OU Fans Cheer On Sooners In Final Four At Tulsa Watch Party

The OU vs. Villanova Final Four matchup is in full swing. Getting to this point has been 14 years in the making.

At the start of the game, many fans at the OU Club of Tulsa's watch party were optimistic about the outcome.

"OU, without a doubt," Dave Gladd said.

But as the time ticked by and the lead continued to slip away, an unfortunate reality set in.

"I'm really nervous, as you can tell," Brian Benitez said. "Hopefully they pull it out hopefully they win."

The Sooners' run to the championship would ended with a crushing 95-51 loss.

Considering the teams year long fight to this point, fans like Benitez won't abandon them.

"It's gonna be a something hard to get over," he said. "Hopefully we have a better run next year if they get knocked out."

The Sooners run to the Final Four is the perfect setting for the OU club of Tulsa to inform the public what they do for OU fans. To be a part of the club, you don't need to be an OU graduate.

"All we try to do is tap in to the OU spirit to help build a club and make money for those scholarships, and then of course when we're in a situation like this -- where there's a lot of people that aren't in the club and they are OU fans -- we're recruiting them," Gladd said.

The club has nine scholarships it awards to current students and students planning to go to the Norman or Tulsa campus.

Right now, six of the scholarships are fully funded, but they still need help getting the other three.

"For the money we give a student, the university also waives that amount," Gladd said. "So if we give a young person $2,500, that's worth actually $5,000 to them."

Club representatives say your donation could be what the next OU superstar needs to succeed.

The club holds similar fundraising and recruitment events throughout the year. You can find out how to get involved by clicking here.