RUF/NEKS

Spirit squad of the Oklahoma Sooners

The RUF/NEKS are the nation's oldest all male spirit squad of its kind for the University of Oklahoma and the 2nd oldest in the world.

The earliest years of this student organization are not well known. The RUF/NEKS began in the late 1910s. In December 1915 at a basketball game between Oklahoma and Oklahoma A&M a group of football players were yelling, cheering, and causing a ruckus. An elderly woman shouted, "Sit down and be quiet you roughnecks!" The name was later changed to RUF/NEKS. The founder of the RUF/NEKS was Charles Leslie High. but less than a dozen are chosen.

Of all the traditions that the RUF/NEKS have, this is the most visible. Every home football game when the team runs onto the field, the RUF/NEKS sprint down the field with OU flags, and slide into the goalpost. At the goalpost they say a chant that is named "FADADA". The "FADADA" originated as a ritual to scare snakes out of the endzone during early OU games. The first appearance of the RUF/NEKS ceremonial shotguns was in 1955, since then, the sound has become synonymous with home football games at the University of Oklahoma. The most notable job of the RUF/NEKS is the driving of the Sooner Schooner during football games. This tradition started in 1965. The ponies that pull the Conestoga wagon are taken care of by local Oklahoma residents who drive them to Norman. Once there, the ponies are prepped and strapped to the Schooner by the RUF/NEKS. After every OU score, a selected member, called the "Sooner Schooner Driver," drives the Schooner out onto the field to the cheers of 85,000 fans. Starting in the 1980s, each year on the Monday before the Showdown, the RUF/NEKS apply a fresh coat of paint to the painting in the South Oval that reads "Beat the Hell Out of Texas." Due to construction along the South Oval, this part of the concrete was recently removed to make way for a new pedestrian walkway. The "Beat the Hell Out of Texas" has been moved on campus between Nielsen and Ellison Hall. Once painted, it is expected that the OU Community attempts to keep the painting as pristine as possible so it can be viewed by fans all year long. Every home game, the RUF/NEKS and the Sooner Schooner parade down Lindsey Street several hours before kickoff, greeting and delighting fans from all over with chants to generate excitement through campus.

Throughout their history, the RUF/NEKS have had their fair share of notable instances. In the 1985 Orange Bowl, the Schooner came onto the playing field to celebrate a field goal but received a penalty flag for unsportsmanlike conduct. After the loss of yards resulting from the penalty, the field goal repeat attempt was blocked and the OU football team went on to lose the game. They have had to apologize to head coach Bob Stoops twice: once for knocking him down during a pre game run down the field at the Independence Bowl, and another time for patting him on the butt with their paddles, also during a pre game run down the field. DeLone collided with the RUF/NEK, throwing him eight feet back into a brick wall injuring his head, back and spine and knocking out two teeth. DeLone was charged by the Cleveland County District Attorney's Office with having acted intentionally, but he was acquitted. In 2007, all current RUF/NEKS were banned from participating in official University of Oklahoma sporting events. During the 2007 football season, RUF/NEK alumni stepped in to cover games. Following this the organization was placed under the Athletic Department control making it an official University spirit organization.