Ranking Sports Illustrated's iconic Oklahoma covers with SI's future in flux

Throughout the past few decades, Sports Illustrated has captured the times of the sports world with its magazine covers.

The eye-catching photos have long been a point of pride for the publication, which released its first issue in 1954. But now the entire operation is in jeopardy.

The Arena Group, which operates Sports Illustrated, announced Friday that it will be "laying off staff that work on the SI brand." This comes after it had its license to operate the publication revoked.

It's a time of uncertainty. But Arena Group's vice president of growth for sports, Matthew Lombardi, released a statement on the publication's future.

"We are going to continue to operate Sports Illustrated," Lombardi said. "Either Arena or someone else is going to have the license to operate Sports Illustrated."

Here's a look at the top 10 Sports Illustrated magazine covers that feature OU players.

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10. 'We Got This Dance' with Buddy Hield, 2016

Spoiler alert: This list will mostly consist of OU football players.

But let's tip things off with former OU men's basketball guard Buddy Hield, who rose to national stardom during the 2015-16 campaign. He averaged 25 points on 45.7% shooting from deep and was named the Naismith College Player of the Year.

Hield's cover included a prediction by Sports Illustrated's staff that OU would reach the NCAA Tournament's Final Four. That prediction proved to true, as Hield led the Sooners there for the first time since 2002.

9. 'Clash Of Wills At Oklahoma' with Marcus Dupree, 1983

The oversized aviator glasses. The well-maintained jheri curl. Marcus Dupree's cover had it all.

But it also had some foreshadowing. Its text read "Heisman hopeful Marcus Dupree: Can he coexist with his coach?"

The answer was no for Dupree, who struggled to get in the good graces of then-head coach Barry Switzer during the 1983 campaign. He ran for 369 yards and three touchdowns, and he ultimately left the program.

8. 'Saturday Showdown' with Adrian Peterson, 2004

Adrian Peterson became a household name in 2004.

The OU freshman ran for 1,925 yards and 15 touchdowns on 339 carries, and he landed on the cover of Sports Illustrated as a result.

It proved to be just the beginning for Peterson. He finished his three-year college career with 4,041 rushing yards and 42 total touchdowns.

7. 'The Scramble For Football's Oscar' with Steve Owens, 1969

Steve Owens' cover is a close-up shot of his face.

It's a simple one, but the game of football was also simpler in 1969. Teams rolled out run-heavy offenses, and OU was no different.

Owens ran the ball 358 times for 1,523 yards and 23 touchdowns during the 1969 campaign. He won the Heisman Trophy, becoming just the second OU player at the time to do so.

6. 'Welcome To The Baker Mayfield Show' with Baker Mayfield, 2017

"Welcome to The Baker Mayfield Show."

That's the text that ran across the cover as Mayfield leaped through the air, striking a Heisman pose in the process. It was a fitting image for the former OU quarterback, who took the nation by storm during the 2017 campaign.

Mayfield threw for 4,627 yards and 43 touchdowns. He also won the Heisman Trophy and led OU to the College Football Playoff semifinal.

5. 'Oklahoma, O.K.' with Billy Sims, 1977

Billy Sims' 1977 cover features him hurdling an Ohio State defender.

The OU running back then improved his game by leaps and bounds the following season. After rushing for 406 yards and six touchdowns in 1977, he ran for 1,762 yards and 20 touchdowns in 1978.

Sims' meteoric rise earned him the 1978 Heisman Trophy. He became the third OU player to receive the honor.

4. 'Irresistible Oklahoma meets Immovable Nebraska' with Greg Pruitt, 1971

Sports Illustrated previewed a highly-anticipated game between undefeated OU and undefeated Nebraska on this cover.

It consisted of a photo of OU's Greg Pruitt and Nebraska's Bob Terrio, and the text read "Irresistible Oklahoma meets immovable Nebraska."

The game lived up to the hype. Nebraska earned a 35-31 win in what's now known as "The Game of the Century."

3. 'Perfect!' with Josh Heupel, 2000

Josh Heupel can be seen letting it fly on this cover.

And he did a lot of that during the 2000 campaign. The OU quarterback threw for 3,392 yards and 20 touchdowns, and he was named the AP College Football Player of the Year.

Heupel came second in the Heisman Trophy that year, but he got an even better accolade. He led undefeated OU to a national championship.

2. 'College Football 1975' with Steve Davis, 1975

This cover is Oklahoma.

It has legendary head coach Barry Switzer. It has the storied Owen Field. It has Steve Davis and Joe Washington, who led OU to a 1975 national championship.

It's a classic cover, making it worthy of the No. 2 spot on this list.

1. '1986 College & Pro Football Spectacular' with Brian Bosworth, 1986

Brian Bosworth was a cultural icon in the 1980s.

He rocked a mullet. He drove a white Corvette. And the bulky linebacker looked like Arnold Schwarzenegger if he had a love for football.

Throw in Chicago Bears quarterback Jim McMahon, another cultural icon, and it doesn't get any better than this 1986 Sports Illustrated cover.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma's Sports Illustrated covers: Ranking iconic SI Sooners covers