The Last Time OSU Wasn’t In The NCAAs

Photo Attribution: US Presswire

The Cowboy golf team ended its UCLA basketball-esque streak in Ann Arbor on Saturday when it finished +11 at the NCAA golf regionals, 14 shots back of 5th place TCU (top five from each regional make the NCAA tournament).

OSU hasn’t missed the NCAA Championships since it introduced golf as a varsity sport in 1947. Like, literally never missed them.

Here are a few other stats from the streak:

– In a cruel twist of irony, Ann Arbor is actually where the streak began, when the Cowboys finished 5th at the’47 NCAAs, 12 shots behind LSU.

– From then until now they’ve posted 55 top tens, 51(!) top fives, 29 top threes, and won it 10 times.

– Over a 14-year span from 1975 to ’88, OSU finished first or second at the NCAA Championship 13 times.

– In its 65 previous NCAA Championship appearances, OSU’s average finish is 5.2, an NCAA record.

– OSU’s wrestling team missed the NCAAs once from 1947-2012 also. So in the last 132 wrestling/golf championships, OSU has played for the title in 130 of them. Is that good?

Also, just to give you some better context on how long it’s been, here are some facts and figures from the year 1946 (the last time OSU wasn’t in the NCAA Championships):

Cost of new house – $5,600
Average salary – $2,500 (a year!)
Gas – $0.15 (a gallon!)
Cost of a new car – $1,120
Men’s ties – $1.50 (some of you probably still pay this)

Here were your popular musicians…

Frank Sinatra
Bing Crosby
Duke Ellington

And here are a few people who weren’t even born yet…

Stephen King
Elton John
George W. Bush
David Letterman
O. J. Simpson