If you’re looking for one of the most under-appreciated programs in college basketball history, look no further than the Tulsa Golden Hurricanes. Most fans probably think it’s easy to find cheap Tulsa basketball tickets. But that’s not necessarily the case. The Golden Hurricanes have a history of attracting great coaches who go on to achieve great things elsewhere. However, most of them tend to leave their mark on the program, causing last-minute Tulsa basketball tickets to sell like hotcakes whenever the Golden Hurricanes put a competitive team on the court.

Coaching Parade

Tulsa basketball first came alive in the 1950s under head coach Clarence Iba, the brother of longtime Tulsa coach and Hall of Famer Henry Iba. Clarence Iba led the Golden Hurricanes to their first conference title and NCAA Tournament appearance in 1955. He was also the first of many prominent head coaches who helped to advance their careers during their time at Tulsa.

Before winning a national championship at Arkansas, Nolan Richardson had five outstanding seasons at Tulsa that included an NIT championship and three NCAA Tournament appearances. Tubby Smith guided Tulsa to back-to-back conference titles and Sweet 16 appearances in 1994 and 1995 before achieving big things for Georgia and Kentucky. Also, Bill Self spent three seasons at Tulsa, going 74-27 and taking the Golden Hurricanes to the Elite Eight in 2000, giving Tulsa the program’s high watermark before doing great things at Illinois and Kansas.

Bright Future

In 2014, Tulsa basketball moved up in the world by joining the American Athletic Conference, one of the top mid-major leagues in the country that includes notable programs like Cincinnati, Wichita State, and Memphis. The move to the AAC coincided with the arrival of head coach Frank Haith. After taking a few years to stabilize the program, Haith led the Golden Hurricanes to a share of the AAC regular-season title during the 2019-20 season, setting the stage for Tulsa to remain one of the heavyweights in the AAC for many years to come.