Barry Switzer

Class of
1999
Barry Switzer

Barry Switzer

“A coach is a lot more than winning percentages – although Coach Switzer has the stats to prove he’s a winner. In season after season at the University of Oklahoma, you would hear the words ‘dynasty,’ ‘champions,’ ‘Switzer era.’ Those words connoted a time when there was something called ‘Sooner Magic’ – something that unified our team, our university and our state.”
J.C. Watts, Jr., 1999

Biography

A native of Arkansas, Barry 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 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. 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 National Football League (NFL) Championship Super Bowl in 1996. Switzer has the highest winning percentage of any Dallas Cowboys football coach and is one of only three coaches to ever win a national championship in college and in the NFL. 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.

Fun fact

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 two coaches to ever win a national championship in college and in the NFL.

Oklahoma connections

Switzer came to the University of Oklahoma as an offensive line coach for the Sooners in 1966.

Hometown

Norman

Profession

Coach

Presenter

Born

1937

Died

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