While just having the chance to suit up for his college team may be enough to provide plenty of excitement for offensive and defensive tackle Brandon Walker, the opportunity to be a part of Oakland University history is also not lost on him. OU qualified for the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship tournament for the first time in 2005. Oakland Press: Oakland University adds club football team, dispels urban legend 10/4/2013. 3 Pittsburgh, where they were eliminated. McMahon was signed by the Fort Wayne Komets of the IHL following his final season (2007) making him the first Grizzly to sign in a professional hockey league. There’s a lot of students here — local students. The Oakland varsity football team won Saturday's neutral playoff game against Brentwood (TN) by a score of 56-33. This follows a stretch where OU had co-head coaches, Kaline and Jacke Healey. Oakland Coliseum is the home of Athletics baseball. [8] The baseball program has produced nearly two dozen players who have gone on to play professional baseball, with two advancing to Major League Baseball, Don Kirkwood, who pitched for the California Angels, the Chicago White Sox, and the Toronto Blue Jays during his 5-year MLB career (1974-1978), and Mike Brosseau, who debuted in 2019 as a utility man for the Tampa Bay Rays. The official 2020 Men's Soccer Roster for the Oakland University Golden Grizzlies “There’s guys that have played in the NCAA before (and) have transferred here. The football OU does have. The men's soccer team was NCAA Division II runner-up in 1986, 1994, and 1996. The official athletics website for the Oakland University Golden Grizzlies. The addition of the sport makes the university the first Division 1 school in Michigan to have such a team. In addition, the Grizzlies career scoring leader, Will McMahon, was named tournament and regular season MVP after tallying 47 goals and 29 assists in 36 games (including playoffs). 9/14 vs Lansing Stealth [W 37-27] Oakland University will field the school’s first-ever football team this fall. I would be interested.”. The official athletics website for the Oakland University Golden Grizzlies. The worst thing about my school is we do not have a football team. You can tell when you’re practicing like a champion and when you’re practicing not to lose. Oakland University cultivates the full potential of a diverse and inclusive community. And while it may be easy for some to think that a team in its first year of existence won’t have enough talent to effectively compete with opponents, don’t count Bongers as one of them. Happy Thanksgiving to all our Golden Grizzly fans and the entire Oakland University community! “Going through the students, alumni and faculty, I believe there’s enough of a positive buzz going around where I believe people are really starting to get excited about it,” Manfroni said. Senior Austin Accettura, who plays for Oakland’s club hockey team, also supported the idea of a football team. But now that assembling the Golden Grizzlies’ first-ever football team has become a reality, their coach expressed optimism that football at Oakland may be here to stay. The women's tennis team at OU is coached by Heather Redshaw. “Students are always talking about how Oakland’s missing a football team,” he said. The team won every Summit League (14) and Horizon League (5) conference meet, 4 of the 8 NIC conference meets, and 8 of the 9 GLIAC conference meets it participated in. As a public doctoral institution, we impact Michigan and the world through education, research, … 8/27 vs Lake Michigan Havoc [W 45-22] 2016 Regular Season Record: 7-0. The college football club team competes in a 30 team college football league called the NCFA (National Club Football Association) that has teams … “Once the students find out, they’re ecstatic,” he said. official site of the. September 16, 2017 is a day that will go down in history at Oakland University. Oakland has undergone a lot of changes since then, but the question still remains: Why doesn’t OU have a Division I football team? In 2013, students started a club football team. Show your Golden Grizzlies pride. “Be nice to know we were the first guys on the field wearing the uniform. The team moved up to ACHA Division 1 for the 2006–07 season and won the national championship over Penn State University by a score of 5–1. Operated out of University Recreation and Well-Being, we have clubs that can fulfill the interests of almost anyone. With 31 club sports and just over 600 athletes, Club Sports at Oakland University is one of the largest student organization groups on campus. FR. Oakland University won ten national NCAA Division II titles and 16 teams were national runner-up in NCAA Division II. Robby Stewart is serving as interim athletic director until a replacement is found. And if there are more reactions like that of junior Laith Victor, the future has the potential to be a bright one for Oakland football. The women's volleyball team at OU is coached by Rob Beam, who became head coach in March 2007. Through 2018, the team has won 31 conference meets, 8 in the GLIAC, 4 in the National Independent Conference (NIC), 14 in The Summit League and 5 in the Horizon League. Men's swimming and diving won five championships and finished as runner-up 10 times. This makes it kind of like a real university, like right up there with all the other ones with a football team.”. Well, those who have waited for the day they would have the opportunity to see a Golden Grizzlies team take to a football field won’t have to wait much longer, as Oakland is preparing for a new season after receiving initial approval in the fall of 2012. Another of Parsons' former players, Jason Perry, will serve as an assistant to Pogue. Pictured, from left, are Nick Taylor, head coach Al Manfroni and Michael Wille. After a lot of work and preparation by OU Football Club President David Brosky, Advisor Nic Bongers, head coach Al Manfroni, as well as the players, Oakland isn’t far away from competing in its inaugural game, as the Golden Grizzlies are scheduled to take on the University of Michigan-Flint in a road contest at 4 p.m. Sept. 21 at Burton Atherton High School in Burton, Mich. In the 2011–12 season, Oakland beat Tennessee for the second year in a row 89–81. OU plays teams such as Ohio State, Miami (OH), UW-Milwaukee, and Wright State club football teams, as well as a varsity teams in Concordia (AnnArbor), Olivet, and Defiance. All Right Reserved. Published August 14, 2013. A member of the Horizon League, Oakland University sponsors teams in eight men's and ten women's NCAA sanctioned sports.[2]. Oakland Coliseum provides a memorable setting for any outdoor event. This is a List of NCAA Division I programs— colleges and universities that are members of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association but do not sponsor varsity football teams. Both basketball teams host games at the Athletics Center O'rena. In fall of 2012, Oakland University approved a club football team. Other teams in the NCFA include George Mason University, the University of South Carolina and the University of Alabama. “We should be happy we got football now,” said Bongers, who is also a wide receiver on the team. 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