University of Oklahoma Athletics
People Like Lytle Allow Sooners to Succeed
March 21, 2012 | Athletics
NORMAN, Okla. -- Ronn Lytle has been to Alaska to watch the Sooners play basketball.
He's been to Miami, Albany, N.Y., and more than 40 other cities to check out an Oklahoma basketball or football game.
So, driving the 500-mile roundtrip from his home in Coldwater, Kan., is never really that big of a deal for Lytle.
That's what you do when you love your team.
That's what you do when you're Lytle and your Sooner love goes all the way back to 1950 and as recently as an OU women's NCAA tournament game on a Tuesday night in Norman.
"I'm a fan," said Lytle, who grew up in Coldwater, went to Wichita State before getting a graduate degree from OU. His wife Linda and daughter also graduated from OU. "I love these kids. I enjoy watching kids excel."
And thanks to the donations from Lytle and more than 10,000 others who raised more than $20 million in donations last year, Oklahoma's 600-plus student-athletes are being equipped with the tools to pursue all their scholastic and athletic goals.
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Lytle makes about 20 trips a year to Norman -- goes to every home football game and most of the home games for the OU men's and women's basketball teams. He also has generously contributed to a number of different capital projects at Oklahoma, including a donation to the construction of Headington Hall, the new athletics housing development.
The Sooner Club counts on folks like Lytle, who not only are big fans, but are interested in seeing Sooner student-athletes succeed off the field and court.
"You just fall in love with the kids," he said. "You want to be part of it and root for them. Supporting them is being part of their lives. They may not sense it, but I know it makes a difference."
It does.
The Sooner Club surpassed $20 million in donations for the first time in the program's history. Since the OU Athletics Department is entirely self-supporting and receives no state funds, subsidies or student fees, it relies on people like Lytle and other private support for scholarships and to cover the resources necessary to maintain a championship level program.
"These kids are getting an education and can participate in a sport they love," Lytle said. "That's just one of the reasons to give, and there are lots of motives."
Lytle worked in Dallas, sold his mortgage company and moved back to Coldwater in western Kansas. He's been coming and going from Norman regularly for the past 12 years.
So, how much longer can Lytle keep it up?
Well, he said he wanted to definitely make trips to see the Sooners play football at Ohio State, Tennessee, LSU and Notre Dame in the next eight or so years.
"I'm 71 years old," he said. "I hope I can keep doing this a lot longer."
For more information on joining the Sooner Club, or to renew your membership, visit TheSoonerClub.com or contact the Sooner Club office at (405) 325-8000 or toll-free at (866) Sooner Club.
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