OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma Secondary Schools Activities Association announced Wednesday a unanimous decision to award the University of Central Oklahoma a new five-year deal to host the state's 11-man football championships through 2027.
The OSSAA board voted 12-0 in favor of a bid submitted last week by the UCO athletic department. The University of Tulsa and East Central University also submitted bids to host the state championships. Central Oklahoma has hosted the football state championships at Chad Richison Stadium since 2019.
"This is tremendous news for UCO and the City of Edmond," UCO Director of Athletics Stan Wagnon said. "It's easy to point to our facilities and location in a deal like this, but I truly believe what makes UCO the perfect host for this event is our people and hospitality. We provide a workforce of more than 140 people per game to achieve a higher standard of care, and our people bring a spirit of service that recognizes the high stakes of these games and is rooted in the joy of receiving visitors to our campus.
"It's important also to recognize the role Chad Richison has played in transforming our stadium into the perfect setting for these games. Through his vision to beautify our stadium and generous support to expand it, it's not only the right size with the right amenities, but it's also become a beautiful and unique setting unlike any other stadium in Oklahoma."
Championship Central has become the official moniker of the state football championships over the last few years at UCO. The first two weekends in December, seven state title games are played in downtown Edmond, with tens of thousands of fans coming to campus from all over the state of Oklahoma.
UCO hosted all seven state championship games in 2019 on a one-year deal before the OSSAA awarded the university with a three-year contract from 2020-22. Now Central Oklahoma will host all of the games for the next five seasons from 2023-27.
CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL
- UCO is located within three miles of I-35 and less than a mile north of historic Route 66
- 32 different schools have advanced to the championship games since 2019
- 10 traveled less than 50 one-way miles to UCO, another 10 traveled between 51-105 one-way miles, and 27 of 32 have been within 121 miles of UCO
- Average one-way mileage to UCO has been 83.4 miles
CHAD RICHISON STADIUM
- Permanent seating for 12,000-plus, comfortably balanced at 7,600 west and 4,600 east (expanded 2022)
- Premier artificial playing surface (FieldTurf Vertex Core), installed June 2022.
- State of the art endzone facility featuring locker rooms for teams and officials and multiple entertainment spaces
- 133 toilet fixtures at concourse level (73 west, 60 east), plus concessions booths on both sides
- Coming August 2023, a 42-foot wide 10mm LED videoboard overlooking the south end and a pair of 90-foot LED ribbon displays atop the north endzone facility
OSSAA
- The Oklahoma Secondary Schools Activities Association is the governing body of high school sports in the state of Oklahoma
- The OSSAA offers 11-man football state championships in Class 6A-I, 6A-II, 5A, 4A, 3A, 2A, and Class A
- 255 schools play football in those seven classifications
- The football playing season begins in August with Week Zero and concludes with state championships in December
FUTURE DATES
- November 30, December 1, 2 and 9 in 2023
- December 5, 6, 7, 13 and 14 in 2024
- December 4, 5, 6, 12 and 13 in 2025
- December 3, 4, 5, 11 and 12 in 2026
- December 2, 3, 4 10 and 11 in 2027
