Patty Gasso hints at wanting to play softball in Oklahoma's football stadium

Oklahoma softball coach Patty Gasso wants to see the Sooners play a game at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Taking inspiration from Nebraska, which is set to host a volleyball matchup in its football stadium in August, Gasso hinted at asking OU athletic director Joe Castiglione for a similar setup.

““Women’s volleyball at Nebraska is putting a court (in) the middle of their football field and they’ve sold out 80,000 (seats) for that game,” Gasso said Sunday following a series sweep of Kansas. “So you know what my next conversation with Joe Castiglione is going to be.”

Oklahoma softball has sold out more than 60 straight games at Marita Hynes Field, which has a capacity of just over 1,300. By comparison, the Sooners football field seats more than 80,000. The Sooners are set to break in a new softball stadium potentially as soon as next season that will seat around 4,000.

“Look at this stadium because you won’t be sitting in it next year,” Gasso said. “You want to come down and get a little dirt, put it in a little (jar), save it, because I don’t know if it’s going away or not. Everybody asks me that.”

Gasso has led Oklahoma on one of the most dominant runs in all of college sports with five Women’s College World Series wins over the past decade and six total as a coach. She is also the winningest active coach in the sport and fifth all-time.

That success has led to plenty of support for the program from Sooners. Fans. Last month, a matchup against Texas that was held at Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City broke the NCAA record for attendance as 8,930 people showed up.

With that in mind, the Sooners could easily set the record again if they held a game in the football stadium. It’s certainly fun to imagine what the atmosphere would be like if that becomes reality.

Oklahoma softball wins 11th straight regular season Big 12 title

With the sweep of Kansas this past weekend, Oklahoma claimed the regular season Big 12 championship for the 11th straight year. The Sooners are a perfect 15-0 in conference play and 45-1 overall with four games remaining in the regular season.

OU has outscored opponents 385-37 this season while allowing just 11 runs in Big 12 play. Coming off of two straight national championships in 2021 and 2022, they appear to once again be the favorite for a threepeat in the WCWS.

Before then, the Sooners wrap up regular season play with a game against Tulsa on Tuesday and a series against No. 7 Oklahoma State this weekend. After that, they’ll receive a bye to begin the Big 12 Tournament.