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Former Oklahoma Coach Bob Stoops Inducted Into Rose Bowl Hall of Fame

Stoops is one of only 11 people who both played and coached in The Grandaddy of Them All.
John Hoover|
Former Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops
Former Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

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Oklahoma Sooners

By OU Media Relations

Former University of Oklahoma football head coach Bob Stoops has been named to the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame Class of 2025, the Tournament of Roses announced Tuesday.

Stoops, who led Oklahoma to the 2000 national championship and compiled a program-record 190 wins in his 18 seasons as OU head coach, joins former Wisconsin running back Montee Ball in this year's Rose Bowl Hall of Fame class. Stoops and Ball will be honored in the 137th Rose Parade and on the field during the College Football Playoff Quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl Game on Jan. 1, 2026, in Pasadena, Calif. The inductees will also be recognized in a private ceremony held by the Pasadena Tournament of Roses on Dec. 30.

Stoops is one of only 11 people who have participated in the Rose Bowl Game as both a player and head coach. He led OU to a 34-14 win over Washington State in the 2003 Rose Bowl, as the Sooners completed the 2002 season with a 12-2 record and No. 5 final AP poll ranking. In that game, Oklahoma held Washington State scoreless for three quarters as it built a 27-0 lead into the fourth quarter. Quarterback Nate Hybl passed for 240 yards and threw touchdown passes to Antwone Savage and Curtis Fagan, Quentin Griffin rushed for 144 yards and a touchdown and Antonio Perkins returned a punt for a touchdown. Stoops also played in the 1982 Rose Bowl as an Iowa defensive back against Washington.

Hired Dec. 1, 1998, Stoops posted a 191-48 (.799) record at OU and coached the Sooners to a school-record 18 consecutive bowl berths. He was the only coach in the BCS era to win the Fiesta Bowl, Orange Bowl, Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl and the national championship, and accumulated more victories over his first 18 seasons than any coach in the game's history. He was a two-time national coach of the year, a six-time Big 12 coach of the year and led Oklahoma to 10 Big 12 titles.

A four-year starter at safety for Iowa under College Football Hall of Fame coach Hayden Fry, Stoops excelled in 1982 as a team captain, first-team All-Big Ten selection and Iowa's MVP.

With the addition of this year's class, the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame includes 148 inductees over its 37-year history. Inductees are honored with a permanent plaque that includes their name and year of induction at The Court of Champions at the Rose Bowl Stadium, forever cementing their legacy with that of The Granddaddy of Them All.

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John E. Hoover
JOHN HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.

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