive one. You can also print off the brochure from the link that is attached in the Spring Weekend section on page 2. We hope to see you there! Boomer Sooner! FOLLOW VARSITY O ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTER REMEMBERING OUR LEGENDS GENE HEAPE- Gene played football at OU for Coach Wilkinson from He Please be sure to like the Varsity O Association Facebook page and follow us on Twitter to keep up to date on all of the latest news about the Varsity O Association and OU Athletics! was a member of the 1950 National Championship team. Page 1

2 2015 VARSITY O SPRING WEEKEND The Varsity O Association will once again host Spring Weekend. This year s event dates are April 10-11, We will have the Varsity O Association Golf Classic, Picnic Lunch and Varsity O Social on Friday, April 10 and the Spring Football Game will be held on Saturday, April 11. If you would like to participate in any of the events, please fill out the registration brochure and return it to Varsity O. We hope to see you there! SOONERS HELPING SOONERS REMEMBER JAKIE SANDEFER On April 11, the Saturday morning of the Spring game, Sooners Helping Sooners will be having a remember service for Jakie Sandefer at their office located in the Riverside Building, 2600 Van Buren Street, Suite 2600, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon. Jakie was the founder of Sooners Helping Sooners, whose mission is to find gainful employment for ex-ou student-athletes. This was an active passion of Jakie s for many years. SHS was created to continue Jakie s efforts and make sure his dream of changing lives continues. This will be a come-and-go event with a chance to remember Jakie and all of his good work through many years for all of OU athletic programs. Please stop by and visit with ex-teammates and coaches, see the SHS offices and its memorabilia, enjoy coffee and morning refreshments. Call Pam Kelleher at 405/ if you have any questions or need directions to the Riverside Building. SEE YOU ON THE 11TH Page 2

3 MEN S TENNIS PREVIEW The Oklahoma Sooners men s tennis claimed its first national indoor championship in the 2015 ITA Men s Team National Indoor Championship with a 4-2 victory against the No. 1 USC Trojans. After this big win, the Sooners are now the top-ranked team nationally. The Trojans, who are the defending national champions, lost the double point with the wins by OU s No. 5 Axel Alvarez and Dane Webb defeating No. 1 Hanfmann and Quiroz and Florin Bragusi and Alex Ghilea beating Crystal and Farren. And for the singles wins, No. 11 Alvarez defeated No. 24 Quiroz, No. 31 Webb defeated No. 20 Wang, and No. 63 Ghilea, who was named the Most Outstanding Player, defeated De Froome. Ghilea, who went 4-0 in the tournament is the first Sooner to earn this honor. Catch the No. 1 Sooners March 27 when Big 12 play begins against TCU. Page 3 March 2015 Volume 9, Number 3

4 WOMEN S TENNIS SEASON PREVIEW The 33rd-ranked Sooners recorded leave in sixth consecutive win against Iowa State to improve their record to 9-1 overall on the season. To start off the match, doubles partners Lily Miyazaki and Simran Sethi and Zita Engbroks and Christiana Brigante of the Sooners won the doubles point. Abbi Melrose, Zita Engbroks, and Christiana Brigante captured wins in the singles matches to secure the 4-2 win. There will be two televised matches at SoonerSports.tv this month in conference play. On March 13, the Sooners will face the Longhorns in the Red River Rivalry at 5 pm. On March 15, Oklahoma will match up against the Baylor Bears at noon. Follow your OU Women s Tennis team on twitter OU_WTennis for more information. Page 4

5 MEN S GYMNASTICS REUNION The reunion date has been set for the men s gymnastics reunion. The reunion will be held April 9-11, 2015, in conjunction with the 2015 NCAA Men s Gymnastics National Championships. There will also be a special recognition for the 10-year anniversary of the 2005 National Championship team. If you are not receiving information from Varsity O, please send in your current contact information to varsityo@ou.edu so we can make sure you receive your reunion information. Page 5

6 COMPLIANCE CORNER Another spring semester is upon us and the excitement of intercollegiate athletics is at its peak. OU Athletics continues to have an enthusiastic following. With the news of recent allegations and violations at BCS schools across NCAA membership, it has never been more important to remind and educate Varsity O members of their responsibility and role in supporting our athletic teams. Although you have an emotional, physical and financial investment in the tradition of Sooner Athletics, as a former athlete you are limited by the NCAA on the amount of involvement you can have with prospective and current student-athletes. Many institutions are facing serious consequences as a result of actions taken by student-athletes and boosters, including great embarrassment and potential financial loss. SOCIAL MEDIA The use of social media by prospective student-athletes (i.e. high school student-athletes) has significantly changed today s recruiting process. Social media has the ability to make individuals readily accessible to anyone and has opened the door for new risks in the recruiting process. As a former student-athlete at the University of Oklahoma, you are considered a Representative of Athletics Interests, commonly known as a booster. This makes contact of with any prospective student-athlete on social media or in-person impermissible. CAMPS/CLINICS The NCAA has strict rules regarding former student-athletes involvement with prospective student- athletes at University of Oklahoma or other non-institutional camps. A major component of these rules restricts paying for a prospective student-athlete to attend any camps or clinics. While you may feel as though you are doing a great service, you are actually hurting the University of Oklahoma and the prospective student-athlete. The University of Oklahoma could face significant penalties from the NCAA, and the prospective student-athlete s eligibility could be jeopardized. Many former student-athletes at the University of Oklahoma are asked to pass on their skills and knowledge to children at various camps and clinics. This is one of the few times it remains permissible to have conversations with prospective studentathletes. These conversations may include experiences as a student-athlete at the University of Oklahoma, skill instruction and tips on becoming a successful student-athlete. However, you may not solicit or actively recruit for the University of Oklahoma. We appreciate your constant efforts to uphold the integrity of the University of Oklahoma. We have a few slogans to help remind student-athletes, coaches, institutional staff members and members of the community of their responsibilities. Please remember to: ASK BEFORE YOU ACT PROTECT THE PROGRAM YOU SUPPORT #COMPLYLIKEACHAMPION Please contact the Athletics Compliance Department at or athleticscompliance@ou.edu with any questions you may have. Thank you for your support of OU Athletics! Page 6