Oakland City, IN - Oakland City University President Dr. Ron Dempsey and Director of Athletics
T-Ray Fletcher have announced the addition of Mighty Oaks sprint football. Southern Indiana's first collegiate football program since 1997 will begin competing in the fall of 2023.
The Mighty Oaks will become a member of the Midwest Sprint Football League, joining Fontbonne University, Quincy University, St. Mary-of-the-Woods College, Calumet College of St. Joseph, Midway University, and Bellarmine University. Home games and practices will be held on the Wood Memorial High School football field, and the coaching staff offices will be in the OCU Foundation Building, located a block away from the field.
A press conference was held in the Johnson Center on the Oakland City University campus on Tuesday, July 19, at 2:00 pm. Dr. Dempsey and Mr. Fletcher addressed the process of adding sprint football to the OCU athletic department, other athletic improvements and additions, and introduced
Todd Miller as the sprint football head coach.
Coach Miller has been hired as the head coach, and will begin recruiting immediately. He was most recently the defensive coordinator at Asbury High School in Alabama, but also has spent time on staff at the University of Pikeville, Waldorf University, Kentucky Christian University, among others. He, along with his wife and two sons, will be relocating to Oakland City in the near future.
In addition to the addition of sprint football, Dr. Dempsey also announced the addition of marching band, the expansion of the cross country program into a full indoor/outdoor track & field and cross country program, and the addition of eSports in the very near future. Mr. Fletcher also noted the athletic facility improvements that are ongoing, including updates to the Johnson Center with a newly resurfaced and branded floor, additional training room facilities, and renovated locker rooms, the Konkler Baseball Complex and the Drs. Donald & Mary Ann Wilder Tennis Center, which are both currently under construction, and the plans to add an on-campus softball field and a new athletic training complex.
