Where wrestling coach John Smith ranks among OU, Oklahoma State coaches in national titles
John Smith’s transition from legendary wrestler to iconic coach was instantaneous.
In the summer of 1992 he won a gold medal at the Barcelona Olympics. In the fall of 1992 OSU hired the 27-year-old Smith as its wrestling coach.
In his 33 years at the helm, Smith, who retired last week, led the Cowboys to five national championships.
Those five titles put him in elite company. Among the 30 OSU and OU coaches who have guided their teams to a national championship, only seven of them have more titles than Smith.
Here are the OSU and OU coaches who won have won national championships, ordered from most to least:
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1. Ed Gallagher, OSU wrestling
National championships: 11 (1928, ‘29, ‘30, ‘31, ‘33, ‘34, ‘35, ‘37, ‘38, ‘39, ‘40)
Gallagher was tabbed the “Knute Rockne of the mats.” Life Magazine called him the “Gibraltar of Grappling.”
Gallagher, who moved from Kansas to Oklahoma before statehood, was a founding father of the sport.
He became the namesake of Gallagher Hall, later renamed Gallagher-Iba Arena.
2. Mark Williams, OU men’s gymnastics
National championships: 9 (2002, ‘03, ‘05, ‘06, ‘08, ‘15, ‘16, ‘17, ‘18)
Williams took over a good program and made it elite.
The Sooners won two national titles in the 1970s and a third in 1991 before Williams authored a dynasty, still ongoing, this century.
His nine national championships are the most of any Sooner coach in history.
T3. Art Griffith, OSU wrestling
National championships: 8 (1941, ‘42, ‘46, ‘48, ‘49, ‘54, ‘55, ‘56)
Griffith succeeded Gallagher after Gallagher’s death in 1940.
Cowboy wrestling kept rolling. Gallagher won eight national titles in his 13 seasons as head coach.
T3. Mike Holder, OSU golf
National championships: 8 (1976, ‘78, ‘80, ‘83, ‘87, ‘91, ‘95, ‘00)
Holder led OSU golf for 32 years before serving a 16-year stint as athletic director.
Holder is one of five coaches in NCAA history, in any sport, to win a national championship in four different decades.
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T5. Patty Gasso, OU softball
National championships: 7 (2000, ‘13, ‘16, ‘17, ‘21, ‘22, ‘23)
Gasso’s Sooners are bidding for a four-peat this season.
The Sooners have dominated the sport for the last decade, winning six national championships in the last 11 years.
Gasso might be the one to eclipse Gallagher’s record.
T5. Myron Roderick, OSU wrestling
National championships: 7 (1958, ‘59, ‘61, ‘62, ‘64, ‘66, ‘68)
From Gallagher to Griffith to Roderick, OSU’s grip on collegiate wrestling never slipped.
Roderick was a three-time NCAA champion as an OSU wrestler before becoming coach.
7. K.J. Kindler, OU women’s gymnastics
National championships: 6 (2014, ‘16, ‘17, ‘19, ‘22, ‘23)
Kindler is on a blistering pace, having won all six of her national championships in the last nine seasons.
Kindler and the undefeated Sooners could add No. 7 this month. A seventh national championship would tie Kindler with Gasso, at least temporarily, for the second most in OU history.
8. John Smith, OSU wrestling
National championships: 5 (1994, ‘03, ‘04, ‘05, ‘06)
Smith’s Cowboys four-peated in the mid 2000s.
It was OSU’s first four-peat since 1940-46 (no championship was held from 1943-45 due to World War II).
Smith was a two-time National Coach of the Year and a 15-time Big Eight/Big 12 Coach of the Year.
9. Dave Smith, OSU Director of Track & Field and Cross Country
National championships: 4 (2009, ‘10, ‘12, ‘23)
Under Smith, the OSU men’s cross country team won three national championships in a four-year stretch from 2009-12.
The Cowboys broke through again in 2023 for their fifth men’s cross country championship in program history, and the fourth under Smith.
T10. Port Robertson, OU wrestling
National championships: 3 (1951, ‘52, ‘57)
OU wrestling won its first national championship in 1936. It won three more under Robertson in the 1950s. Robertson’s Sooners had three runner-up finishes.
The Harrah native won a pair of Big Six titles as a wrestler in 1935 and 1937.
T10. Barry Switzer, OU football
National championships: 3 (1974, ‘75, ‘85)
Switzer’s .837 winning percentage is the highest of any OU football coach.
Like Bud Wilkinson, Switzer led the Sooners to three national titles.
Switzer went on to win a Super Bowl with the Dallas Cowboys.
T10. Bud Wilkinson, OU football
National championships: 3 (1950, ‘55, ‘56)
Under Wilkinson, OU won 47 straight games from 1953-57 — a record that still stands. The Sooners didn’t lose a conference game from 1946-59 (72-0-2).
Wilkinson won three national championships in his 17 seasons with the Sooners.
T13. Tommy Evans, OU wrestling
National championships: 2 (1960, ‘63)
As a wrestler, Evans was a two-time state champion at Tulsa Rogers and a two-time national champion at OU.
He later coached the Sooners to two more national championships.
T13. Henry Iba, OSU men’s basketball
National championships: 2 (1945, ‘46)
The Cowboys won back-to-back titles under Iba, OSU’s legendary coach from 1934-70.
Iba, a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, went 751-340 at OSU. Iba elevated the program into one of college basketball’s best.
T13. Joe Seay, OSU wrestling
National championships: 2 (1989, ‘90)
Credit Seay for the 28th and 29th national championships in program history.
Seay coached the Cowboys from 1985-91, before John Smith took over.
T13. Paul Ziert, OU men’s gymnastics
National championships: 2 (1977, ‘78)
Ziert coached the Sooners to their first and second national championships in program history.
Ziert recruited Bart Conner to OU.
One-time OU/OSU national championship coaches: Stan Abel, OU wrestling; Jack Baer, OU baseball; Alan Bratton, OSU men’s golf; Greg Buwick, OU men’s gymnastics; Tommy Chesbro, OSU wrestling; Larry Cochell, OU baseball; Toby Greene, OSU baseball; Gregg Grost, OU men’s golf; Labron Harris Sr., OSU men’s golf; Ralph Higgins, OSU men’s cross country; Nate Hybl, OU men’s golf; Paul V. Keen, OU wrestling; Mike McGraw, OSU men’s golf; Bob Stoops, OU football.
Joe Mussatto is a sports columnist for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Joe? Email him at jmussatto@oklahoman.com. Support Joe's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Where John Smith ranks among OU, OSU coaches in national championships
