OKLAHOMA STATE COWBOYS

'Oklahoma State Cowboys' ('Cowgirls' for women's teams) are the athletic teams that represent Oklahoma State University. Their mascot is a cowboy named Pistol Pete. The school colors are orange, black, and white. Oklahoma State was formerly called Oklahoma A&M with the nickname being Aggies. 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. In total, Oklahoma State has 48 team national titles, the fourth-most team national championships in the country. These national titles have come in wrestling (34), golf (10), basketball (2), baseball (1), and cross country (1).

Contents

Men's basketball

The early years (1907-34)

Henry Iba era (1934-70)

1970-90

Eddie Sutton era (1990-2006)

2001 plane crash

Sean Sutton era (2006-present)

Wrestling

Baseball

Football

Golf

Overall success

See also

References

External links

Men's basketball

The early years (1907-34)

Oklahoma State first took the basketball court in the 1908-1908 season. University/Recruiting Section

Henry Iba era (1934-70)

Under head coach Henry Iba, Oklahoma A&M Aggies (now Oklahoma State) won NCAA championships in consecutive years, 1945-1946. Those championship teams were led by Bob Kurland, the game's first seven-foot-tall player. Throughout Iba's 36-year tenure as head coach (nearly all while also serving as the athletic director), his teams won 655 games and were known for their tough, man-to-man defense.

1970-90

Eddie Sutton era (1990-2006)

One of Iba's students, Eddie Sutton, was named head coach in 1990, leading the team to two more Final Four appearances.

2001 plane crash

On January 27, 2001, one of three planes carrying Oklahoma State staff and players crashed in a snow storm near Byers, Colorado, killing all 10 on board. The plane was on its way back from a loss against the University of Colorado. Those killed included Nate Fleming, a redshirt freshman guard; Dan Lawson, a junior guard; Bill Teegins, radio sportscaster of OSU basketball and sports anchor on CBS affiliate KWTV-9 in Oklahoma City; Kendall Durfey, television and radio engineer; Will Hancock, media relations coordinator; Pat Noyes, director of basketball operations; Brian Luinstra, athletic trainer; Jared Weiberg, student assistant; Denver Mills, pilot; and Bjorn Falistrom, co-pilot. University/Recruiting Section

Sean Sutton era (2006-present)

Eddie Sutton's son, Sean Sutton, also a former Cowboy player, took over head coaching duties in 2006.

Wrestling

Main articles: Oklahoma State Cowboys wrestling


Oklahoma State wrestling's tradition started in 1916 when Edward C. Gallagher, whose name is part of Gallagher-Iba Arena, became head coach. With his expertise in anatomy, he pioneered the sport of wrestling. ^[1] Gallagher coached the Cowboys until his death in 1940 from pneumonia. ^[2] During those 24 years, Gallagher had 11 team national titles, 19 undefeated seasons, and a 138-5-4 winning record.
After his death, Art Griffith took over and proceeded to win two straight national championships. Due to World War II, Oklahoma State wrestling was forced off the mat for three years. After the war, Griffith coached for another 11 years and won six more national championships in that time. Due to health reasons, Art Griffith resigned as head coach and Myron Roderick took over. At 23 years old, Roderick became the youngest coach to win a national championship in 1958. Roderick proceeded to win another 5 championships. In 1970, Myron Roderick stepped down to take an executive position with the U.S. Wrestling Federation. Former Stillwater High School coach Tommy Chesbro was hired as head coach and won eight Big Eight titles and one national championship in 15 years. Between 1985 to 1991, Joe Seay, former Cal State coach won five conference titles and two national titles.
In 1993, John Smith became the seventh head coach of Oklahoma State University wrestling. Smith led the Cowboys to a national title in 1995 and four consecutive national titles between 2002-2006.

Baseball

Oklahoma State also has one of the most storied programs in college baseball. The Cowboys won their only national championship in 1959, but have finished runner-up on five other occasions. OSU won an unprecedented 16 consecutive conference championships under head coach Gary Ward in the old Big 8 Conference. During that time, two Cowboys distinguished themselves as legends in college baseball. Pete Incaviglia was named Baseball America's Player of the Century, and Robin Ventura was inducted in the inaugural class into the College Baseball Hall of Fame. Overall, OSU has made 19 College World Series appearances, including a record seven straight from 1981-1987.

Football

Oklahoma State plays football at Boone Pickens Stadium, which is currently undergoing extensive renovation and expansion. The current head coach is Mike Gundy, who is also the school's all-time passing leader. During Gundy's playing career, the Cowboys enjoyed their greatest success with consecutive ten-win seasons. Also during this era, tailback Barry Sanders became the 1988 Heisman Trophy winner while also breaking the single-season NCAA records for rushing and all-purpose yards.
The OSU football program hopes to established itself as a winner (under .500 all time currently) and participated in bowl games in three of the last four seasons making only 16 total bowl appearances in its history. There have been 32 All-Americans to play for the Cowboys, with many coming from ranks of running backs. This tradition of "Tailback U" includes Sanders, Thurman Thomas,Terry Miller, Bob Fenimore, and Tatum Bell.
Former defensive back Darrent Williams, a second round draft pick and starter for the Denver Broncos, was murdered in a drive-by shooting in downtown Denver in the early hours of January 1, 2007.

Golf

Karsten Creek serves as the backdrop for one of college golf's premier programs. The Tom Fazio layout was named Golf Digest's "Best New Public Course" and served as the host site for the NCAA Men's Championship in 2003. The men's program has qualified for the NCAA Championship in each of its 60 seasons and has won 10 national championships, eight individual national champions, and 49 conference championships.
The women's program has also had its share of success. Under former coach Ann Pitts, the Cowgirls won 15 conference championships and made 15 appearances at the NCAA Championship. New head coach Laura Matthews led the Cowgirls to be Big 12 champions in 2005 and a top-20 finish at the NCAA Championship.

Overall success

While competing in the Big Eight Conference, the Cowboys and Cowgirls won 135 team titles and 500 individual conference championships. In the Big 12, they have earned to date 18 regular season titles and 5 postseason tournament wins.

See also

★ List of Oklahoma State University Olympians

★ List of Oklahoma State University people

★ Oklahoma State University homecoming

References

1. Distinguished Member: Edward C. Gallagher
2. Why OSU?

External links

★ Oklahoma State University Athletics official website