List of Oklahoma Sooners head basketball coaches

The Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball and women's basketball programs are college basketball teams that represents the University of Oklahoma. Both teams play at the Division I level of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA).[1]

A man with short hair wearing a blue suit jacket and white shirt
Jeff Capel, the head coach of the men's basketball program from 2006–07 to 2010–11.

The men's team has had 12 head coaches—excluding a coach who died before ever coaching a game, Lester Lane.[A 1] Oklahoma started organized basketball with the nickname Sooners in 1908. The men's program has played in more than 2,400 games in a total of 102 seasons. In those seasons, five coaches have led the Sooners to at least one postseason tournament: Bruce Drake, Dave Bliss, Billy Tubbs, Kelvin Sampson and Jeff Capel. Five coaches have won conference championships with the Sooners: Hugh McDermott, Drake, Bliss, Tubbs and Sampson. McDermott and Drake both have had the longest tenure at Oklahoma. Tubbs is the all-time leader in games coached and wins. Sampson is the all-time leader in winning percentage. Statistically, Bob Stevens has been the least successful coach of the Sooner men, with a winning percentage of .368. Drake is the only Oklahoma coach who has been inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. The most recent men's coach was Jeff Capel, who was hired in 2006 and served until 2011.[2]

The women's program has had nine head coaches. Oklahoma started an organized women's basketball program in 1974. The women have played in more than 1,000 games in a total of 25 seasons. In those seasons, three coaches have led the Sooners to at least one postseason tournament: Maura McHugh, Burl Plunkett, and Sherri Coale. Coale is the only coach who has won conference championships with the Sooners. Hired in April 1996,[3] Coale is the all-time leader in games coached, wins and winning percentage. Statistically, Amy Dahl has been the worst coach of the Lady Sooners, with a winning percentage of .125.

Coaches

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Statistics are correct as of the end of the 2009–10 men's and women's college basketball season.

Men's

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Former coach Kelvin Sampson
# Name Term GC OW OL O% CW CL C% PW PL CCs National awards
1 David Hall 1908 7 4 3 .571
2 Bennie Owen 1909–1921 152 104 48 .684 8 16 .333
3 Hugh McDermott 1922–1938 291 185 106 .636 130 82 .613 2 – 1928^, 1929^
4 Bruce Drake 1939–1955 382 200 182 .524 106 80 .570 6 3 6 – 1939^, 1940^, 1942^, 1944^, 1947^, 1949^
5 Doyle Parrack 1956–1962 168 71 97 .423 34 58 .370
6 Bob Stevens 1963–1967 125 46 79 .368 26 44 .371
7 John MacLeod 1968–1973 159 90 69 .566 44 40 .524
8 Joe Ramsey 1974–1975 52 31 21 .596 15 13 .536
9 Dave Bliss 1976–1980 128 76 52 .594 38 32 .543 1 1 1 – 1979*^
10 Billy Tubbs 1981–1994 465 333 132 .716 126 70 .643 15 9 5 – 1984^, 1985*^, 1988*^, 1989^, 1990*
11 Kelvin Sampson 1995–2006 388 279 109 .719 128 60 .681 11 11 4 – 2001*, 2002*, 2003*, 2005^

Henry Iba Award (1995)[4]
AP Coach of the Year (1995)[5]
NABC Coach of the Year (2002)[5]

12 Jeff Capel 2006–2011 165 83 69 .546 33 43 .434 4 2
13 Lon Kruger 2012–2021 323 195 128 .604 89 90 .503 6 4
14 Porter Moser 2021–Present

Women's

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# Name Term GC OW OL O% CW CL C% PW PL CCs
1 Amy Dahl 1974 16 2 14 .125
2 Cathie Schweitzer 1975–1978 73 27 46 .370
3 Doyle Parrack 1978–1980 62 30 32 .484
4 Maura McHugh 1980–1987 212 142 70 .670 41 28 .594 3 3
5 Valerie Goodwin-Colbert 1987–1990 83 32 51 .386 13 29 .310
6 Gary Hudson 1990–1993 84 39 45 .464 17 24 .415
7 Burl Plunkett 1993–1996 88 52 36 .591 22 20 .524 4 1
8 Sherri Coale 1996–2021 805 512 293 .683 145 77 .653 20 11 5 – 2000^, 2001^, 2002*^, 2004*, 2006*^, 2007*^, 2009^[6]
9 Jennie Baranczyk 2021–Present

Notes

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  1. ^ Les Lane was hired to coach the men's basketball team in April 1973 but he died on September 5, 1973, before the start of the 1973–74 season.
  2. ^ A running total of the number of coaches of the Sooners. Thus, any coach who has two or more separate terms as head coach is counted only once.

References

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General
  • "Men's Basketball Coaches". SoonerStats.com. Archived from the original on 2009-09-21. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
  • "2008–09 Men's Basketball Media Guide" (PDF). University of Oklahoma Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-11-24. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
  • "2009–10 Women's Basketball Media Guide" (PDF). University of Oklahoma Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-11-12. Retrieved 2009-10-19.
  • "2008–09 Big 12 Conference Women's Basketball Media Guide" (PDF). Big 12 Conference. Archived from the original on 2012-10-13. Retrieved 2009-10-14.
Specific
  1. ^ "Oklahoma". NCAA.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2009-11-20.
  2. ^ "Report: Capel next Oklahoma coach". ESPN. The Associated Press. 2006-04-11. Archived from the original on 2012-11-03. Retrieved 2009-09-30.
  3. ^ "Sports Shorts". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 1996-04-09. p. 2C.
  4. ^ "Rawlings Henry Iba Award". U.S. Basketball Writers Association. Archived from the original on 2009-08-18. Retrieved 2009-09-30.
  5. ^ a b Moran, Malcolm (2006-03-30). "Indiana announces Sampson as next coach". USA Today. Archived from the original on 2012-10-25. Retrieved 2009-09-30.
  6. ^ "OU Sends Out Seniors with Win". University of Oklahoma Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. The Associated Press. Archived from the original on 2009-11-23. Retrieved 2009-11-05.