The winningest coach in Oklahoma history, Bob Stoops has become synonymous with success as he firmly etched his indelible stamp upon college football. Stoops is the former legendary head football coach at the University of Oklahoma, a position he held from 1999 until he announced his retirement June 7, 2017. After briefly coming out of retirement in 2020 to coach the Dallas Renegades in the XFL, he now serves as a special assistant to the athletics director at OU. He appears on FOX's Big Noon college football pregame show as a college football studio analyst. Stoops was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2021.
Prior to coaching at Oklahoma, Stoops held various coordinator and position-coach positions at Iowa, Kansas State and Florida.
In his 18 years as head coach of the Sooners, no head coach in school history produced more victories than Stoops. Stoops accumulated an impressive home winning streak of 39 consecutive games from 2005 to 2011. He also has the most wins of the decade of any BCS school. Stoops is one of four coaches to win over 100 games at the University of Oklahoma, reaching the feat faster than any coach in college football history. Add it all up, and it’s easy to see why ESPN the Magazine in 2012 named Oklahoma the top college football program of the BCS era.
In 2000, Stoops led the Sooners to an Orange Bowl victory and the BCS National Championship, finishing the season undefeated. As a result, Stoops was awarded the Paul "Bear" Bryant Award and the Walter Camp Coach of the Year.
In 2001, he started the Bob Stoops Champions Foundation to provide support to children and families in the Norman and Oklahoma City areas. In 2018, Stoops joined with current OU head coach Lincoln Riley and College Football Hall of Fame Coach Barry Switzer to create the HBC Champions Foundation to supply financial contributions, positive experiences and support to ill or disadvantaged children in Oklahoma.
Stoops is one of six children born to longtime high school coach Ron Sr. and Evelyn "Dee Dee" Stoops in Youngstown, Ohio. His younger brother, Mike, is currently the defensive coordinator for the Sooners and was previously head football coach at the University of Arizona. Another brother (the youngest), Mark Stoops, became the head coach at the University of Kentucky in November 2012. Older brother, Ron Jr., is an assistant football coach at Youngstown State University in Youngstown, Ohio.
Bob and his wife Carol have three children: a daughter, Mackenzie, who now attends the University of Oklahoma, and twin sons, Isaac and Drake.
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