Oklahoma Sooners The University of Oklahoma features 19 varsity sports teams . Both men ' s and women ' s teams are called the Sooners , a nickname given to the early participants in the land rush es which initially opened the Oklahoma Indian Territory to non - native settlement . They participate in the NCAA ' s Division I - A , in the Big 12 Conference . The University ' s current athletic director is Joe Castiglione . In 2002 , The University of Oklahoma was ranked as the 3rd best college sports program in America by Sports Illustrated . When combined with Blake Griffin ' s John Wooden Award and Sam Bradford ' s Heisman Trophy , Oklahoma became the second school to have a top winner in both basketball and football in the same year ( Gary Beban won the Heisman Trophy and Kareem Abdul - Jabbar won the USBWA " Player of the Year " award in 1968 for UCLA ) . Varsity sports . The University of Oklahoma was a charter member of the Southwest Athletic Conference ( SWC ) during its formation in 1914 . Five years later , in 1919 , OU left the SWC and joined the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association . In 1928 , this conference split , and OU remained aligned with the teams that formed the Big Six Conference . Over the next 31 years , more schools were added and the conference underwent several name changes , incrementing the number each time up to the Big Eight Conference where it remained until 1996 . Four more universities were added then and the name was changed one more time to its current form : the Big 12 Conference . The Oklahoma Sooners are represented in the following NCAA Division I varsity sports : Football . The Sooners have been participating in college football since 1895 . Calling Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium at Owen Field home , the team has won numerous bowl games , 41 conference championships ( including every Big Seven championship awarded ) , and seven Associated Press National Championships , making the Sooners football program the most decorated in the Big 12 . Oklahoma has scored the most points in Division I - A football history despite the fact they have played over 60 fewer games than the second place school on that list . OU also has the highest winning percentage of any team since the start of the AP poll in 1936 . The Sooners possess seven national championships in football , with the 1950 , 1955 , 1956 , 1974 , 1975 , 1985 , and 2000 seasons featuring the top team in the Associated Press final poll , and the 2000 Bowl Championship Series National Championship as well . This is 2nd to the Alabama Crimson Tide and Notre Dame Fighting Irish and tied with the USC Trojans for the most national titles of any Division I college football team after the end of World War II ( which is commonly used as the division between eras in college football ) . In addition to these seven acknowledged national championships there are also nine additional years in which the NCAA ' s official record book recognizes the Sooners as national champions : 1949 , 1953 , 1957 , 1967 , 1973 , 1978 , 1980 , 1986 , 2003 . The University of Oklahoma does not acknowledge these additional " championships " , as they were not awarded by the Associated Press , United Press International ( UPI ) , USA Today Coaches Poll , or the Bowl Championship Series ( BCS ) . Individual success is also a major part of Oklahoma football ; five Heisman Trophy winners ( Billy Vessels , Steve Owens , Billy Sims , Jason White and Sam Bradford ) are surrounded by many other award winners , including Adrian Peterson , Joe Washington , Brian Bosworth , Tony Casillas , Greg Pruitt , Josh Heupel , Jerry Tubbs , Rocky Calmus , Granville Liggins , Teddy Lehman , Lee Roy Selmon , Roy Williams , Tommy McDonald , Mark Clayton , Tommie Harris , J . C . Watts , Keith Jackson and Jammal Brown . More than a dozen Sooner players have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame . Oklahoma has more Butkus award winners than any other school . Legendary coaches Bennie Owen , Bud Wilkinson , and Barry Switzer have passed through the gameday tunnel for the Sooners , each on their way to the College Football Hall of Fame . Owen was the first highly successful coach at OU and was a major advocate of the forward pass , which at the turn of the century was not popular . The playing surface at Oklahoma ' s Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium is popularly known as Owen Field in honor of his long tenure and devotion to the university . Wilkinson left many imprints on the game , such as the 5 - 2 defense with five linemen and two linebackers ; the perfection of the Split - T , an early option offense ; three national championships ; and his teams set the NCAA Division 1 record for consecutive wins at 47 . The record of 47 straight wins is widely regarded as one of the great achievements in sports , and a streak that is unlikely to be broken ( started October 10 , 1953 vs . Texas and ended in 1957 with a loss to Notre Dame 7 – 0 ) . Switzer won three national championships ( The National Championship of 1975 is highly controversial , Arizona State went 12 – 0 that season while Oklahoma was 11 – 1 ) and forged arguably the fiercest rushing offense ever , the Oklahoma wishbone formation , throughout the 1970s and 1980s . Though the end of Switzer ' s tenure at Oklahoma was marked by controversy and poor player behavior , he is generally well regarded by both his past players and Sooner fans . During his 16 years as the Sooner ' s head coach , Switzer led his team to 12 conference championships and never lost more than two games in a row . His winning percentage of . 837 stands as the fourth highest in the history of 1 - A football . Other Hall of Fame coaches whose tenure included stints at the University of Oklahoma are Lawrence " Biff " Jones and Jim Tatum . Men ' s basketball . The men ' s basketball team is highly successful and rose to national prominence since the early 80s with head coach Billy Tubbs and three time All - American power forward Wayman Tisdale . It currently plays in the Lloyd Noble Center , which came to be known as the house Alvan Adams built and Tisdale filled . While the team has never won a national championship , it ranks second in most tournament wins without a championship behind Illinois . The team played in the 1988 national championship game but lost to Kansas , despite having beaten the Jayhawks three times earlier in the season , including the Big 8 Championship Game in Kansas City . The program has won a combined twenty regular - season and tournament conference championships . The Sooners headed into the 2005 – 06 season ranked No . 5 in the AP preseason poll , led by Taj Gray , Kevin Bookout , Terrell Everett , and David Godbold , but had a disappointing early season . After the emergence of Michael Neal as a potential star , the Sooners salvaged a No . 3 seed in the Big 12 Conference Tournament but lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament . On March 29 , 2006 , Kelvin Sampson left the University of Oklahoma to become the head basketball coach at Indiana University . 13 days later , on April 11 , 2006 , Oklahoma Athletic Director Joe Castiglione named Jeff Capel III the new head coach . Capel encountered trouble in his first few months as several players who had been recruited by Sampson backed out of their commitments . Also , under Sampson ' s watch , Oklahoma was placed under a three - year investigation by the NCAA for recruiting violations . At the end of the their investigation , the NCAA issued a report citing more than 550 illegal calls made by Sampson and his staff to 17 different recruits . The NCAA barred Sampson from recruiting off campus and making phone calls for one year , ending May 24 , 2007 . The Sooners looked to continue a streak of 12 consecutive postseason tournament appearances in 2006 – 2007 , but were disappointed when they did not receive a bid for either the NCAA Tournament or the NIT . In the 2009 NBA draft , the Sooners produced the No . 1 overall draft selection Blake Griffin . Men ' s gymnastics . The men ' s gymnastics program at OU is headed by coach Mark Williams . It has won five of the last seven NCAA Men ' s Gymnastics championship s , winning the title in 2002 , 2003 , 2005 , 2006 and 2008 ( they finished second behind Penn State in 2004 and 2007 ) . Only Oklahoma and Penn State have won the NCAA title since 2000 , with the exception of Ohio State in 2001 . They won the 2006 title with very little experience on the team as 50 % of the members were freshmen and just 21 % were upperclassmen ( seven freshmen , four sophomores , one junior , and two seniors ) . Teams from OU also won national championships in 1977 , 1978 , and 1991 . Gymnastics began at the school in 1902 . The program folded in 1917 when the original coach left . The program was revived in 1965 with the new coach , Russ Porterfield having to beg students to join the squad . Within 6 years , OU had its first winning season . OU ' s next coach , Paul Ziert , turned the program into one of national prominence . He led OU to two national championships in 1977 and 1978 . One of Ziert ' s athletes , Greg Buwick , would replace him as head coach in 1980 and would lead the team to its third national title in 1991 . Buwick ' s assistant of 12 years , Mark Williams , took over the head coaching position in 2000 and has continued OU ' s tradition of gymnastics excellence . OU has produced more Nissen Award winners than any other university and is the only school to have back - to - back Nissen Award winners . Baseball . The Oklahoma Baseball tradition is long , proud and storied , with two National Championships in 1951 and 1994 , along with numerous All - Americans . Their home field is L . Dale Mitchell Baseball Park , named after famed player Dale Mitchell . The current coach is Sunny Golloway . The baseball program was a source of recent controversy when the head coach , Larry Cochell , resigned after making racially insensitive remarks about one of the players on the team . During the 2005 – 2006 season , the Sooners were given a home regional at L . Dale Mitchell Park and were named the No . 1 seed . They beat the University of Houston , Texas Christian University , and Wichita State University to win the regional and advanced to a Super Regional where they were defeated by Rice University in a best - of - three series . Oregon State University went on to win the College World Series that year . Prior to 2006 , the Sooners hosted regionals at minor league parks in Oklahoma City , first All Sports Stadium and then AT & T Bricktown Ballpark . Scheduling conflicts with the Oklahoma Redhawks , the Class AAA affiliate of the Houston Astros , led OU to bid for future regionals at its on - campus stadium . Women ' s basketball . OU Women ' s Basketball began during the 1974 – 75 academic year . It wasn ' t until 1996 when OU hired local high school basketball coach , Sherri Coale , that the team became something Sooners would be proud of . At one time the team drew an average of 65 people per game , now the Sooners are one of the nation ' s leaders in attendance . In 2002 , Oklahoma advanced to the National Title game before losing to the Connecticut Huskies . Wrestling . The wrestling program is the fourth most decorated in college wrestling , having won seven national championships in 1936 , 1951 , 1952 , 1957 , 1960 , 1963 and 1974 . The Sooners are considered a power in their own right and Bedlam matches draw an enormous crowd . There are numerous All - Americans and National Champions . Their greatest wrestlers are 3 - time NCAA Champion and NCAA Outstanding Wrestler Mickey Martin ; 2 - time NCAA Champion and 2 - time NCAA Outstanding Wrestler Tommy Evans ; 3 - time NCAA Champion and 2 - time Outstanding Wrestler Dan Hodge ( Hodge was never taken down and pinned his way through the NCAA ' s his Senior year ) ; NCAA , World and Olympic Champion Wayne Wells ; 3 - time NCAA Champion , NCAA Outstanding Wrestler , 2 - time World Champion and Olympic Champion Mark Schultz ; NCAA Champion , World Champion , and Olympic Champion Dave Schultz ; 2 - time NCAA and World Champion Melvin Douglas . Women ' s rowing . On May 10 , 2007 the University announced the addition of women ' s rowing to the intercollegiate athletics program started by well respected rower Candie Garrett . The University hired head coach Leeanne Crain in the spring of 2008 . Assistant Coaches Kris Muhl and Andrew Derrick followed Crain from the University of Central Florida to jumpstart OU ' s program . Muhl took a head coaching position at the University of Jacksonville during summer 2009 . Former UVA rower and Alabama Novice coach Marina Traub was hired as the varsity assistant coach in Fall 2009 . Traub Named Asst . Rowing Coach The University of Oklahoma women ' s rowing team practices in the Oklahoma City River ( formerly the Canadian River ) , located in the Bricktown area of Oklahoma City . The river was designated as a U . S . Olympic Training Center for the sports of kayaking , canoeing and rowing on July 28 , 2009 . The University ' s boathouse is expected to be completed in early 2011 . Notable non varsity sports . Rugby . Oklahoma plays in the College Premier Division . Oklahoma has participated several times in the Collegiate Rugby Championship ( CRC ) , often matching up against rival Texas . The CRC , held every year at PPL Park in Philadelphia , is the highest profile college rugby competition in the US , and is broadcast live on NBC each year . The Oklahoma University Rugby Football Club was established in 1974 . OU Rugby has experienced success since its founding , including an undefeated record in the 1983 - 1984 season , and reached the national quarter - finals five times from 1980 - 1990 . The early 2000s saw Oklahoma return to its winning ways , winning the Big 12 Rugby Tournament four times . The captain of that squad , All American Tyson Meek , played for the US national rugby team , and went on to become OU ' s first professional rugby player . Oklahoma finished the 2005 season with a 19 - 1 record . Rivalries . University of Texas . The University of Texas is one rival of the Sooners . Regardless of the trademark implications , inverted versions of the Longhorn mascot can be seen on automobiles all over the Norman campus , and many T - shirts referring to the rivalry present the word " Texas " in mirror image , upside - down , or possibly surrounded by obscenities . A reminder of the rivalry shared by these two schools was painted on the South Oval of the OU campus for many years , and was recently replicated near the Library clock tower due to construction at its original site . The annual game between the schools at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas , Texas , known as the Red River Rivalry , is a game that draws attention from the college football world . University of Nebraska . A traditional college football rivalry with the University of Nebraska has been less intense over the past several years ( although recent off - the - field incidents have heightened the animosity between the two programs and their respective fanbases ) . This is mainly due to the split - division nature of the Big 12 that now only allows the teams to play each other twice every four years . Prior to this , these teams were involved in several historic match - ups , including the Game of the Century and the so - called Game of the New Century where the teams have come in to the game ranked one and two in the Associated Press Poll , making the games of great importance in deciding the national championship . Historically , the rivalry ' s most distinguishing quality has been the grudging respect and appreciation between the two tradition - rich programs . Also of note is the game ' s former status as the premier Thanksgiving Day game for the middle of the country . The Sooners and Cornhuskers went head - to - head in the 2006 Big 12 Championship Game , with Oklahoma winning the conference title by the score of 21 – 7 . The two teams also met in the 2010 Big 12 Championship Game , with Oklahoma again the victor in a close game by a score of 23 – 20 . Oklahoma State University . Oklahoma ' s shares an intrastate rivalry with the Oklahoma State Cowboys and is often referred to as the " Bedlam Series . " It is normally played as a home - and - home series with games alternating between Norman and Stillwater , with the exception of the baseball teams , who often play at AT & T Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City or ONEOK Field in Tulsa . Oklahoma currently leads the series 82 – 18 – 7 in football , and 124 – 88 in basketball In baseball the series is tied at 147 – 147 , and in wrestling Oklahoma trails the series 27 – 128 – 9 . Traditions . The " fight song " of the University of Oklahoma is " Boomer Sooner " , a version of " Boola Boola " , the fight song of Yale University , combined with a version of " I ' m a Tar Heel Born " , the fight song of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill . " Boomer Sooner " was written by Arthur M . Alden in 1905 . Other songs played at athletic events by The Pride of Oklahoma Marching Band are a version of Rodgers and Hammerstein ' s " Oklahoma ! " , " OK Oklahoma " , played after extra points , and the " OU Chant . " At home games , The Pride of Oklahoma Marching Band plays that visiting team ' s " fight song " while facing their fans . The Mascot present at all football games is the Sooner Schooner , a Conestoga wagon , pulled by two crème white ponies , Boomer and Sooner . The caretakers of the wagon are the spirit group called the RUF / NEKS , who shoot off modified shotguns in celebration of scores by the home team . The group was launched in 1915 when an elderly female spectator at an OU - Oklahoma A & M basketball game chided the group for raising hell ( " Sit down and be quiet , you roughnecks ! " ) Recently , in time for the 2005 football season , two new mascots , based on the ponies who pull the Schooner , were created , named appropriately , Boomer and Sooner . They are costumes of two identical ( except for eye color ) crème white ponies . Before , the Boomer and Sooner costume mascots , OU was also represented by Top Dawg . Top Dawg did some appearances at football games , but was primarily used at wrestling and basketball events . The official school colors are Crimson and Cream , with red and white sometimes used as substitutes for simplicity . The school logo is an interlocking OU design and was first used on football helmets in 1967 .