Oklahoma Sooners
Encyclopedia
The University of Oklahoma
features 19 varsity sports teams. Both men's and women's teams are called the Sooners, a nickname given to the early participants in the land rush
es which initially opened the Oklahoma Indian Territory to non-native settlement. They participate in the NCAA's
Division I-A, in the Big 12 Conference
. The University's current athletic director is Joe Castiglione
.
In 2002, The University of Oklahoma was ranked as the 3rd best college sports program in America by Sports Illustrated
. When combined with Blake Griffin
's John Wooden Award and Sam Bradford
's Heisman Trophy
, Oklahoma became the second school to have a top winner in both basketball and football in the same year (Gary Beban
won the Heisman Trophy and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
won the USBWA "Player of the Year" award in 1968 for UCLA).
The University of Oklahoma was a charter member of the Southwest Athletic Conference
(SWC) during its formation in 1914. Five years later, in 1919, OU left the SWC and joined the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association. In 1928, this conference split, and OU remained aligned with the teams that formed the Big Six Conference. Over the next 31 years, more schools were added and the conference underwent several name changes, incrementing the number each time up to the Big Eight Conference
where it remained until 1996. Four more universities were added then and the name was changed one more time to its current form: the Big 12 Conference
.
The Oklahoma Sooners are represented in the following NCAA Division I varsity sports:
The Sooners have been participating in college football
since 1895. Calling Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
at Owen Field home, the team has won numerous bowl games, 41 conference championships (including every Big Seven championship awarded), and seven Associated Press
National Championships, making the Sooners football program the most decorated in the Big 12
.
Oklahoma has scored the most points in Division I-A football history despite the fact they have played over 60 fewer games than the second place school on that list. OU also has the highest winning percentage of any team since the start of the AP poll in 1936.
The Sooners possess seven national championships in football, with the 1950, 1955, 1956, 1974, 1975, 1985, and 2000 seasons featuring the top team in the Associated Press
final poll, and the 2000 Bowl Championship Series
National Championship as well. This is 2nd to the Alabama Crimson Tide and Notre Dame Fighting Irish
and tied with the USC Trojans
for the most national titles of any Division I college football team after the end of World War II (which is commonly used as the division between eras in college football).
In addition to these seven acknowledged national championships there are also nine additional years in which the NCAA's official record book recognizes the Sooners as national champions: 1949, 1953, 1957, 1967, 1973, 1978, 1980, 1986, 2003. The University of Oklahoma
does not acknowledge these additional "championships", as they were not awarded by the Associated Press
, United Press International
(UPI), USA Today Coaches Poll, or the Bowl Championship Series
(BCS).
Individual success is also a major part of Oklahoma football; five Heisman Trophy
winners (Billy Vessels
, Steve Owens
, Billy Sims
, Jason White
and Sam Bradford
) are surrounded by many other award winners, including Adrian Peterson, Joe Washington
, Brian Bosworth
, Tony Casillas, Greg Pruitt
, Josh Heupel
, Jerry Tubbs
, Rocky Calmus, Granville Liggins
, Teddy Lehman
, Lee Roy Selmon
, Roy Williams
, Tommy McDonald, Mark Clayton, Tommie Harris
, J.C. Watts
, Keith Jackson and Jammal Brown
. More than a dozen Sooner players have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame
. Oklahoma has more Butkus award winners than any other school.
Legendary coaches Bennie Owen
, Bud Wilkinson
, and Barry Switzer
have passed through the gameday tunnel for the Sooners, each on their way to the College Football Hall of Fame. Owen was the first highly successful coach at OU and was a major advocate of the forward pass, which at the turn of the century was not popular. The playing surface at Oklahoma's Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
is popularly known as Owen Field in honor of his long tenure and devotion to the university. Wilkinson left many imprints on the game, such as the 5-2 defense
with five linemen and two linebackers; the perfection of the Split-T
, an early option offense; three national championships; and his teams set the NCAA Division 1 record for consecutive wins at 47. The record of 47 straight wins is widely regarded as one of the great achievements in sports, and a streak that is unlikely to be broken (started October 10, 1953 vs. Texas and ended in 1957 with a loss to Notre Dame 7–0). Switzer won three national championships (The National Championship of 1975 is highly controversial, Arizona State went 12–0 that season while Oklahoma was 11–1) and forged arguably the fiercest rushing offense ever, the Oklahoma wishbone formation
, throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Though the end of Switzer's tenure at Oklahoma was marked by controversy and poor player behavior, he is generally well regarded by both his past players and Sooner fans. During his 16 years as the Sooner's head coach, Switzer led his team to 12 conference championships and never lost more than two games in a row. His winning percentage of .837 stands as the fourth highest in the history of 1-A football. Other Hall of Fame coaches whose tenure included stints at the University of Oklahoma are Lawrence "Biff" Jones
and Jim Tatum.
team is highly successful and rose to national prominence since the early 80’s with head coach Billy Tubbs
and three time All-American power forward Wayman Tisdale
. It currently plays in the Lloyd Noble Center
, which came to be known as the house Alvan Adams
built and Tisdale filled. While the team has never won a national championship, it ranks second in most tournament wins without a championship behind Illinois
. The team played in the 1988 national championship game but lost to Kansas
, despite having beaten the Jayhawks three times earlier in the season, including the Big 8 Championship Game in Kansas City. The program has won a combined twenty regular-season and tournament conference championships.
The Sooners headed into the 2005–06 season ranked No. 5 in the AP preseason poll, led by Taj Gray
, Kevin Bookout
, Terrell Everett
, and David Godbold, but had a disappointing early season. After the emergence of Michael Neal
as a potential star, the Sooners salvaged a No. 3 seed in the Big 12 Conference Tournament but lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
On March 29, 2006, Kelvin Sampson
left the University of Oklahoma to become the head basketball coach at Indiana University
. 13 days later, on April 11, 2006, Oklahoma Athletic Director Joe Castiglione named Jeff Capel III
the new head coach. Capel encountered trouble in his first few months as several players who had been recruited by Sampson backed out of their commitments. Also, under Sampson's watch, Oklahoma was placed under a three-year investigation by the NCAA for recruiting violations. At the end of the their investigation, the NCAA issued a report citing more than 550 illegal calls made by Sampson and his staff to 17 different recruits. The NCAA barred Sampson from recruiting off campus and making phone calls for one year, ending May 24, 2007. The Sooners looked to continue a streak of 12 consecutive postseason tournament appearances in 2006–2007, but were disappointed when they did not receive a bid for either the NCAA Tournament or the NIT.
In the 2009 NBA draft, the Sooners produced the No. 1 overall draft selection Blake Griffin
.
The men's gymnastics program at OU is headed by coach Mark Williams. It has won five of the last seven NCAA Men's Gymnastics championship
s, winning the title in 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006 and 2008 (they finished second behind Penn State in 2004 and 2007). Only Oklahoma and Penn State have won the NCAA title since 2000, with the exception of Ohio State in 2001. They won the 2006 title with very little experience on the team as 50% of the members were freshmen and just 21% were upperclassmen (seven freshmen, four sophomores, one junior, and two seniors). Teams from OU also won national championships in 1977, 1978, and 1991.
Gymnastics began at the school in 1902. The program folded in 1917 when the original coach left. The program was revived in 1965 with the new coach, Russ Porterfield having to beg students to join the squad. Within 6 years, OU had its first winning season. OU's next coach, Paul Ziert, turned the program into one of national prominence. He led OU to two national championships in 1977 and 1978. One of Ziert's athletes, Greg Buwick, would replace him as head coach in 1980 and would lead the team to its third national title in 1991. Buwick's assistant of 12 years, Mark Williams, took over the head coaching position in 2000 and has continued OU's tradition of gymnastics excellence. OU has produced more Nissen Award winners than any other university and is the only school to have back-to-back Nissen Award winners.
, named after famed player Dale Mitchell. The current coach is Sunny Golloway
. The baseball program was a source of recent controversy when the head coach, Larry Cochell
, resigned after making racially insensitive remarks about one of the players on the team.
During the 2005–2006 season, the Sooners were given a home regional at L. Dale Mitchell Park and were named the No. 1 seed. They beat the University of Houston
, Texas Christian University
, and Wichita State University
to win the regional and advanced to a Super Regional where they were defeated by Rice University
in a best-of-three series. Oregon State University
went on to win the College World Series
that year.
Prior to 2006, the Sooners hosted regionals at minor league parks in Oklahoma City, first All Sports Stadium
and then AT&T Bricktown Ballpark
. Scheduling conflicts with the Oklahoma Redhawks
, the Class AAA affiliate of the Houston Astros
, led OU to bid for future regionals at its on-campus stadium.
, that the team became something Sooners would be proud of. At one time the team drew an average of 65 people per game, now the Sooners are one of the nation's leaders in attendance. In 2002, Oklahoma advanced to the National Title game before losing to the Connecticut Huskies
.
The wrestling program is the fourth most decorated in college wrestling, having won seven national championships in 1936, 1951, 1952, 1957, 1960, 1963 and 1974.
The Sooners are considered a power in their own right and Bedlam
matches draw an enormous crowd. There are numerous All-Americans and National Champions.
Their greatest wrestlers are 3-time NCAA Champion and NCAA Outstanding Wrestler Mickey Martin; 2-time NCAA Champion and 2-time NCAA Outstanding Wrestler Tommy Evans; 3-time NCAA Champion and 2-time Outstanding Wrestler Dan Hodge (Hodge was never taken down and pinned his way through the NCAA's his Senior year); NCAA, World and Olympic Champion Wayne Wells; 3-time NCAA Champion, NCAA Outstanding Wrestler, 2-time World Champion and Olympic Champion Mark Schultz; NCAA Champion, World Champion, and Olympic Champion Dave Schultz; 2-time NCAA and World Champion Melvin Douglas.
The University of Oklahoma women's rowing team practices in the Oklahoma City River (formerly the Canadian River), located in the Bricktown area of Oklahoma City. The river was designated as a U.S. Olympic Training Center for the sports of kayaking, canoeing and rowing on July 28, 2009. The University's boathouse is expected to be completed in early 2011.
The University of Texas
is one rival of the Sooners. Regardless of the trademark implications, inverted versions of the Longhorn
mascot can be seen on automobiles all over the Norman campus, and many T-shirts referring to the rivalry present the word "Texas" in mirror image, upside-down, or possibly surrounded by obscenities. A reminder of the rivalry shared by these two schools was painted on the South Oval of the OU campus for many years, and was recently replicated near the Library clock tower due to construction at its original site.
The annual game between the schools at the Cotton Bowl
in Dallas, Texas, known as the Red River Rivalry
, is a game that draws attention from the college football world.
Poll, making the games of great importance in deciding the national championship. Historically, the rivalry's most distinguishing quality has been the grudging respect and appreciation between the two tradition-rich programs. Also of note is the game's former status as the premier Thanksgiving Day game for the middle of the country. The Sooners
and Cornhuskers
went head-to-head in the 2006 Big 12 Championship Game, with Oklahoma winning the conference title by the score of 21–7. The two teams also met in the 2010 Big 12 Championship Game, with Oklahoma again the victor in a close game by a score of 23–20.
and is often referred to as the "Bedlam Series
." It is normally played as a home-and-home series with games alternating between Norman
and Stillwater
, with the exception of the baseball teams, who often play at AT&T Bricktown Ballpark
in Oklahoma City
or ONEOK Field in Tulsa. Oklahoma currently leads the series 82–16–7 in football, and 124–88 in basketball In baseball the series is tied at 147–147, and in wrestling Oklahoma trails the series 27–128–9.
", a version of "Boola Boola", the fight song of Yale University
, combined with a version of "I'm a Tar Heel Born", the fight song of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
. "Boomer Sooner" was written by Arthur M. Alden in 1905. Other songs played at athletic events by The Pride of Oklahoma Marching Band
are a version of Rodgers and Hammerstein
's "Oklahoma!
", "OK Oklahoma", played after extra points, and the "OU Chant
." At home games, The Pride of Oklahoma Marching Band plays that visiting team's "fight song" while facing their fans.
The Mascot present at all football games is the Sooner Schooner
, a Conestoga wagon
, pulled by two crème white ponies, Boomer and Sooner. The caretakers of the wagon are the spirit group called the RUF/NEKS
, who shoot off modified shotguns in celebration of scores by the home team. The group was launched in 1915 when an elderly female spectator at an OU-Oklahoma A&M basketball game chided the group for raising hell ("Sit down and be quiet, you roughnecks!")
Recently, in time for the 2005 football season, two new mascots, based on the ponies who pull the Schooner, were created, named appropriately, Boomer and Sooner
. They are costumes of two identical (except for eye color) crème white ponies. Before, the Boomer and Sooner costume mascots, OU was also represented by Top Dawg. Top Dawg did some appearances at football games, but was primarily used at wrestling and basketball events.
The official school colors are Crimson and Cream, with red and white sometimes used as substitutes for simplicity. The school logo is an interlocking OU design and was first used on football helmets in 1967.
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...
features 19 varsity sports teams. Both men's and women's teams are called the Sooners, a nickname given to the early participants in the land rush
Land run
Land run usually refers to an historical event in which previously restricted land of the United States was opened for homesteading on a first arrival basis. Some newly opened lands were sold first-come, sold by bid, or won by lottery, or by means other than a run...
es which initially opened the Oklahoma Indian Territory to non-native settlement. They participate in the NCAA's
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
Division I-A, in the Big 12 Conference
Big 12 Conference
The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference of ten schools located in the Central United States, with its headquarters located in Las Colinas, a community in the Dallas, Texas suburb of Irving...
. The University's current athletic director is Joe Castiglione
Joe Castiglione (athletic director)
Joseph Robert Castiglione is the Athletic Director at the University of Oklahoma.The former Athletic Director at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri, he received the 2004 Bobby Dodd Award for athletic director of the year. He has overseen four national championships in the various...
.
In 2002, The University of Oklahoma was ranked as the 3rd best college sports program in America by Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
. When combined with Blake Griffin
Blake Griffin
Blake Austin Griffin is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association . Griffin had a renowned high school career at Oklahoma Christian School, winning state titles each of his four years under his father, Tommy Griffin, who was the...
's John Wooden Award and Sam Bradford
Sam Bradford
Samuel Jacob "Sam" Bradford is an American football quarterback for the St. Louis Rams of the National Football League. He was the first overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft, and played college football at Oklahoma. In 2008, as a redshirt sophomore, Bradford became the second sophomore to win a...
's Heisman Trophy
Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...
, Oklahoma became the second school to have a top winner in both basketball and football in the same year (Gary Beban
Gary Beban
Gary Joseph Beban is a former American football player. Son of an Italian-born mother and a first generation Croatian-American father, Beban won the 1967 Heisman Trophy, the most prestigious award in college football, and the Maxwell Award, while playing quarterback for the University of...
won the Heisman Trophy and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is a retired American professional basketball player. He is the NBA's all-time leading scorer, with 38,387 points. During his career with the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers from 1969 to 1989, Abdul-Jabbar won six NBA championships and a record six regular season...
won the USBWA "Player of the Year" award in 1968 for UCLA).
Varsity sports
Southwest Athletic Conference
The Southwest Conference was a college athletic conference in the United States from 1914 to 1996. It consisted of schools mostly in the state of Texas and one in Arkansas, with historical members in Oklahoma....
(SWC) during its formation in 1914. Five years later, in 1919, OU left the SWC and joined the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association. In 1928, this conference split, and OU remained aligned with the teams that formed the Big Six Conference. Over the next 31 years, more schools were added and the conference underwent several name changes, incrementing the number each time up to the Big Eight Conference
Big Eight Conference
The Big Eight Conference, a former NCAA-affiliated Division I-A college athletic association that sponsored football, was formed in January 1907 as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association by its charter member schools: the University of Kansas, University of Missouri, University...
where it remained until 1996. Four more universities were added then and the name was changed one more time to its current form: the Big 12 Conference
Big 12 Conference
The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference of ten schools located in the Central United States, with its headquarters located in Las Colinas, a community in the Dallas, Texas suburb of Irving...
.
The Oklahoma Sooners are represented in the following NCAA Division I varsity sports:
|
|
Football
The Sooners have been participating in college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
since 1895. Calling Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
The Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium is the on-campus football facility for the University of Oklahoma Sooners in Norman, Oklahoma. The official capacity of the stadium, following recent renovations, is 82,112, making it the 16th largest college stadium in the United States and the third...
at Owen Field home, the team has won numerous bowl games, 41 conference championships (including every Big Seven championship awarded), and seven Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
National Championships, making the Sooners football program the most decorated in the Big 12
Big 12 Conference
The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference of ten schools located in the Central United States, with its headquarters located in Las Colinas, a community in the Dallas, Texas suburb of Irving...
.
Oklahoma has scored the most points in Division I-A football history despite the fact they have played over 60 fewer games than the second place school on that list. OU also has the highest winning percentage of any team since the start of the AP poll in 1936.
The Sooners possess seven national championships in football, with the 1950, 1955, 1956, 1974, 1975, 1985, and 2000 seasons featuring the top team in the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
final poll, and the 2000 Bowl Championship Series
Bowl Championship Series
The Bowl Championship Series is a selection system that creates five bowl match-ups involving ten of the top ranked teams in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , including an opportunity for the top two to compete in the BCS National Championship Game.The BCS relies on a combination of...
National Championship as well. This is 2nd to the Alabama Crimson Tide and Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Notre Dame's nickname is inherited from Irish immigrant soldiers who fought in the Civil War with the Union's Irish Brigade, , recollected among other places in the poetry of Joyce Kilmer who served with one of the Irish Brigade regiments during World War I...
and tied with the USC Trojans
USC Trojans
The USC Trojans are the athletic teams representing the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California. While the men's teams are nicknamed the Trojans, the women's athletic teams are referred to as either the Trojans or Women of Troy...
for the most national titles of any Division I college football team after the end of World War II (which is commonly used as the division between eras in college football).
In addition to these seven acknowledged national championships there are also nine additional years in which the NCAA's official record book recognizes the Sooners as national champions: 1949, 1953, 1957, 1967, 1973, 1978, 1980, 1986, 2003. The University of Oklahoma
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...
does not acknowledge these additional "championships", as they were not awarded by the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
, United Press International
United Press International
United Press International is a once-major international news agency, whose newswires, photo, news film and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines and radio and television stations for most of the twentieth century...
(UPI), USA Today Coaches Poll, or the Bowl Championship Series
Bowl Championship Series
The Bowl Championship Series is a selection system that creates five bowl match-ups involving ten of the top ranked teams in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , including an opportunity for the top two to compete in the BCS National Championship Game.The BCS relies on a combination of...
(BCS).
Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...
winners (Billy Vessels
Billy Vessels
Billy Vessels was a standout football player in his hometown of Cleveland, Oklahoma, where he was known as "Curly." He went on to play college football for the University of Oklahoma and win the 1952 Heisman trophy. He was the first Oklahoman to win the award, which is given to the nation's top...
, Steve Owens
Steve Owens (football)
Steve Everett Owens , raised in Miami, Oklahoma, was the 1969 Heisman Trophy winner. Owens was the second Oklahoma Sooners player to win the Heisman Trophy, after Billy Vessels, and preceding Sam Bradford, Jason White and Billy Sims...
, Billy Sims
Billy Sims
Billy Sims is a former college football and NFL running back. He won the Heisman Trophy in 1978.-Early years:...
, Jason White
Jason White (American football)
Jason White is a former American football quarterback who played for the University of Oklahoma from 1999 to 2004, during which he won the 2003 Heisman Trophy...
and Sam Bradford
Sam Bradford
Samuel Jacob "Sam" Bradford is an American football quarterback for the St. Louis Rams of the National Football League. He was the first overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft, and played college football at Oklahoma. In 2008, as a redshirt sophomore, Bradford became the second sophomore to win a...
) are surrounded by many other award winners, including Adrian Peterson, Joe Washington
Joe Washington
Joe Dan Washington, Jr is a former American football running back in the National Football League for the San Diego Chargers, Baltimore Colts, Washington Redskins, and Atlanta Falcons.-Early career:...
, Brian Bosworth
Brian Bosworth
Brian Keith "The Boz" Bosworth, is a former American football linebacker. He played college football for the University of Oklahoma...
, Tony Casillas, Greg Pruitt
Greg Pruitt
Gregory Donald Pruitt is a former American football running back in the NFL from 1973 through 1984. He was selected to five Pro Bowls, four as a member of the Cleveland Browns and one as a member of the Los Angeles Raiders, the last one as a kick returner...
, Josh Heupel
Josh Heupel
Josh Heupel, , is the current co-offensive coordinator at the University of Oklahoma. He was the quarterback for the Oklahoma Sooners football team in 1999-2000, and led Oklahoma to the 2000 national championship.-Personal:...
, Jerry Tubbs
Jerry Tubbs
Gerald J. Tubbs is a former American football linebacker who played for ten seasons in the National Football League from 1957 to 1966, mainly for the Dallas Cowboys. He was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the 1960 NFL Expansion Draft...
, Rocky Calmus, Granville Liggins
Granville Liggins
Granville 'Granny' Liggins was an American football and a Canadian Football League player.-College:At the University of Oklahoma, Liggins was not only a football player, but also a wrestler...
, Teddy Lehman
Teddy Lehman
Teddy Lehman is an American football linebacker for the Las Vegas Locomotives of the United Football League. He was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the second round of the 2004 NFL Draft...
, Lee Roy Selmon
Lee Roy Selmon
Lee Roy Selmon was a Hall of Fame NFL football defensive lineman.-Early life:Selmon was the youngest of nine children of Lucious and Jessie Selmon, raised on a farm near Eufaula, Oklahoma...
, Roy Williams
Roy Williams (safety)
Roy Lee Williams is a retired American football safety. He played college football at Oklahoma before he was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys eighth overall in the 2002 NFL Draft. He spent seven seasons with the Cowboys and earned five straight Pro Bowl selections from 2003–2007...
, Tommy McDonald, Mark Clayton, Tommie Harris
Tommie Harris
Tommie Harris, Jr. is an American football defensive tackle for the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the first round of the 2004 NFL Draft. He played college football at Oklahoma.Harris has also been a member of the Indianapolis Colts...
, J.C. Watts
J.C. Watts
Julius Caesar "J. C." Watts, Jr. is an American politician from Oklahoma who was a college football quarterback for the Oklahoma Sooners and professionally in the Canadian Football League. Watts served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 2003 as a Republican, representing the 4th...
, Keith Jackson and Jammal Brown
Jammal Brown
-New Orleans Saints:He was selected to attend the 2006 Pro Bowl alongside the player he protects, quarterback Drew Brees, after anchoring the line that got the Saints to the NFC Championship Game. Brown's prototypical size at left tackle makes him good at both run and pass blocking. He led the...
. More than a dozen Sooner players have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
. Oklahoma has more Butkus award winners than any other school.
Legendary coaches Bennie Owen
Bennie Owen
Benjamin Gilbert Owen was an American football player and coach of football, basketball, and baseball...
, Bud Wilkinson
Bud Wilkinson
Charles Burnham "Bud" Wilkinson was an American football player, coach, broadcaster, and politician. He served as the head football coach at the University of Oklahoma from 1947 to 1963, compiling a record of 145–29–4. His Oklahoma Sooners won three national championships and 14...
, and Barry Switzer
Barry Switzer
Barry Switzer is a former football coach, active in the college and professional ranks between 1962 and 1997. He has one of the highest winning percentages of any college football coach in history, and is one of only two head coaches to win both a college football national championship and a...
have passed through the gameday tunnel for the Sooners, each on their way to the College Football Hall of Fame. Owen was the first highly successful coach at OU and was a major advocate of the forward pass, which at the turn of the century was not popular. The playing surface at Oklahoma's Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
The Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium is the on-campus football facility for the University of Oklahoma Sooners in Norman, Oklahoma. The official capacity of the stadium, following recent renovations, is 82,112, making it the 16th largest college stadium in the United States and the third...
is popularly known as Owen Field in honor of his long tenure and devotion to the university. Wilkinson left many imprints on the game, such as the 5-2 defense
5-2 defense
In American football, the 5-2 defense is a defensive alignment consisting of five down lineman and two linebackers.The defensive linemen almost always line up to the weak side, with the backside lineman on the outside shoulder of the end man on the offensive line of scrimmage.Because the extra...
with five linemen and two linebackers; the perfection of the Split-T
Split-T
The split-T is an offensive formation in American football that was popular in the 1940s and 50s. Developed by Missouri Tigers head coach Don Faurot as a variation on the T formation, the split-T was first used in the 1941 season and allowed the Tigers to win all but their season-opening match...
, an early option offense; three national championships; and his teams set the NCAA Division 1 record for consecutive wins at 47. The record of 47 straight wins is widely regarded as one of the great achievements in sports, and a streak that is unlikely to be broken (started October 10, 1953 vs. Texas and ended in 1957 with a loss to Notre Dame 7–0). Switzer won three national championships (The National Championship of 1975 is highly controversial, Arizona State went 12–0 that season while Oklahoma was 11–1) and forged arguably the fiercest rushing offense ever, the Oklahoma wishbone formation
Wishbone formation
The wishbone formation, also known simply as the ’bone, is an offensive formation in American football. The style of attack to which it gives rise is known as the wishbone offense...
, throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Though the end of Switzer's tenure at Oklahoma was marked by controversy and poor player behavior, he is generally well regarded by both his past players and Sooner fans. During his 16 years as the Sooner's head coach, Switzer led his team to 12 conference championships and never lost more than two games in a row. His winning percentage of .837 stands as the fourth highest in the history of 1-A football. Other Hall of Fame coaches whose tenure included stints at the University of Oklahoma are Lawrence "Biff" Jones
Biff Jones
-External links:...
and Jim Tatum.
Men's basketball
The men's basketballCollege basketball
College basketball most often refers to the USA basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Basketball in the NCAA is divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II and Division III....
team is highly successful and rose to national prominence since the early 80’s with head coach Billy Tubbs
Billy Tubbs
Billy Tubbs is a former men's college basketball coach. The Tulsa, Oklahoma native has been the head coach of his alma mater Lamar University , the University of Oklahoma and Texas Christian University .Tubbs was known for his high scoring offense and full-court press defense.Tubbs achieved many...
and three time All-American power forward Wayman Tisdale
Wayman Tisdale
Wayman Lawrence Tisdale was an American professional basketball player in the NBA and a smooth jazz bass guitarist. A three-time All American at the University of Oklahoma, he was elected to the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009.-Early life:Tisdale was born in Fort Worth, Texas...
. It currently plays in the Lloyd Noble Center
Lloyd Noble Center
The Lloyd Noble Center is an 11,528-seat multi-purpose arena, in Norman, Oklahoma, United States, some south of downtown Oklahoma City...
, which came to be known as the house Alvan Adams
Alvan Adams
Alvan Leigh Adams is a retired American professional basketball player. After starring at the University of Oklahoma, the 6'9" power forward/center was selected by the Phoenix Suns with the 4th pick of the 1975 NBA Draft...
built and Tisdale filled. While the team has never won a national championship, it ranks second in most tournament wins without a championship behind Illinois
Illinois Fighting Illini
The Fighting Illini are the intercollegiate athletic teams of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The University offers 10 men's and 11 women's varsity sports....
. The team played in the 1988 national championship game but lost to Kansas
Kansas Jayhawks
The sports teams at the University of Kansas are known as the Jayhawks. They are one of three schools in the state of Kansas that participate in NCAA Division I. The Jayhawks are also a member of the Big 12 Conference...
, despite having beaten the Jayhawks three times earlier in the season, including the Big 8 Championship Game in Kansas City. The program has won a combined twenty regular-season and tournament conference championships.
The Sooners headed into the 2005–06 season ranked No. 5 in the AP preseason poll, led by Taj Gray
Taj Gray
Taj Gray was a basketball player for the University of Oklahoma.-High school career:Gray attended Wichita High School East and as a senior led his team to the Kansas Class 6A state title, earning tournament MVP honors...
, Kevin Bookout
Kevin Bookout
Kevin Bookout is an American professional basketball player. He played collegiately with the University of Oklahoma Sooners. While with the Sooners, Bookout scored 1,018 points and pulled in 682 rebounds...
, Terrell Everett
Terrell Everett
Terrell Everett is an American professional basketball player, currently with the German club Eisbären Bremerhaven of the Basketball Bundesliga...
, and David Godbold, but had a disappointing early season. After the emergence of Michael Neal
Michael Neal
Michael Neal is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who is currently playing for the Idaho Steelheads in the ECHL. He was selected by the Dallas Stars in the 5th round of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft....
as a potential star, the Sooners salvaged a No. 3 seed in the Big 12 Conference Tournament but lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
On March 29, 2006, Kelvin Sampson
Kelvin Sampson
Kelvin Sampson is an assistant coach of the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association. He previously was a men's college basketball coach at Montana Tech , Washington State University , the University of Oklahoma and Indiana University .-Early life and coaching:Sampson was born in the...
left the University of Oklahoma to become the head basketball coach at Indiana University
Indiana University Bloomington
Indiana University Bloomington is a public research university located in Bloomington, Indiana, in the United States. IU Bloomington is the flagship campus of the Indiana University system. Being the flagship campus, IU Bloomington is often referred to simply as IU or Indiana...
. 13 days later, on April 11, 2006, Oklahoma Athletic Director Joe Castiglione named Jeff Capel III
Jeff Capel III
Felton Jeff Capel III is an American former college basketball player at Duke University and was a head coach at Virginia Commonwealth University and University of Oklahoma. He is currently an assistant coach for his alma mater, Duke.-Youth:Capel is from a basketball family...
the new head coach. Capel encountered trouble in his first few months as several players who had been recruited by Sampson backed out of their commitments. Also, under Sampson's watch, Oklahoma was placed under a three-year investigation by the NCAA for recruiting violations. At the end of the their investigation, the NCAA issued a report citing more than 550 illegal calls made by Sampson and his staff to 17 different recruits. The NCAA barred Sampson from recruiting off campus and making phone calls for one year, ending May 24, 2007. The Sooners looked to continue a streak of 12 consecutive postseason tournament appearances in 2006–2007, but were disappointed when they did not receive a bid for either the NCAA Tournament or the NIT.
In the 2009 NBA draft, the Sooners produced the No. 1 overall draft selection Blake Griffin
Blake Griffin
Blake Austin Griffin is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association . Griffin had a renowned high school career at Oklahoma Christian School, winning state titles each of his four years under his father, Tommy Griffin, who was the...
.
Men's gymnastics
NCAA Men's Gymnastics championship
This is a list of National Collegiate Athletic Association Men's Gymnastics champions, by division and year. All schools currently compete in one division, because only 17 schools sponsor men's gymnastics teams...
s, winning the title in 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006 and 2008 (they finished second behind Penn State in 2004 and 2007). Only Oklahoma and Penn State have won the NCAA title since 2000, with the exception of Ohio State in 2001. They won the 2006 title with very little experience on the team as 50% of the members were freshmen and just 21% were upperclassmen (seven freshmen, four sophomores, one junior, and two seniors). Teams from OU also won national championships in 1977, 1978, and 1991.
Gymnastics began at the school in 1902. The program folded in 1917 when the original coach left. The program was revived in 1965 with the new coach, Russ Porterfield having to beg students to join the squad. Within 6 years, OU had its first winning season. OU's next coach, Paul Ziert, turned the program into one of national prominence. He led OU to two national championships in 1977 and 1978. One of Ziert's athletes, Greg Buwick, would replace him as head coach in 1980 and would lead the team to its third national title in 1991. Buwick's assistant of 12 years, Mark Williams, took over the head coaching position in 2000 and has continued OU's tradition of gymnastics excellence. OU has produced more Nissen Award winners than any other university and is the only school to have back-to-back Nissen Award winners.
Baseball
The Oklahoma Baseball tradition is long, proud and storied, with two National Championships in 1951 and 1994, along with numerous All-Americans. Their home field is L. Dale Mitchell Baseball ParkL. Dale Mitchell Baseball Park
The L. Dale Mitchell Baseball Park is home to the University of Oklahoma Sooners baseball team.-About:Mitchell Park was named after Dale Mitchell, a mid-1940s Sooner letterman who holds OU's career and single-season batting records...
, named after famed player Dale Mitchell. The current coach is Sunny Golloway
Sunny Golloway
Sunny Golloway is the head baseball coach at the University of Oklahoma. Prior to becoming the head coach of Oklahoma, he was the head coach at Oral Roberts University. He succeeded hall of fame coach Larry Cochell. In his eight seasons as ORU head coach, he guided the team to a 347-162...
. The baseball program was a source of recent controversy when the head coach, Larry Cochell
Larry Cochell
Larry Cochell is a former baseball coach for the University of Oklahoma. His great career was overshadowed by his racial remarks in an interview before an ESPN2 telecast of the Oklahoma-Wichita State game...
, resigned after making racially insensitive remarks about one of the players on the team.
During the 2005–2006 season, the Sooners were given a home regional at L. Dale Mitchell Park and were named the No. 1 seed. They beat the University of Houston
University of Houston
The University of Houston is a state research university, and is the flagship institution of the University of Houston System. Founded in 1927, it is Texas's third-largest university with nearly 40,000 students. Its campus spans 667 acres in southeast Houston, and was known as University of...
, Texas Christian University
Texas Christian University
Texas Christian University is a private, coeducational university located in Fort Worth, Texas, United States and founded in 1873. TCU is affiliated with, but not governed by, the Disciples of Christ...
, and Wichita State University
Wichita State University
Wichita State University is a NCAA Division I public university in Wichita, Kansas with selective admissions. WSU is one of six state universities governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The current president is Dr. Donald Beggs....
to win the regional and advanced to a Super Regional where they were defeated by Rice University
Rice University
William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University or Rice, is a private research university located on a heavily wooded campus in Houston, Texas, United States...
in a best-of-three series. Oregon State University
Oregon State University
Oregon State University is a coeducational, public research university located in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. The university offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees and a multitude of research opportunities. There are more than 200 academic degree programs offered through the...
went on to win the College World Series
College World Series
The College World Series or CWS is an annual baseball tournament held in Omaha, Nebraska that is the culmination of the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship, which determines the NCAA Division I college baseball champion. The eight teams are split into two, four-team, double-elimination brackets,...
that year.
Prior to 2006, the Sooners hosted regionals at minor league parks in Oklahoma City, first All Sports Stadium
All Sports Stadium
All Sports Stadium was a stadium located at the State Fairgrounds in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It had a capacity of 12,000 people and opened in 1961....
and then AT&T Bricktown Ballpark
AT&T Bricktown Ballpark
RedHawks Field at Bricktown opened in 1998 in downtown Oklahoma City's Bricktown district, replacing All Sports Stadium. It is the home of the Oklahoma City RedHawks, the AAA affiliate of the Houston Astros major league baseball team. The park seats 13,066 fans.The stadium frequently hosts the Big...
. Scheduling conflicts with the Oklahoma Redhawks
Oklahoma RedHawks
The Oklahoma City RedHawks are a minor league baseball team based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The team, which plays in the Pacific Coast League, is the Triple-A affiliate of the Houston Astros...
, the Class AAA affiliate of the Houston Astros
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are a Major League Baseball team located in Houston, Texas. They are a member of the National League Central division. The Astros are expected to join the American League West division in 2013. Since , they have played their home games at Minute Maid Park, known as Enron Field...
, led OU to bid for future regionals at its on-campus stadium.
Women's basketball
OU Women's Basketball began during the 1974–75 academic year. It wasn't until 1996 when OU hired local high school basketball coach, Sherri CoaleSherri Coale
-References:...
, that the team became something Sooners would be proud of. At one time the team drew an average of 65 people per game, now the Sooners are one of the nation's leaders in attendance. In 2002, Oklahoma advanced to the National Title game before losing to the Connecticut Huskies
Connecticut Huskies
The Connecticut Huskies, also known as the UConn Huskies, are the athletic teams of the University of Connecticut in the United States. The school is a member of National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I and the Big East Conference for all sports except Men's Ice Hockey and Women's Ice...
.
Wrestling
The Sooners are considered a power in their own right and Bedlam
Bedlam Series
The Bedlam Series refers to the athletics rivalry between the University of Oklahoma Sooners and the Oklahoma State University Cowboys, of the Big 12 Conference...
matches draw an enormous crowd. There are numerous All-Americans and National Champions.
Their greatest wrestlers are 3-time NCAA Champion and NCAA Outstanding Wrestler Mickey Martin; 2-time NCAA Champion and 2-time NCAA Outstanding Wrestler Tommy Evans; 3-time NCAA Champion and 2-time Outstanding Wrestler Dan Hodge (Hodge was never taken down and pinned his way through the NCAA's his Senior year); NCAA, World and Olympic Champion Wayne Wells; 3-time NCAA Champion, NCAA Outstanding Wrestler, 2-time World Champion and Olympic Champion Mark Schultz; NCAA Champion, World Champion, and Olympic Champion Dave Schultz; 2-time NCAA and World Champion Melvin Douglas.
Women's rowing
On May 10, 2007 the University announced the addition of women's rowing to the intercollegiate athletics program started by well respected rower Candie Garrett. The University hired head coach Leeanne Crain in the spring of 2008. Assistant Coaches Kris Muhl and Andrew Derrick followed Crain from the University of Central Florida to jumpstart OU's program. Muhl took a head coaching position at the University of Jacksonville during summer 2009. Former UVA rower and Alabama Novice coach Marina Traub was hired as the varsity assistant coach in Fall 2009. Traub Named Asst. Rowing CoachThe University of Oklahoma women's rowing team practices in the Oklahoma City River (formerly the Canadian River), located in the Bricktown area of Oklahoma City. The river was designated as a U.S. Olympic Training Center for the sports of kayaking, canoeing and rowing on July 28, 2009. The University's boathouse is expected to be completed in early 2011.
University of Texas
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
is one rival of the Sooners. Regardless of the trademark implications, inverted versions of the Longhorn
Texas longhorn (cattle)
The Texas Longhorn is a breed of cattle known for its characteristic horns, which can extend to tip to tip for steers and exceptional cows, and tip to tip for bulls. Horns can have a slight upward turn at their tips or even triple twist. Texas Longhorns are known for their diverse coloring...
mascot can be seen on automobiles all over the Norman campus, and many T-shirts referring to the rivalry present the word "Texas" in mirror image, upside-down, or possibly surrounded by obscenities. A reminder of the rivalry shared by these two schools was painted on the South Oval of the OU campus for many years, and was recently replicated near the Library clock tower due to construction at its original site.
The annual game between the schools at the Cotton Bowl
Cotton Bowl (stadium)
The Cotton Bowl is a stadium which opened in 1929 and became known as "The House That Doak Built" due to the immense crowds that former SMU running back Doak Walker drew to the stadium during his college career in the late 1940s. Originally known as Fair Park Stadium, it is located in Fair Park,...
in Dallas, Texas, known as the Red River Rivalry
Red River Rivalry
The Red River Rivalry, commonly known as the OU-Texas Game or Texas-OU Game, is an American college football rivalry game played annually by the Oklahoma Sooners football team of the University of Oklahoma and the Texas Longhorns football team of the University of Texas. The series is considered...
, is a game that draws attention from the college football world.
University of Nebraska
A traditional college football rivalry with the University of Nebraska has been less intense over the past several years (although recent off-the-field incidents have heightened the animosity between the two programs and their respective fanbases). This is mainly due to the split-division nature of the Big 12 that now only allows the teams to play each other twice every four years. Prior to this, these teams were involved in several historic match-ups, including the Game of the Century and the so-called Game of the New Century where the teams have come in to the game ranked one and two in the Associated PressAssociated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
Poll, making the games of great importance in deciding the national championship. Historically, the rivalry's most distinguishing quality has been the grudging respect and appreciation between the two tradition-rich programs. Also of note is the game's former status as the premier Thanksgiving Day game for the middle of the country. The Sooners
Oklahoma Sooners football
The Oklahoma Sooners football program is a college football team that represents the University of Oklahoma . The team is currently a member of the Big 12 Conference, which is a Division I Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association...
and Cornhuskers
Nebraska Cornhuskers football
The Nebraska Cornhuskers represent the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in college football. The program has established itself as a traditional powerhouse, and has the fourth-most all-time victories of any NCAA Division I-A team. Nebraska is one of only six football programs in NCAA Division I-A...
went head-to-head in the 2006 Big 12 Championship Game, with Oklahoma winning the conference title by the score of 21–7. The two teams also met in the 2010 Big 12 Championship Game, with Oklahoma again the victor in a close game by a score of 23–20.
Oklahoma State University
Oklahoma's shares an intrastate rivalry with the Oklahoma State CowboysOklahoma State Cowboys
Oklahoma State Cowboys are the athletic teams that represent Oklahoma State University. Their mascot is a cowboy named Pistol Pete. Oklahoma State participates in the NCAA's Division I-A and in the Big 12 Conference's South Division. The university's current athletic director is Mike Holder...
and is often referred to as the "Bedlam Series
Bedlam Series
The Bedlam Series refers to the athletics rivalry between the University of Oklahoma Sooners and the Oklahoma State University Cowboys, of the Big 12 Conference...
." It is normally played as a home-and-home series with games alternating between Norman
Norman, Oklahoma
Norman is a city in Cleveland County, Oklahoma, United States, and is located south of downtown Oklahoma City. It is part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, Norman was to have 110,925 full-time residents, making it the third-largest city in Oklahoma and the...
and Stillwater
Stillwater, Oklahoma
Stillwater is a city in north-central Oklahoma at the intersection of U.S. 177 and State Highway 51. It is the county seat of Payne County, Oklahoma, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 45,688. Stillwater is the principal city of the Stillwater Micropolitan Statistical...
, with the exception of the baseball teams, who often play at AT&T Bricktown Ballpark
AT&T Bricktown Ballpark
RedHawks Field at Bricktown opened in 1998 in downtown Oklahoma City's Bricktown district, replacing All Sports Stadium. It is the home of the Oklahoma City RedHawks, the AAA affiliate of the Houston Astros major league baseball team. The park seats 13,066 fans.The stadium frequently hosts the Big...
in Oklahoma City
Oklahoma city
Oklahoma City is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma.Oklahoma City may also refer to:*Oklahoma City metropolitan area*Downtown Oklahoma City*Uptown Oklahoma City*Oklahoma City bombing*Oklahoma City National Memorial...
or ONEOK Field in Tulsa. Oklahoma currently leads the series 82–16–7 in football, and 124–88 in basketball In baseball the series is tied at 147–147, and in wrestling Oklahoma trails the series 27–128–9.
Traditions
The "fight song" of the University of Oklahoma is "Boomer SoonerBoomer Sooner
The Boomer Sooner Fight Song is the fight song for the University of Oklahoma written by Arthur M. Alden in 1905. The tune is taken from "Boola Boola", the fight song of Yale University...
", a version of "Boola Boola", the fight song of Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, combined with a version of "I'm a Tar Heel Born", the fight song of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...
. "Boomer Sooner" was written by Arthur M. Alden in 1905. Other songs played at athletic events by The Pride of Oklahoma Marching Band
The Pride of Oklahoma Marching Band
The Pride of Oklahoma Marching Band, known as "The Pride", is the student marching band for the University of Oklahoma Sooners.-Early years:The Pride was founded in 1901 as a pep band to play at Sooner football games...
are a version of Rodgers and Hammerstein
Rodgers and Hammerstein
Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II were a well-known American songwriting duo, usually referred to as Rodgers and Hammerstein. They created a string of popular Broadway musicals in the 1940s and 1950s during what is considered the golden age of the medium...
's "Oklahoma!
Oklahoma! (song)
♥"Oklahoma" is the title song from, and the finale to, the Broadway musical Oklahoma!, named for the setting of the musical play.The music and lyrics were written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II...
", "OK Oklahoma", played after extra points, and the "OU Chant
OU Chant
The OU Chant is the alma mater of the University of Oklahoma.The chant was written in 1936 by Jessie Lone Clarkson Gilkey, the coach of the OU girl's glee club from 1936 to 1938. It is played by The Pride of Oklahoma and sung by fans and alumni during pregame festivities prior to home football...
." At home games, The Pride of Oklahoma Marching Band plays that visiting team's "fight song" while facing their fans.
The Mascot present at all football games is the Sooner Schooner
Sooner Schooner
The Sooner Schooner is the official mascot of the sports teams of the University of Oklahoma Sooners. Pulled by two white ponies named Boomer and Sooner, it is a scaled-down replica of the Conestoga wagon used by settlers of the Oklahoma Territory around the time of the Land Run of 1889...
, a Conestoga wagon
Conestoga wagon
The Conestoga wagon is a heavy, broad-wheeled covered wagon that was used extensively during the late 18th century and the 19th century in the United States and sometimes in Canada as well. It was large enough to transport loads up to 8 tons , and was drawn by horses, mules or oxen...
, pulled by two crème white ponies, Boomer and Sooner. The caretakers of the wagon are the spirit group called the RUF/NEKS
RUF/NEKS
The RUF/NEKS are an all-male student pep squad for the University of Oklahoma.-History:The earliest years of this student organization are not well known. The RUF/NEKS began in the late 1910s. In December 1915 at a basketball game between Oklahoma and Oklahoma A&M a group of football players were...
, who shoot off modified shotguns in celebration of scores by the home team. The group was launched in 1915 when an elderly female spectator at an OU-Oklahoma A&M basketball game chided the group for raising hell ("Sit down and be quiet, you roughnecks!")
Recently, in time for the 2005 football season, two new mascots, based on the ponies who pull the Schooner, were created, named appropriately, Boomer and Sooner
Boomer and Sooner (mascots)
Boomer and Sooner are two mascots of the University of Oklahoma and its sports teams, the Oklahoma Sooners. The main mascot present at football games is the Sooner Schooner, a Conestoga wagon, pulled by two crème white ponies, Boomer and Sooner...
. They are costumes of two identical (except for eye color) crème white ponies. Before, the Boomer and Sooner costume mascots, OU was also represented by Top Dawg. Top Dawg did some appearances at football games, but was primarily used at wrestling and basketball events.
The official school colors are Crimson and Cream, with red and white sometimes used as substitutes for simplicity. The school logo is an interlocking OU design and was first used on football helmets in 1967.
National championships
- Men's
- Baseball: 1951, 1994
- Football: 1950, 1955, 1956, 1974, 1975, 1985, 2000
- Golf: 1989
- Gymnastics: 1977, 1978, 1991, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008
- Wrestling: 1936, 1951, 1952, 1957, 1960, 1963, 1974
- Women's
- Softball: 2000