Oklahoma State Splits With Mike Gundy Following Tulsa Loss

The over 20 years of service of Mike Gundy at Oklahoma State is over. The school said Tuesday that it fired the longtime coach and former Cowboys quarterback after it lost to Tulsa 19-12 in an upset Friday. The loss put Oklahoma State at 1-2, just two weeks after being defeated by No. 6 Oregon by a mercy killing 69-3.

The win in Tulsa was the first Golden Hurricane had over OSU since 1998 and the first in Stillwater since 1951. Oklahoma State was a 13.5-point favorite and neither team started the first quarterback of the year.

Cowboy Football was promoted to a new stage of success and popularity in the country under the leadership of Coach Mike Gundy, said Oklahoma State athletic director Chad Weiberg. We owe it all to him as he made the standard high and demonstrated what can be done with OSU football.

Mike Gundy, who has earned the title of I am a man, I am 40 with one of the most memorable press conferences in Oklahoma State history, retires as the most successful coach in Oklahoma State history, second-longest-serving coach in active collegiate history behind Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz. However, the program deteriorated fast after a 10-4 season and an appearance in the Big 12 title game in 2023. In 2024, OSU lost all conference games (3-9) by a margin of two or more possessions.

Oklahoma State president Jim Hess made it clear that it was a decision concerning the future of the program. Hess said that Coach Mike Gundy spent generations of his life in OSU and he was highly successful, and influenced dozens of young men. It will not be his last time making a contribution and we hope he and his family the best.

In 2005, Mike Gundy succeeded Les Miles who had gone to LSU. He never recorded a losing record after a 4-7 first season. The Cowboys had at least 10 wins under Gundy, and they nearly won a national title in 2011 when they had 12-1 with Weeden as its QB and Blackmon as its WR.

Coming back in the season 2025 with an updated contract and two new coordinators, Gundy was under a lot of pressure following the difficulties experienced in the previous season and a 52-0 loss to Colorado. His new agreement was paying him 6.75 million dollars in 2025 of four-year duration and a buyout of 15 million dollars.

Mike Gundy in his OSU career, established a record of 170-90 which was way above all his other coaches in school history. He is also the third coach to lose his job in the initial month of the 2025 college football season along with the UCLA coach DeShaun Foster and Virginia Tech coach Brent Pry.

Cowboys interim coach would be offensive coordinator Doug Meacham as Oklahoma state gears up to receive Baylor this Saturday.