The Tulsa Golden Hurricane football program represents the

University of Tulsa The University of Tulsa (TU) is a Private university, private research university in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It has a historic affiliation with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Presbyterian Church, although it is now nondenominational, and the campus ...

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

at the

NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). As ...

(FBS) level. Tulsa has competed in the

American Athletic Conference The American Athletic Conference (AAC), also known as The American, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States, featuring 13 full member universities and 6 affiliate member universities that compete in t ...

(The American) since the 2014 season and was previously a member of

Conference USA Conference USA (CUSA) is a collegiate athletic conference of member institutions in the Southern and Western United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. CUSA's offices are located in Dallas, Texas. Mem ...

(C-USA). The team is led by head coach

Tre Lamb Tre Lamb (born September 16, 1989) is an American college football coach and former player. He is the head football coach at Tulsa, a position he has held since December 2024. Lamb served as the head football coach at East Tennessee State durin ...

. Tulsa plays its home games at

Skelly Field at H. A. Chapman Stadium Skelly Field at H. A. Chapman Stadium is an outdoor college football stadium in the south central United States, located on the campus of the University of Tulsa in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Commonly known as H. A. Chapman Stadium, it is the ho ...

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa ( ) is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, second-most-populous city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the List of United States cities by population, 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The po ...

. The University of Tulsa has the smallest undergraduate enrollment of all schools that participate at the FBS level.

History

Early history (1895–1976)

Tulsa was known as Henry Kendall College until the move from Muskogee to

Tulsa Tulsa ( ) is the second-most-populous city in the state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tul ...

was completed in 1907. It was during this time that the first football team would represent the University.Bonham: 9 The team would go 1–0, defeating the Bacone Indians.ESPN: 900 Both the exact date and score of the game were not recorded. Over the next 12 years, Kendall would play 17 games, going 8–8–1, but not fielding a team for four years (1903, 1904, 1906, 1907). The most common opponent was

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

, who met with Tulsa four times. Now established in Tulsa, the football team began to grow. In 1913, Kendall went 5–2 under George Evans.

Sam P. McBirney Sam Pendleton McBirney (August 8, 1877 – January 20, 1936) was an American football coach and banker. He was the head football coach for the Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team in 1908 and from 1914 to 1916. His undefeated 1916 team outscored ...

, who coached the 2–3 1908 squad, would then return to coach the team in 1914. His first two years back would both be successful, a 6–2 record in 1914 and 6–1–1 the following year, but the undefeated 1916 squad would bring national recognition to Tulsa. The 1916 Hurricane outscored its opponents 566–40, including an 81–0 defeat of Cumberland (TN) and a 117–0 drubbing of Missouri–Rolla. There were rumors of playing Notre Dame for the Mid-America Championship, but the two teams never met. Kendall College would return to form after World War I, to go 8–0–1 under

Francis Schmidt Francis Albert Schmidt (December 3, 1885 – September 19, 1944) was an American football player and coach of football, basketball, and baseball. He served as the head football coach at the University of Tulsa (1919–1921), the University of Ark ...

. The new coach was known as Francis "Close the Gates of Mercy" Schmidt because of his efforts to run up the score on inferior teams. Under Schmidt's three-year tenure, Kendall defeated Oklahoma Baptist 152–0,

St. Gregory Pope Gregory I (; ; – 12 March 604), commonly known as Saint Gregory the Great (; ), was the 64th Bishop of Rome from 3 September 590 until his death on 12 March 604. He is known for instituting the first recorded large-scale mission from Rom ...

121–0, and NE Oklahoma 151–0, as well as a 92–0 defeat of

East Central Oklahoma East Central University (ECU or East Central) is a public university in Ada, Oklahoma. It is part of Oklahoma's Regional University System. Beyond its flagship campus in Ada, the university has courses available in McAlester, Shawnee, and Duran ...

and 10 other victories by 60+ points. The 1919 season gave Kendall their first defeat of the

Oklahoma Sooners The Oklahoma Sooners are the college athletics in the United States , athletic teams that represent the University of Oklahoma, located in Norman, Oklahoma, Norman. The 19 men's and women's varsity teams are called the "Sooners", a reference to ...

, but a 7–7 tie with

Oklahoma A&M Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known as ...

would prevent a perfect season. Ultimately, Schmidt's style would cost Tulsa their coach, as he attracted the attention of

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States. It is the Flagship campus, flagship campus of the University of Arkan ...

boosters with a 63–7 defeat of the Razorbacks in 1919. Schmidt would sign with and coach the Hogs from 1922–1928.

Howard Acher Howard Mossman Acher (December 10, 1889 – May 10, 1957) was an American college football and college basketball player and coach. He attended Grove City College, where he played football, basketball and tennis. He was hired as a coach at Grove ...

would leave his mark on the program in two ways. Tulsa did not miss a beat after Schmidt's departure, and went 8–0 in 1922. This included a 13–6 defeat of Schmidt-coached

Fayetteville Fayetteville may refer to: *Fayetteville, Alabama *Fayetteville, Arkansas ** The Fayetteville Formation *Fayetteville, Georgia *Fayetteville, Illinois *Fayetteville, Indiana *Fayetteville, Washington County, Indiana *Fayetteville, Missouri *Fayette ...

. Acher also gave the newly named

an athletic identity.ESPN: 898 Previously, the team had been referred to as "Orange and Black", "Kendallites", "Presbyterians", "Tigers", and "Tulsans". Acher put a vote to the team to replace Golden Tornadoes, which belonged to

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Established in 1885, it has the lar ...

.Bonham: 10 The vote resulted in "Golden Hurricane", which it has remained ever since. The coach would not have the staying power of his nickname, however, and was ousted after three years, when he was replaced by

Gus Henderson Elmer Clinton "Gloomy Gus" Henderson (March 10, 1889 – December 16, 1965) was an American football coach. He served as the head coach at the University of Southern California (1919–1924), the University of Tulsa (1925–1935), and Occidental ...

. TU gave Henderson a large contract to leave the mighty

Trojans Trojan or Trojans may refer to: * Of or from the ancient city of Troy * Trojan language, the language of the historical Trojans Arts and entertainment Music * ''Les Troyens'' ('The Trojans'), an opera by Berlioz, premiered part 1863, part 1890 ...

USC USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...

and coach the Golden Hurricane. The Hurricane had great success on and off the field under Henderson, going 62–17–3 in his first nine years, winning four Oklahoma Intercollegiate Conference championships. Henderson also played an integral part in building a home for his football team. The team played in McNulty Park, a 90-yard baseball field where the teams had to drive the length of the field before bringing out the ball to the ten yard line and put the ball in the endzone again. This facility shortcoming meant that officials had to make a judgment call whether the player could've scored or not.Rutland, Robert. "The Golden Hurricane: Fifty Years of Football at the University of Tulsa, 1895–1945." Tulsa Quarterback Club. (1953) OCLC: 3337415 Many fights resulted from what other schools thought was favoritism by the officials on these calls. Skelly Field, named for oil tycoon

William Skelly William Grove Skelly (June 10, 1878 – April 11, 1957) was an entrepreneur who made a fortune in the oil business. Born in Erie, Pennsylvania, Erie, Pennsylvania, he moved to Kansas in 1916, then to Tulsa, Oklahoma, Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1919, wh ...

, was completed in 1930. Tulsa won the first game in the stadium, 26–6 over

. Tulsa also scored on the first offensive play in the stadium, after Arkansas fumbled the opening kickoff. Henderson brought the University of Tulsa into the

Missouri Valley Conference The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the fourth-oldest collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the Midwestern Unite ...

for the 1935 season. Tulsa signed their 13th head coach,

Henry Frnka Henry E. Frnka ( ; March 16, 1903 – December 18, 1980) was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head coach at the University of Tulsa from 1941 to 1945 and at Tulane University from 1946 to 19 ...

, who was coaching at a high school in Greenville, Texas. Under Frnka, Tulsa roared through the 1941 season, finishing 7–2 and receiving their first bowl invitation. It was the help of

Glenn Dobbs Glenn Dobbs Jr. (July 12, 1920 – November 12, 2002) was an American professional football player in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC). A skilled tailback, quarterback, punter and return specialist, Dobbs was named the AAFC's MVP in ...

, considered the best player in Tulsa history, that Frnka could take the Hurricane to new heights. Tulsa defeated

Texas Tech Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the flagship institution of the five- ...

in the

Sun Bowl The Sun Bowl is a college football bowl game that has been played since 1935 in the southwestern United States at El Paso, Texas. Along with the Sugar Bowl and Orange Bowl, it is the second-oldest bowl game in the country, behind the Rose Bowl. ...

because of a Glenn Dobbs pass to Sax Judd with little time remaining, the only score of the game. Tulsa improved in 1942, going 10–0, including wins against

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

(23–0),

(34–6), and

(40–7). This netted the Golden Hurricane an invitation to the

1943 Sugar Bowl The 1943 Sugar Bowl featured the fourth ranked Tulsa, and the seventh ranked Tennessee. Tulsa took a 7–0 lead on a nine-yard touchdown pass from Glenn Dobbs to Cal Purdin in the second quarter. Tennessee scored on a three-yard run by Gold, but ...

against

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

. Tulsa lost the game and argument for national champion on a late Volunteer touchdown. Tulsa was instead ranked fourth to end the year, the highest in school history.Bonham: 25 The 1952 Missouri Valley Conference team with its 8–2–1 record climbed to 11th in the AP Poll & was invited to the Gator Bowl, then 1 of only 5 post-season bowl games, although not one of the 4 major ones. In 1955, Tulsa offered

Bobby Dobbs Robert Lee Dobbs (October 13, 1922 – April 2, 1986) was an American gridiron football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Tulsa from 1955 to 1960 and the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) from 1965 to ...

the head football coaching job. Bobby accepted and left the Air Force. At Tulsa, he took over a team that had gone 0–11 the previous season. In 1956, Tulsa posted a 7–2–1 record, and in 1958, the team 7–3. These successes prompted Army to consider Bobby as a replacement for

Red Blaik Earl Henry "Red" Blaik (February 15, 1897 – May 6, 1989) was an American football player, coach, college athletics administrator, and United States Army officer. He served as the head football coach at Dartmouth College from 1934 to 1940 and at ...

, but Dale Hall was given the job instead. Dobbs most significant wins at Tulsa were a 24–16 victory over the undefeated

Oklahoma State Cowboys The Oklahoma State Cowboys and Cowgirls are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Oklahoma State University, located in Stillwater. The program's mascot is a cowboy named Pistol Pete. Oklahoma State participates at the National ...

in 1958 and a 17–6 victory over tenth ranked

North Texas North Texas is a term used primarily by residents of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex to refer to a geographic area of Texas, generally considered to include the area south of Oklahoma, east of Abilene, Texas, Abilene, west of Paris, Texas, Par ...

in 1959. Dobbs compiled a 30–28–2 overall record at Tulsa. Tulsa replaced Bobby Dobbs with his brother, Glenn, in 1961.Richard Goldstein
"Glenn Dobbs, 82, Star Player And Coach of Tulsa Football,"
''New York Times'', November 15, 2002. His teams led the nation in passing for five straight years (1962–1966) and went to the

Bluebonnet Bowl The Bluebonnet Bowl was an annual college football bowl game played in Houston, Texas. A civic group was appointed by the Houston Chamber of Commerce Athletics Committee in 1959 to organize the bowl game. It was held at Rice Stadium (Rice Univ ...

in 1964 and 1965. Notable in Tulsa football tradition are the Missouri Valley Conference teams of 1964 and 1965 which compiled records of 9–2 and 8–3 and played in the

in both years. The passing attack featured

Jerry Rhome Jerry Byron Rhome (born March 6, 1942) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys, Cleveland Browns, Houston Oilers and Los Angeles Rams. He closed out h ...

to Howard Twilley, both of whom achieved lengthy careers in professional football; Rhome polled second in the 1964

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy ( ; also known simply as the Heisman) is awarded annually since 1935 to the top player in college football. It is considered the most prestigious award in the sport and is presented by the Heisman Trophy Trust followin ...

; Rhome and Twilley are in the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive Tourist attraction, attraction devoted to college football, college American football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players ...

Steve Largent Stephen Michael Largent (born September 28, 1954) is an American former professional football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports) ...

was another talented Tulsa receiver who graduated to a long NFL career (1976–1989 Seattle), was inducted into the

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional football (gridiron), professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, 1963, the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of profes ...

because of numerous enduring records as a receiver, served in the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from 1994–2002, and then ran as one of the two major candidates for

Governor of Oklahoma The governor of Oklahoma is the head of government of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Under the Oklahoma Constitution, the governor serves as the head of the Oklahoma Executive (government), executive branch, of the government of Oklahoma. The gover ...

in 2002. The Golden Hurricane won 25 Missouri Valley conference football titles the most of any school that competed in that league. Tulsa was the only team to play in five consecutive New Year's Day bowl games. The Golden Hurricane also was handed one of the worst defeats in college football history when they were beaten in regular season play by

Houston Cougars The Houston Cougars are the athletic teams representing the University of Houston. Informally, the Houston Cougars have also been referred to as the Coogs, UH, or simply Houston. Houston's nickname was suggested by early physical education inst ...

100–6 on November 23, 1968. Dr.

Phil McGraw Phillip Calvin McGraw (born September 1, 1950), also known as Dr. Phil, is an American television personality and author who is best known for hosting the talk show '' Dr. Phil''. He holds a doctorate in clinical psychology, though he ceased ...

played for TU at the time. Vince Carillot succeeded Dobbs as head coach. However, he resigned after only one season, a 1–9 campaign in 1969, after an NCAA probe into possible infractions that occurred under his watch. In July 1970, Claude Gibson was elevated to interim head coach when Golden Hurricane coach Vince Carillot resigned. When Gibson's Tulsa squad started the season 4–1, which included a stunning upset of

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Mem ...

, a team Tulsa had not beaten in six years, the interim label was removed. His first Golden Hurricane team finished 6–4. However, a 4–7 record in 1971 and a 1–5 start to the 1972 season did him in, as he was fired.

F. A. Dry F. A. Dry (born September 2, 1931) is a former American football coach. He was the head football coach for the University of Tulsa from 1972 to 1976. During his tenure there, he compiled a 31–18–1 record. After four straight Missouri Vall ...

was donned the interim tag when Gibson was fired, and a 3–2 finish to the 1972 season earned him the permanent head coaching position. Dry's Hurricane compiled records of 6–5 in 1973, 8–3 in 1974, 7–4 in 1975, and 7–4–1 in 1976 for a total of 31–18–1. Dry departed Tulsa after the 1976 season to accept the head football coach position at

TCU TCU may stand for: Education * Tanzania Commission for Universities, regulatory body for Universities in Tanzania * Texas Christian University, a private university in Fort Worth, Texas ** TCU Horned Frogs, the athletic programs of the school * Tok ...

John Cooper era (1977–1984)

In 1977, John Cooper was named the head football coach at Tulsa. At Tulsa, he compiled a 56–32 record with five

titles. Cooper considers his tenure at Tulsa his "most enjoyable years as a coach". For most of his tenure, Tulsa had trouble attracting enough fans to meet the minimum requirements to stay in Division I-A, and were forced to pad their gates. While they claimed to have attracted over 35,000 people per game, the actual average attendance was closer to 17,000. Cooper departed Tulsa after the 1984 season to accept the position of head football coach at

Arizona State Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is one of the largest ...

Don Morton era (1985–1986)

North Dakota State North Dakota State University (NDSU, formally North Dakota State University of Agriculture and Applied Sciences) is a public land-grant research university in Fargo, North Dakota, United States. It was founded as North Dakota Agricultural Colle ...

head coach Don Morton was hired to replace Cooper in 1985. Under Morton's tutelage, the Hurricane compiled a record of 13–9. The Missouri Valley dropped football after the 1985 season. Tulsa, by this time the MVC's only Division I-A member in football, became an independent. Morton left Tulsa after two seasons to accept the head football coach position at

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

. On November 2, 1985, Tulsa became the first NCAA football team to get two 200-yard rushing performances from two running backs in the same game. Gordon Brown rushed for 214 yards, and

Steve Gage Steven Glen Gage (born May 10, 1964) is an American former professional football safety in the National Football League (NFL) for the Washington Redskins from 1987 to 1988. He played college football at the University of Tulsa and was selected ...

rushed for 206 in a 42–26 win over

Wichita State Wichita State University (WSU) is a public university, public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 ...

George Henshaw era (1987)

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

offensive coordinator and offensive line coach

George Henshaw George Henshaw (born January 22, 1948) is a former American football coach. He was the head football coach at the University of Tulsa in 1987, where he compiled a record of 3–8. Henshaw also served as offensive coordinator for the Denver Bron ...

was selected as Morton's replacement. Henshaw would only stick around for one season, a 3–8 campaign in 1987, before departing to accept the position of offensive line coach for the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

, leaving the Hurricane to search for their third head coach in four years.

David Rader era (1988–1999)

David Rader was promoted from quarterbacks coach and associate head coach to replace Henshaw. Rader led Tulsa to a school-record 10 wins and finished ranked No. 21 in the AP poll in 1991, but it turned out to be the school's last hurrah for more than a decade. According to Rader, school officials dropped health/PE as a major early in the 1990s; at one point, 56 percent of the players were health/PE majors. Combined with an aging Skelly Stadium, this made it difficult to attract competitive players. Rader never won more than four games in a season again, and was fired midway through the 1999 season. Tulsa joined the

Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the Western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, Texas, Utah and Washington (state), Washington. Due to ...

in 1996, becoming that 16-team league's easternmost member at the time.

Keith Burns era (2000–2002)

defensive coordinator Keith Burns was hired to replace Rader in 2000. Burns' Hurricane struggled mightily, and he resigned under pressure after three seasons and a 7–28 record.

Steve Kragthorpe era (2003–2006)

Steve Kragthorpe Steven Jon Kragthorpe (April 28, 1965 – August 4, 2024) was an American college football head coach. He served as the head coach for the Tulsa Golden Hurricane from 2003 through 2006 and the Louisville Cardinals from 2007 to 2009. After his hea ...

was hired to replace Burns as Golden Hurricanes head coach in 2003. In his first season at Tulsa, Kragthorpe guided a program that had won just two games during the previous two seasons to an 8–5 record and its first

bowl game In North America, a bowl game, or simply bowl, is one of a number of postseason college football games primarily played by NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams. For most of its history, the FBS did not use a playoff tourname ...

appearance since 1991. In 2005, Tulsa won the

championship and then went on to beat

Fresno State California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California, United States. It is part of the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers 60 ba ...

in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl. Kragthorpe left Tulsa after four seasons to accept the head coaching position at

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

Todd Graham era (2007–2010)

When the Tulsa head coaching position was vacant following the 2002 season,

Todd Graham Michael Todd Graham (born December 5, 1964) is an American college football coach and former player who serves as an offensive analyst for TCU. He was most recently the head football coach at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Playing car ...

sent in his application. But it was not until five years later, when Steve Kragthorpe left for Louisville, that Graham would take over the reins as the Golden Hurricane head coach. After serving three years as Tulsa defensive coordinator and one year as

Rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

head coach, Graham was introduced as Tulsa's 27th head football coach on January 12, 2007. With an annual salary of $1.1 million Graham was the second highest-paid coach in

, behind SMU's

June Jones June Sheldon Jones III (born February 19, 1953) is an American football coach and former player who was most recently the offensive coordinator of the Seattle Sea Dragons. Jones was the head football coach at the University of Hawaii at Manoa ...

in 2010. For his offensive coordinators, Graham turned to his good friend

Gus Malzahn Arthur Gustav Malzahn III (; born October 28, 1965) is an American college football coach who is the offensive coordinator at Florida State. He was the head coach at the University of Central Florida ( UCF) from 2021 to 2024, Auburn University fr ...

, then offensive coordinator at Arkansas, as well as then WVU

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

s coach

Herb Hand Herb Hand (born January 5, 1968) is an American football coach who is currently the offensive line coach for the Florida State. Prior to that, he was the offensive line coach for UCF. Hand is a three-time finalist for Offensive Line Coach of th ...

. He also hired former Tulsa quarterback and Tulsa Union HS coach

Bill Blankenship Bill Blankenship (born December 12, 1956) is an American football coach and former player. He is the current head high school football coach at Owasso High School in Owasso, OK. He was the head coach of the University of Tulsa Golden Hurricane ...

as wide receivers coach. In his final season at Tulsa, the team reached a 10–3 record that included a 28–27 upset at Notre Dame and 62–35 win over No. 24-ranked

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

in the

2010 Hawaii Bowl The 2010 Sheraton Hawaii Bowl was the ninth edition of the college football bowl game. The game was played at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu on Friday of Christmas Eve 2010, at 8 p.m. ET. The contest was televised live on ESPN and sponsored by Sherat ...

. Graham left Tulsa after four seasons to accept the head football coach position at

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

Bill Blankenship era (2011–2014)

After a brief search, former Golden Hurricane quarterback

was named Tulsa's new head coach on January 14, 2011, receiving a promotion from special teams coordinator, wide receivers and running backs coach.Eric Bailey
"Bill Blankenship named new Tulsa football coach"
''

Tulsa World The ''Tulsa World'' is an American daily newspaper. It serves the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and is the primary newspaper for the northeastern and eastern portions of Oklahoma. The printed edition is the second-most circulated newspaper in the sta ...

'', January 14, 2011. Blankenship's first two seasons as head coach were marked by success, including a conference championship and Liberty Bowl victory in 2012. But over the next two seasons, Tulsa won a total of only five games, and Tulsa fired Blankenship on December 1, 2014. On April 2, 2013, Tulsa announced that in July 2014 it would leave C-USA for the league then known as the

Big East Conference The Big East Conference (stylized as BIG EAST) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. H ...

. The following day, the conference announced its new name of the

, which took effect once the non-FBS schools broke from the league and formed a new Big East Conference.

Philip Montgomery era (2015–2022)

Baylor offensive coordinator

Philip Montgomery Philip Montgomery (born December 21, 1971) is an American football coach and former player. He is the offensive coordinator for the Virginia Tech Hokies. Montgomery served as the head football coach at the University of Tulsa from 2015 to 2022. ...

accepted an offer from Tulsa to become their head coach on December 11, 2014. Montgomery brought with him an exciting, up-tempo, pass-oriented spread offense he helped install as offensive coordinator at

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

and Baylor under head coach

Art Briles Arthur Ray Briles (born December 3, 1955) is an American football coach who is currently the head coach for the Guelfi Firenze in the Italian Football League. Briles was the head coach of the Houston Cougars from 2002 to 2007 and the Baylor B ...

. In Montgomery's first season at the helm, the Golden Hurricane improved to 6–7, with a loss in the

Independence Bowl The Independence Bowl is a post-season National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)-sanctioned Division I college football bowl game that is played annually each December at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana. The Independence Bow ...

to cap the year. In Montgomery's second season, Tulsa finished 10–3, but fell to 2–10 in 2017. Montgomery was fired following the 2022 season.

Kevin Wilson (2023–present)

Following the dismissal of Montgomery, Tulsa announced that they had hired

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

offensive coordinator and former

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

head coach Kevin Wilson as the program's next head coach.

Conference affiliations

Tulsa has been a member of the following conferences. * Independent (1895–1913) * Oklahoma Intercollegiate Conference (1914–1928) *

Big Four Conference The term Big Four Conference may refer to one of several conferences between heads of state or foreign ministers of the victorious nations after World War I (1914–18) or during and after World War II (1939–45). Post-World War I After World Wa ...

(1929–1932) *

(1935–1985) * Independent (1986–1995) *

(1996–2004) *

(2005–2013) *

(2014–present)

Championships

Conference championships

Tulsa has won 35 conference championships, 29 outright and 6 shared. † Co-champions

Division championships

Tulsa has won the following division championships. † Co-champions

Head coaches

This is a list of the head coaches of Tulsa.

Bowl games

Tulsa has competed in 23 bowl games as of the conclusion of the 2021 season, garnering a record of 11–12.

Retired numbers

;Notes

Future non-conference opponents

Announced schedules as of November 15, 2024.

Bibliography

* *

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tulsa Golden Hurricane Football American football teams established in 1895 1895 establishments in Oklahoma Territory