The
Oklahoma State Cowboys football program is a
college football team that represents
Oklahoma State University–Stillwater as part of the
Big 12 Conference in the
National Collegiate Athletic Association . The team has had 22 head coaches since organized football began in 1901 with the nickname
Aggies . The team played without a head coach until 1906. The university, then known as Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College, was renamed Oklahoma State University in 1957 and its nickname was changed to
Cowboys . Oklahoma State was an original member of the
Southwest Conference , joining in 1915. They later joined the
Missouri Valley Conference in 1925 and the
Big Eight Conference in 1960. The Cowboys became a charter member of the Big 12 in 1996. The Cowboys have played in more than 1,000 games during their 108 seasons. In those seasons, eight coaches have led the Cowboys to postseason
bowl games :
Jim Lookabaugh ,
Cliff Speegle ,
Jim Stanley ,
Jimmy Johnson ,
Pat Jones ,
Bob Simmons ,
Les Miles and
Mike Gundy . Six coaches have won
conference championships with the Cowboys:
John Maulbetsch ,
Lynn Waldorf , Lookabaugh,
Jennings B. Whitworth , Stanley, and Gundy.
Gundy is the all-time leader in games coached (138), wins (94) and years coached (14), while Waldorf is the all-time leader in winning percentage (.735). Theodore Cox finished his career with a .250 winning percentage, the worst in team history. Of the 22 Cowboy coaches, Waldorf and Johnson have been inducted in the College Football Hall of Fame . Three coaches are also graduates of the university: Lookabaugh, Floyd Gass , and Gundy. The first coach was F. A. McCoy , who serviced only one season, in 1905. The current coach, Mike Gundy, was hired in January 2005.
Les Miles, head coach of the Cowboys from 2001 to 2004 Coaches Updated through 2023 season
#
Name
Term
GC
OW
OL
OT
O%
CW
CL
CT
C%
PW
PL
PT
CCs
Awards
1
F. A. McCoy 1905
7
1
4
2
.286
2
Boyd Hill 1906–1907
15
2
9
4
.267
3
Ed Parry 1908
8
4
4
0
.500
4
Paul J. Davis 1909–1914
45
28
16
1
.633
5
John G. Griffith 1915–1916
18
8
9
1
.472
0
6
0
.000
6
Earl A. Pritchard 1917–1918
15
8
7
0
.533
1
4
0
0.200
7
Jim Pixlee 1919–1920
16
3
10
3
.281
0
5
0
.000
8
John Maulbetsch 1921–1928
70
27
37
6
.429
10
13
3
0.442
1
9
Pappy Waldorf 1929–1933
51
34
10
7
.735
9
1
0
0.900
3
10
Albert Exendine 1934–1935
20
7
12
1
.375
1
4
0
0.200
11
Ted Cox 1936–1938
30
7
23
0
.233
3
8
0
0.273
12
Jim Lookabaugh 1939–1949
105
58
41
6
.581
19
10
1
0.650
2
1
0
3
13
Jennings B. Whitworth 1950–1954
51
22
27
2
.451
11
9
1
0.548
1
14
Cliff Speegle 1955–1962
81
36
42
3
.463
9
19
1
0.328
1
0
0
15
Phil Cutchin 1963–1968
59
19
38
2
.339
14
26
1
0.354
16
Floyd Gass 1969–1971
32
13
18
1
.422
7
14
0
0.333
17
Dave Smith 1972
11
7
4
0
.636
4
3
0
0.571
18
Jim Stanley 1973–1978
68
35
31
2
.529
19
21
2
0.476
1
1
0
1
19
Jimmy Johnson 1979–1983
57
29
25
3
.535
18
15
2
0.543
1
1
0
20
Pat Jones 1984–1994
125
62
60
3
.508
30
44
3
0.409
3
1
0
21
Bob Simmons 1995–2000
68
30
38
0
.441
16
31
0
0.340
0
1
0
22
Les Miles 2001–2004
49
28
21
.571
16
16
0.500
1
2
23
Mike Gundy 2005–present
245
166
77
.678
102
63
0.618
12
6
1
Key
Conference games
CW
Wins
CL
Losses
CT
Ties
C%
Winning percentage
Postseason games
PW
Wins
PL
Losses
PT
Ties
