Are you ready for some of the best college football action? Then it’s time to grab your tickets to the next Oklahoma State Cowboys home game.
The Oklahoma State Cowboys represent Oklahoma STate University-Stillwater in College football. They play out of their home stadium, Boone Pickens Stadium and compete in the Big 12 Conference at the NCAA Division I level.
As of now, their record is impressive with an all-time .525 win record (623-562-49). They also have 29 Bowl game appearances (19-10), and have earned 1 claimed national title (1945) and 1 unclaimed national title (2011). The program has also earned 10 conference titles.
Cowboys Early History (1900–1938)
The university played their first season of football in 1900. They later joined their first conference at the start of the 1915 season in the Southwest Conference. The team played for several years and made their next big splash in 1925 when they joined the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MVIAA).
Three years later, when the MVIAA split into the Big Six Conference and the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC), The university was the only large school that joined the smaller MVC. Soon after, Jim Lookabaugh took command of the football program and led them for eleven seasons. This included a 9-0 campaign and a national championship in 1945.
As of the time of writing, MIke Gundy has taken command of the team after he was promoted from offensive coordinator. He serves as the 22nd head coach at the university and is one of three head coaches for Oklahoma State to have previously played for the university. The others being Jim Lookabaugh and Floyd Gass.
Gundy quickly earned his mark with a second season 7-6 finish that included a victory over the Alabama Crimson Tide in the Independence Bowl. Then later, in 2007, the Cowboys posted a 6-6 record and a victory in the Insight Bowl against the Indiana Hoosiers. These two successful seasons led to Gundy’s first contract extension.
Following this, on December 3, 2011, the Cowboys won their first Big-12 Championship in university history with a blistering 44-10 victory over rival Oklahoma in the Bedlam Series. The program went on to win the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl by defeating Stanford in overtime, 41-38 on January 2, 2012. The next year saw him earn his 63rd win as head coach which pushed him over former head coach Jones as the winningest coach in school history.
He then went on to earn his 100th victory on October 29, 2016 when the Cowboys won 37-20 over West Virginia. This was also his sixth victory over a top 10 ranked school. To date, Gundy became the only Oklahoma State football coach to record 100 victories and only the 6th coach to reach the milestone with his current school.
As you can imagine, Gundy’s leadership and rapport with his players have led to start talent coming out. And of these star players, several have made it into the professional level with the NFL. These include several NFL-quality wide receivers including Adarius Bowman, Dez Bryant, Justin Blackmon, and James Washington.
About Boone Pickens Stadium
Boone Pickens Stadium, once known as Lewis Field, has been home to the Cowboys since 1919. The stadium has been complete since 1920 with several revisions and updates to keep it on top of the collegiate football world. It’s also the oldest stadium in the Big-12 conference.
One of the most important updates came After the 2001 Cowboys victory over the Oklahoma Sooners in the Bedlam Series game and the following 2002 Houston Bowl season. Interest grew and fans called out for an overhaul to then Lewis Field. This led to a fund-raising project for the renovation that was known as “The Next Level”. “The Next Level” quickly became the Oklahoma State athletic department’s flagship project.
Capacity and Attendance Records
Today, the stadium has a capacity of 55,509 spectators. But these records are routinely beaten, especially in the modern day MIke Gundy era. The following are the 10 bigggest single game attendance records set by the stadium, as well as the results of those games.
- 60,218 Nov. 23, 2013 vs. #3 Baylor W, 49-17
- 59,638 Oct. 19, 2013 vs. TCU W, 24-10
- 59,486 Oct. 24, 2015 vs. Kansas W, 58-10
- 59,124 Oct. 25, 2014 vs. #22 West Virginia L, 10-34
- 59,061 (tied) Nov. 7, 2015 vs. #5 TCU W, 49-29
- 59,061 (tied) Lamar vs. W, 59-3
- 58,895 Nov. 5, 2011 vs. #17 Kansas State W, 52-45
- 58,841 Oct. 5, 2013 vs. Kansas State W, 33-29
- 58,669 Nov. 22, 2015 vs. #10 Baylor L, 35-45
- 58,520 Dec. 7, 2013 vs. #18 Oklahoma L, 24-33
Notable Oklahoma State Players
The Oklahoma State Cowboys is a program that raises some of the strongest players in collegiate football. So there’s no surprise that many of these players have gone on to excellent NFL careers. The following are notable Cowboys who have gone on to make their mark in the NFL as of November 7, 2020.
- Dan Bailey, K – Minnesota Vikings
- Dez Bryant, WR – Baltimore Ravens
- Chris Carson, RB – Seattle Seahawks
- Tre Flowers, CB – Seattle Seahawks
- Michael Hunter, CB – Free Agent
- Blake Jarwin, TE – Dallas Cowboys
- Ashton Lampkin, CB – Free Agent
- Emmanuel Ogbah, DE – Miami Dolphins
- Russell Okung, OT – Carolina Panthers
- Tyler Patmon, CB – Free Agent
- Kevin Peterson, CB – Arizona Cardinals
- Lenzy Pipkins, CB – Free Agent
- Mason Rudolph, QB – Pittsburgh Steelers
- Jordan Sterns, FS – Free Agent
- Lane Taylor, G – Green Bay Packers
- Vincent Taylor, DT – Cleveland Browns
- James Washington, WR – Pittsburgh Steelers