Barry Switzer

Barry Switzer is among the “winningest” coaches in all of college football and led the Sooners to three national championship wins, 12 Big Eight Conference crowns, and never had a losing season during his tenure as head coach (1973-1989). Switzer became one of only three coaches to ever win a national championship in college and in the NFL.

A native of Arkansas, Switzer graduated from the University of Arkansas in 1960 and served in the U.S. Army before returning to the university as scout team coach and then offensive coach. He joined the coaching staff of the University of Oklahoma in 1966, was named offensive coordinator in 1967, then assistant head coach in 1970, and finally head coach in 1973. Switzer concluded his time at OU at the end of the 1988 season with a 157-29-4 record, a percentage that ranked him fourth among history’s legendary football coaches. He then became head coach of the Dallas Cowboys for four seasons and won the Super Bowl in 1996.

Switzer has the highest winning percentage of any Dallas Cowboys football coach. The University of Oklahoma’s athletic complex, the Barry Switzer Center, was named in his honor. He is a member of the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame and organized the annual Swing for Sight Golf Tournament to raise money for the Society for the Prevention of Blindness. Switzer served as honorary head coach of Oklahoma’s Special Olympics for more than 40 years.