OSU Hoping for Cowboy Basketball Resurgence After Football Failures

Oklahoma State needs to see some winning on the hardwood this season.

Oct 22, 2025; Kansas City, MO, USA; Oklahoma State head coach Steve Lutz speaks to media during Big 12 Menís Basketball media day at T-Mobile Center. Mandatory Credit: Sophia Scheller-Imagn Images | Sophia Scheller-Imagn Images

Oklahoma State is having an awful football season, and the school is desperate for a resurgence in Gallagher-Iba Arena.

Over the past two decades, OSU has steadily shifted from being a basketball school led by Eddie Sutton to a football school led by Mike Gundy’s leadership. Now, with Gundy gone, the Cowboys might be heading the other direction again, at least OSU is hoping that’s the case for this season.

As an athletic department, OSU has typically prided itself on being nationally relevant in a number of sports. While Cowgirl basketball, wrestling, softball and other programs have had some recent time in the spotlight, football and men’s basketball are the top sports in the college landscape, and OSU is desperate to be good at one of them this season.

In the 2024-25 season, OSU finished with losing records in football and men’s basketball for the first time since the 1978-79 season. At that point, OSU was still over a decade away from Eddie Sutton’s arrival and exactly a decade away from Barry Sanders’ Heisman campaign.

With nearly half a century since OSU didn’t see a winner on the gridiron or the hardwood, it’s safe to say that last season was among the worst in school history. Of course, Cowboy basketball won’t be able to fix the mess in Boone Pickens Stadium or even make fans happy, given how important football is to the fanbase, particularly after years of basketball irrelevance.

Oklahoma State coach Steve Lutz during a men's BIG 12 basketball game between the Oklahoma State University Cowboys (OSU) and the Kansas State Wildcats at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater, Okla., Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. Oklahoma State won 79-66, | BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

However, Steve Lutz and company could lead a much-needed resurgence in Stillwater. Fans need a team to rally around, and the OSU fanbase has been waiting far too long for Cowboy basketball to become a winner again.

In the Big 12, it won’t be easy for the Pokes to climb the rankings and become that winning squad in Lutz’s second season. After splitting its exhibitions against Auburn and SMU, OSU has at least shown some promising signs ahead of the season tipping off next week with a home opener against Oral Roberts.

With Cowboy football set for another matchup as a heavy underdog when it faces Kansas this weekend, fans might soon be able to toss the football team aside until 2026, with tipoff around the corner. OSU fans will likely always care a bit more about football, but at a time when the program is arguably in the worst position it's ever been, basketball might need to save the day in Stillwater.

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