Oklahoma's Bob Stoops 'grateful and humbled' to get into CFB Hall of Fame
The man who resurrected Oklahoma football, restored pride to one of the game’s elite programs and put a shine on Sooner Nation that seems unlikely to ever tarnish again has been granted the game’s highest accord.
Bob Stoops will be inducted into the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame as a member of the 2021 class — Stoops’ first year of eligibility.
“As a son of an all-time, lifelong high school coach,” Stoops said in a statement released by the OU athletic department, “no one appreciates the game of football and the coaching profession more than I do, and so I am truly grateful for and humbled by this honor.”
Stoops hails from Youngstown, OH, became a hot commodity as defensive coordinator at Kansas State and won a national championship as DC under Steve Spurrier at Florida in 1996.
But it’s his work and ultimately his legacy at Oklahoma that cleared a spot for him in Atlanta.
Bob Stoops
Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
Stoops holds the school’s all-time record with 190 career victories. His team’s national championship in 2000 — just his second season — reestablished the Sooners as the preeminent program in the Big 12 Conference and, after a decade of entitlement, mediocrity and losing, elevated OU back to into the realm of college football blue blood.
The Sooners went 17-27-1 (.389) overall and 10-21 (.323) in Big Eight/Big 12 play in the four years before Stoops arrived.
“Football is the ultimate team game with so many pieces that must be put together, and nobody can have success by themself,” Stoops said. “It takes everybody contributing. Certainly, that was the case for me. From my family to my support staff to my assistant coaches to our administration and to our great fans, I had incredible support at Oklahoma for each of my 18 years and am thankful to everyone who played a role in all our achievements.
“Ultimately, though, the dedication and hard work of the players is what wins, and I am so appreciative of all of the guys who played for me. I felt a great connection to our players from my first year in 1999 all the way through my last season in 2016, and if I did anything right it was always connecting wholeheartedly with them. To me, that's probably the most important thing for a coach — being able to connect with and relate to your players.”
Bob Stoops in 2001
OU Athletics
Stoops goes into the hall alongside former Florida A&M head coach Rudy Hubbard and 11 former players. They will be inducted into the College Hall of Fame during the 63rd NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Dec. 7 alongside the 2020 Hall of Fame Class (the 2020 event was canceled due to COVID-19).
“We are extremely proud to announce the 2021 College Football Hall of Fame Class,” said NFF Chairman Archie Manning, a 1989 College Football Hall of Famer from Ole Miss. “Each of these men has established himself among the absolute best to have ever played or coached the game, and we look forward to immortalizing their incredible accomplishments.”
Stoops will become OU's sixth head coach in the College Hall of Fame, joining Bennie Owen (1905-26), Lawrence “Biff” Jones (1935-36), Bud Wilkinson (1947-63), Jim Tatum (1946) and Barry Switzer (1973-88). There are also 22 former Sooner players in the College Hall of Fame.
After he replaced the late John Blake on Dec. 1, 1998, Stoops posted a 190-48 record (.798) and coached teams that made a school-record 18 consecutive bowl trips. 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 he compiled more wins in his first 18 seasons than any coach in college football history.
Moreover, Stoops’ teams won the right way. The only time his program encountered any serious NCAA scandal, he responded by dismissing his starting quarterback, former 5-star recruit Rhett Bomar. After replacing Bomar with Paul Thompson the day before fall camp opened, Stoops and Thompson led the Sooners to the 2006 Big 12 Championship.
Before Stoops unexpectedly retired on June 7, 2017, Oklahoma amassed the most wins of any Power Five program between 1999 to 2016. He led the Sooners to double-digit victories in 14 of his 18 seasons (most in the nation during that span) and to at least eight wins in each of his last 17 seasons (the longest streak in the nation at the time of his retirement). Seven Sooner teams finished in the top five of the AP Poll, including each of the last two.
Bob Stoops and Mark Mangino
OU Athletics
Stoops was a six-time Big 12 Coach of the Year and two-time national coach of the year.
After going 7-5 in 1999 in his debut season, Stoops led OU to its seventh national championship with a 13-0 record and a 13-2 upset of Florida State in the Orange Bowl. The Sooners played in three more BCS National Championship games under Stoops (2003, 2004 and 2008) and made the College Football Playoff in 2015.
The Sooners spent 30 weeks in the No. 1 spot of the AP Top 25 and ranked No. 1 in the the BCS standings for 20 weeks — most in the nation. Stoops also went 60-30 against AP Top 25 teams, the best in the nation during his tenure.
The Sooners' dominated the Big 12 under Stoops. Oklahoma won 10 league titles in his 18 seasons (no other Big 12 program won more than two during that stretch). OU went 121-29 (.807) in Big 12 regular season games under Stoops (Texas at .693 and Kansas State at .560 were second and third).
Against rivals Texas (11-7) and Oklahoma State (14-4), Stoops went 25-11 (.694).
Bob Stoops, Lincoln Riley and Baker Mayfield
Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Stoops famously won more Big 12 championships (10) than he endured losses at home (nine). The Sooners under Stoops at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium went 101-9 — a .918 home winning percentage ranks No. 1 in the nation.
As unforgettable as all the winning was, Stoops’ real legacy might be in what came afterward: money. OU’s immediate turnaround under Stoops reinvigorated Oklahoma’s massive fan base, and donations once again began pouring in.
When athletic director Joe Castiglione hired Stoops, Sooner athletics had been in the red for more than a decade. But Stoops’ winning not only put the school back in the black, it kicked off a fundraising campaign that transformed the entire face of the campus and continues 20 years later.
Bob Stoops and Lincoln Riley at Ohio State
Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports
Stoops’ other legacy, of course, is his players. He produced 38 first-team All-Americans and 83 NFL Draft picks. He coached Heisman Trophy winners Jason White (2003), Sam Bradford (2008) and Baker Mayfield (he won it in 2017, the season after Stoops retired).
As a player, Stoops was a self-described “skinny wide receiver” who signed with Iowa as a safety. Under Hayden Fry, Stoops became a four-year starter at safety and in 1982 became team captain, first-team All-Big Ten and the Hawkeyes’ MVP.
He began his coaching career as an Iowa assistant under Fry, then had a short tenure at Kent State before joining Bill Snyder’s staff at Kansas State. From there, he worked three years at Florida before getting his shot at OU.
Stoops stepped away from the game and turned the OU reins over to offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley, who has won four Big 12 championships in his first four seasons and has compiled a 45-8 record.
“I feel incredibly fortunate to have traveled this road,” Stoops said. “All the stops along the way were such positives for me and led to the extraordinary opportunity at Oklahoma. The coaches I worked under were the best of the best: Hayden Fry at Iowa, Dick Crum at Kent State, Bill Snyder at K-State and Steve Spurrier at Florida. I feel amazingly blessed that I was around so many remarkable coaches and people.
“In the end, I am so honored to join the College Football Hall of Fame and feel a great sense of humility.”
