Three Sooner Legends Will Be Inducted Into Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame

Sam Bradford, Rod Shoate and K.J. Kindler will soon join other OU legends as members of the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame.

Sep 5, 2009; Arlington, TX, USA; Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Sam Bradford (14) warms up before the game against the BYU Cougars at Cowboys Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-Imagn Images | Tim Heitman-Imagn Images

A trio of Oklahoma legends will soon be Hall of Famers.

Former OU football players Sam Bradford and Rod Shoate and current gymnastics coach K.J. Kindler will be inducted into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame on Aug. 3.

Bradford led the Sooners to a 23-5 record over the course of the 2007 and 2008 seasons. 

In 2008, Bradford completed 67.9 percent of his passes for 4,721 yards, 50 touchdowns and eight interceptions and won the Heisman Trophy. He also led OU to the 2008 BCS National Championship Game, where the Sooners fell 24-14 to Florida.

Bradford played three games during 2009 but missed the majority of the season with a shoulder injury. The quarterback ended his college career holding 15 program records, including passing yards (8,403) and passing touchdowns (88).

he St. Louis Rams selected him with the first pick in the 2010 NFL Draft. He played nine seasons of professional football before retiring in 2018.

Shoate, a linebacker, was a three-time All-American, and he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2013.

With Shoate playing on the defense, Oklahoma went 32-1-1 from 1972 to 1974. He finished his college career with 426 tackles, which ranks third all time in program history.

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Shoate later played with the New England Patriots from 1975 to 1981. He then played two seasons in the USFL before retiring in 1984.

Shoate died on Oct. 4, 1999.

Kindler will soon begin her 20th season as Oklahoma’s head gymnastics coach. She boasts a 544-52-2 record during her tenure in Norman.

Oklahoma has won seven national titles under Kindler, who most recently led the Sooners to a national championship in 2025. Kindler is one of only two active NCAA gymnastics head coaches who has won a national title, and she has led OU to the postseason in each year of her tenure.

Kindler has coached 18 individual national champions, 204 All-Americans and 86 individual conference champions.

The other inductees in the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame’s 2026 class are Matt Holiday, Emmett Hahn, Terry Miller and the 2024-25 Oklahoma City Thunder.

Bradford, Shoate and Kindler will be inducted at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City on Aug. 3.