Oklahoma Board of Regents Approves Patty Gasso Statue
Oklahoma made it officially official on Tuesday.
The OU Board of Regents approved a vote to begin the process of erecting a statue of softball coach Patty Gasso outside the Sooners' brand new Love's Field.
OU athletic director Joe Castiglione said last year, after Gasso won her seventh national championship and third in a row, that the planning stages had already begun to put up a statue to the coach with nearly 1,500 career victories.
Castiglione reiterated on March 1, at the formal Love's Field dedication ceremony, that the statue was imminent.
"It’s extremely humbling," Gasso said after OU's pair of games against Tarleton State on Tuesday night. "And I actually have been able to see it and talk about humbling. Like, I look like that? It’s really surreal. It’s really — I don’t even know what to say.
"I’m honored. I’m humbled. I was shocked when it was announced. I wasn’t expecting that at all. But it’s kind of cool that it will be there for a while."
The Board of Regents on Tuesday made it official, with noted sculptor Brian Hanlon of Toms River, NJ, reciting the contract. Hanlon is the same sculptor who created the Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray statues in OU's Heisman Park as well as the bust of former player and coach John Blake that's on display in the Switzer Center.
The statue will stand outside Gate 1 at Love's Field, where Gasso spoke to the crowd at the March 1 dedication.
The athletic department has already received private funding toward the project.
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