After a 7-4 regular season, the Sooners got that reward Saturday in the form of an invitation to the Sanford Independence Bowl against an opponent to be determined later.
Flanked by cheerleaders and his athletic director, Stoops accepted the invitation from Glen Krupica, the Independence Bowl executive director. Due to inclement weather, Krupica was unable to attend in person, but extended the official invitation and congratulated the Sooners via telephone. Stoops praised his seniors and said the bowl invitation was a result of Oklahoma's first winning season since a 9-3 record in 1993. "We're very excited to have the opportunity to come and play in the Independence Bowl," the first-year Oklahoma coach said. "We believe it's a great, great opportunity for our team." Oklahoma Athletic Director Joe Castiglione said it took a "team effort" to get the Sooners to their 33rd bowl game and first since 1994. Brigham Young beat the Sooners 31-6 in the 1994 Copper Bowl in Tucson, Ariz., in Oklahoma's last bowl appearance. "I'd like to congratulate our football team, our coaching staff and head coach Bob Stoops and particularly the seniors for bringing us to this point where we can be in a position to be considered for a bowl game and obviously accept an invitation," Castiglione said. Krupica praised the university, which sold out it's allotment of 12,000 tickets in a 24-hour period and an additional 2,000 tickets on Monday. "Our committee and our community is ecstatic about the selection of the Oklahoma Sooners," Krupica said. "We are prepared to treat you and yours very well." Krupica said despite the invitation, the bowl commitment won't become firm until Sunday afternoon when the Bowl College Series makes its selections. If Kansas State is selected by the BCS, the Sooners would likely move up to the Insight.com Bowl. "We wanted to get the best team available whether that be ranking, record or what have you. I think that's No. 1," Krupica said. "Secondly, it's how enthusiastic are their people, meaning their administration on down through their fans. How excited are they about coming to Shreveport-Bossier City to participate in this experience. Thirdly, it is related to the second fact of how many folks they'll bring. "Certainly Oklahoma fulfills all of those criteria and then some."
