Mike Gundy’s name may no longer be on the Oklahoma State sideline, but the bond clearly hasn’t gone anywhere.
On TNT’s Big 12 pregame show Saturday, Gundy looked back on the run that defined his life in Stillwater, tracing it all the way from his arrival as a quarterback in 1986 to the years he later spent running the program.
“We had been very fortunate to be there a long time,” Gundy said. “I came there in 1986 as a player, and Oklahoma State was good enough to give me a scholarship, get a degree, nice enough to make me a coach and eventually as a head coach.”
He didn’t stop there. Gundy spoke with real warmth about what the school and the town have meant to him over the years.
“The fondest memories of my life,” Gundy said. “And just, great people, great organization.
Stillwater, Oklahoma, is a beautiful place. And memories of a lifetime.
And very, very thankful for Oklahoma State. And excited about what they’re doing now.”
That kind of sentiment carries extra weight coming from a coach whose identity became inseparable from Oklahoma State football.
Gundy played quarterback for the Cowboys from 1986-89 before returning as an assistant coach and eventually being promoted to head coach in 2005. From there, he built the most successful sustained stretch in program history.
His record at Oklahoma State finished at 170-90, the best mark any coach in school history compiled by a wide margin. Under Gundy, the Cowboys won the 2011 Big 12 Championship, reached five New Year’s Six bowls, posted eight 10-win seasons and put together 18 straight winning seasons from 2006-23. He also won 12 bowl games and finished with 102 Big 12 victories, trailing only Bob Stoops and Bill Snyder in conference history when his time in charge ended.
The accolades piled up, too. Gundy was named Big 12 Coach of the Year three times and won National Coach of the Year honors after the Cowboys’ 12-1 season in 2011. His teams produced 48 All-Americans and 42 NFL Draft picks along the way.
Now he’s back around the Big 12 in a new role with TNT’s college football coverage, and Saturday offered a reminder that the ending in Stillwater doesn’t erase what came before it.
There was no bitterness in his words, just appreciation. Gundy used his first Big 12 television appearance to speak plainly about the school, the community and the years that shaped nearly his entire adult life.
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