Bob Stoops’ influence still part of Oklahoma, Big 12 football

FRISCO, Texas — The Big 12 Conference can barely remember a time when Bob Stoops wasn't part of the league.

Even a month after he announced he was stepping down as the Oklahoma football coach, Stoops' presence at Big 12 Football Media Days continued to be felt.

'The Big 12 is poorer for not having Bob Stoops any longer as a head coach in our league,' said Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby. 'He was a tremendous influence on his staff, on his players, on his university over a very long period of time, and he had tremendous football teams and tremendous football players.

'He has been a real leader among our coaches. He has been a voice of moderation. He has been a voice for change.'

Stoops, 56, was a northeast Ohio native who played at Iowa from 1979-82 and, after stops as an assistant at Iowa, Kent State, Kansas State and Florida, he took over at Oklahoma in 1999. He was 190-48 in 18 years at Oklahoma and won 10 Big 12 championships and a national title in 2000.

Iowa State Coach Matt Campbell, also a northeast Ohio native, said Stoops 'holds a special place in my heart' as he rose through the ranks as a youth coach. Campbell said he was at the beginning of his coaching career when he heard Stoops speak at a convention, and it was the first time his eyes were really opened to Stoops' philosophies.

'He's a guy that lived it, that breathed it, and had a phenomenal career,' Campbell said. 'I think how he built his own football program and the success they had, it's a staple, and it's a beacon that I think we all live — especially us young coaches — hope to be able to have a career like what Coach Stoops was able to do at Oklahoma.'

Oklahoma named offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley its permanent coach immediately. The Sooners have won the last two Big 12 titles, were picked to win the league last week by the media and return Heisman Trophy finalist Baker Mayfield at quarterback.

Even though the reigns of the team belong in the 33-year-old Riley's hands, Stoops' influence still will be felt throughout the program. What made the transition easiest, Riley said, was the continuity the Sooners were able to maintain.

'It's made it definitely a lot easier on me when I think about all I've done in the last month,' Riley said. 'Not having to hire 10 new coaches, not having to get to know new players and develop those relationships, people within the program, support staff, we felt like there was so much good going on with Oklahoma football that I think Coach said it best. He didn't want to derail that.'

BAYLOR 'NOT RUNNING FROM PAST'

When he stepped into his role at Baylor, football coach Matt Rhule knowingly accepted two tasks.

Win games and guide the football program through an ongoing investigation into sexual assaults committed by football players. In his first seven months on the job, Rhule has immersed himself into how to enact change.

'We're not running from the past, but rather we're learning from it,' Rhule said. 'Whether it's (president) Dr. (Linda) Livingstone or (athletics director) Mack Rhodes, we're truly committed to getting the wrongs of the past corrected into a bright new future.

'Because that which we don't acknowledge, we're doomed to repeat. So at the end of the day, I don't know everything that happened, but I just know something happened that was wrong. I know that you first get in there, and you're kind of like a first responder.'

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