No. 21 Raised

NORMAN - It was a special night at the Lloyd Noble Center as the University of Oklahoma raised No. 21 in honor of Stacey Dales.

Dales became the first female athlete to have her number honored by the University in all women's varsity sports. The two time All-American received what President David L. Boren referred to as the “highest honor a student-athlete at the University can receive.”

Dales was joined on the court by President Boren, Director of Athletics Joe Castiglione, her teammates from the 2002 team that reached the Final Four and finished runner up, as well as the current OU squad.

“Tonight was over the top, amazing and really I'm just really speechless. I've been sort of speechless throughout this process,” Dales said in the postgame press conference. “It was interesting coming here tonight because I saw some of my old teammates, teammates that you go through five years and you go through so many ups and downs with the development of the program, but then the players that came before the players that are here now.”

Dales, who is now in her sixth year working for the NFLNetwork, as well as CBS as a football commentator and analyst, graduated with distinction from the University of Oklahoma in 2002 with a bachelor's degree in communication. She carried a 4.0 GPA during the magical 2002 season, and was awarded the All Sports Academic All-American of the year.

Former NFL players and current members of the NFL Network such as Kurt Warner, Michael Irvin, Marshall Faulk and Rich Eisen all sent their congratulations to Dales with special messages that were displayed on the video board throughout the evening.

“The NFL Network has become my family in television. To see those guys who have achieved some much in other areas of sports is second to none," Dales said. “I work with these guys every Thursday and Sunday, and to hear their remarks, it was truly wonderful… Next time I see them, I am going to have to give them a big hug.”

Dales, who has been a special part and role model in women's sports at the university was especially humble to receive the honor, but most of all was excited for the future success of women's sports at Oklahoma.

“I look at the jersey as a representation of the young women that have been part of this university athletic landscape for so long,” Dales said. “That will continue and I'm really excited to see more jerseys raised.”

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Related News

Related Videos

Sponsors