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On this day in 1998, Bob Stoops was introduced as the Sooners’ 21st head coach.
A victory-starved group of about 500 gathered in front of Evans Hall at OU’s Norman campus to welcome the new coach.
At that time, the Sooners hadn’t had a winning season since 1993. Since Stoops’ hire, they haven’t had a losing regular season (OU finished 6-7 in 2022 after a bowl loss).
“I will not shy away from the expectations that are here at Oklahoma,” Stoops said that day. “In fact, we’ll embrace them.
“There should be great expectations here. It’s a program with championships that should expect championships. I will operate with no excuses. There are no excuses. You succeed or you don’t.”
Bob Stoops retired in June 2017, handing the reigns to Lincoln Riley. He’s since returned to coaching three times; once in spring 2020 to coach XFL’s Dallas Renegades; again in December 2020 helping with OU practice due to COVID-19 issues; and in December 2021 when Riley left for USC as the interim OU head coach.
Bob Stoops was named to the College Football Hall of Fame’s 2021 class along with 12 others.
Check out photos from throughout his OU career here.
