OU Making Adjustments To Gameday Protocols

Students at the University of Oklahoma will see new COVID-19 prevention measures at the university's second home game. 

The new protocol comes after the athletic department says student compliance at the Sooner's home opener was lacking. 

"Our desire and the desire I think of every program in the country is to have as many fans in the stadium is possible," says senior associate athletic director, Kenny Mossman. "In order for us to do that, we need to have that compliance, and that's what we're pushing this week." 

The designated areas where students can and cannot sit will be more clearly defined. 

There will also be a greater number of stadium staff placed in the section to ensure students are adhering to the distancing measures and mask requirement. 

Students will be asked to limit their seating groups to clusters of two to 10 people. 

"We certainly don't want to be ogres for them when they come to the game," Mossman says. "We want them to come and have a good time. Maybe we can help that by marking the spaces a little bit better and having people on hand to help them remain in compliance."  

After the home opener, Mossman says there were talks on campus and within the athletic department about potentially limiting or taking away student seating.

While he says no options are off the table in a situation like this, that would only be a point of discussion if students don't comply this week.

"It's not high on the list of things we want to do. That's why we've put a number of things in place. That's why we're committing more people to help in those areas. Unless we see something unexpected Saturday, I don't think we'll continue those discussions."

Mossman says overall he is hopeful students will comply. He added that everybody that comes to the stadium has a role in helping the university play out the rest of the season. 

He believes the incentive to follow the simple steps for students and fans alike is seeing OU football finish the season in person.