ROTC Students Continue Tradition Of Running Game Ball To Cotton Bowl

2022 marks the 25th anniversary of an OU tradition as men and women from the Naval ROTC met at Gaylord Family Memorial Stadium Wednesday morning to get OU's game ball from Norman to Dallas.

The 200-mile journey will take about three days of stamina to get the ball across the Red River.

Related: OU ROTC Program Running OU-Texas Game Ball From Norman To Dallas

Two NROTC members will run at a time. They will trade off with the men and women taking breaks inside a van, which will follow them.

At the end of the run, OU and Texas members of ROTC will compete in flag football, soccer and tug of war. The group who wins those competitions is said to win the football game Saturday.

OU coach Brent Venables handed off the game ball to Battalion Commander Jermaine Wells, who hails from from Lawton.

Wells and OU president Joseph Harroz, Jr. took the first sprint down to Texas.

"Our physical fitness program is intense,” Wells said. “We do a lot of running and body weight exercises. We are not training for this, but the training we do gets us prepared.” 

There is no doubt that this pigskin will make it to the Cotton Bowl Stadium, but who will be throwing it?

Related: OU’s Venables Updates Dillon Gabriel’s Status Following Week 5 Head Injury

That is the question Sooner fans everywhere are asking.