A History of Tulsa Golden Hurricane Football
The Tulsa Golden Hurricane football program represents the University of Tulsa in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) level. Tulsa has competed in the American Athletic Conference (The American) since the 2014 season and was previously a member of Conference USA (C-USA). The team is led by head coach Tre Lamb. Tulsa plays its home games at Skelly Field at H. A. Chapman Stadium in Tulsa, Oklahoma. This article delves into the rich history of the program, from its humble beginnings to its conference championships and bowl game appearances.
Early Years and Formation (1895-1921)
The genesis of Tulsa football can be traced back to 1895 when the institution was known as Henry Kendall College in Muskogee. The first team represented the university during the time. That team went 1-0, defeating the Bacone Indians. Both the exact date and score of the game were not recorded. Over the next 12 years, Kendall would play 17 games, going 8-8-1, but not fielding a team for four years (1903, 1904, 1906, 1907). The most common opponent was Arkansas, who met with Tulsa four times. After the move to Tulsa was completed in 1907, the football team began to grow.
In 1913, Kendall went 5-2 under George Evans. Sam P. McBirney, who coached the 2-3 1908 squad, would then return to coach the team in 1914. His first two years back would both be successful, a 6-2 record in 1914 and 6-1-1 the following year, but the undefeated 1916 squad would bring national recognition to Tulsa. The 1916 Hurricane outscored its opponents 566-40, including an 81-0 defeat of Cumberland (TN) and a 117-0 drubbing of Missouri-Rolla. There were rumors of playing Notre Dame for the Mid-America Championship, but the two teams never met.
Kendall College would return to form after World War I, to go 8-0-1 under Francis Schmidt. The new coach was known as Francis "Close the Gates of Mercy" Schmidt because of his efforts to run up the score on inferior teams. Under Schmidt's three-year tenure, Kendall defeated Oklahoma Baptist 152-0, St. Gregory 121-0, and NE Oklahoma 151-0, as well as a 92-0 defeat of East Central Oklahoma and 10 other victories by 60+ points. The 1919 season gave Kendall their first defeat of the Oklahoma Sooners, but a 7-7 tie with Oklahoma A&M would prevent a perfect season. Ultimately, Schmidt's style would cost Tulsa their coach, as he attracted the attention of University of Arkansas boosters with a 63-7 defeat of the Razorbacks in 1919. Schmidt would sign with and coach the Hogs from 1922 to 1928.
The "Golden Hurricane" Era Begins (1922-1940)
Howard Acher would leave his mark on the program in two ways. Tulsa did not miss a beat after Schmidt's departure, and went 8-0 in 1922. This included a 13-6 defeat of Schmidt-coached Arkansas in Fayetteville. Acher also gave the newly named University of Tulsa an athletic identity. Previously, the team had been referred to as "Orange and Black", "Kendallites", "Presbyterians", "Tigers", and "Tulsans". Acher put a vote to the team to replace Golden Tornadoes, which belonged to Georgia Tech. The vote resulted in "Golden Hurricane", which it has remained ever since. The coach would not have the staying power of his nickname, however, and was ousted after three years, when he was replaced by Gus Henderson.
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TU gave Henderson a large contract to leave USC Trojans and coach the Golden Hurricane. The Hurricane had great success on and off the field under Henderson, going 62-17-3 in his first nine years, winning four Oklahoma Intercollegiate Conference championships. Henderson also played an integral part in building a home for his football team.
The Glenn Dobbs Era and National Recognition (1941-1960)
Tulsa signed their 13th head coach, Henry Frnka, who was coaching at a high school in Greenville, Texas. Under Frnka, Tulsa roared through the 1941 season, finishing 7-2 and receiving their first bowl invitation. It was the help of Glenn Dobbs, considered the best player in Tulsa history, that Frnka could take the Hurricane to new heights. Tulsa defeated Texas Tech in the Sun Bowl because of a Glenn Dobbs pass to Sax Judd with little time remaining, the only score of the game.
Tulsa improved in 1942, going 10-0, including wins against Oklahoma (23-0), Oklahoma A&M (34-6), and Arkansas (40-7). This netted the Golden Hurricane an invitation to the 1943 Sugar Bowl against Tennessee. Tulsa lost the game and argument for national champion on a late Volunteer touchdown. Tulsa was instead ranked fourth to end the year, the highest in school history.
In 1955, Tulsa offered Bobby Dobbs the head football coaching job. Bobby accepted and left the Air Force. At Tulsa, he took over a team that had gone 0-11 the previous season. In 1956, Tulsa posted a 7-2-1 record, and in 1958, the team 7-3. These successes prompted Army to consider Bobby as a replacement for Red Blaik, but Dale Hall was given the job instead. Dobbs most significant wins at Tulsa were a 24-16 victory over the undefeated Oklahoma State Cowboys in 1958 and a 17-6 victory over tenth ranked North Texas in 1959. Dobbs compiled a 30-28-2 overall record at Tulsa. Tulsa replaced Bobby Dobbs with his brother, Glenn, in 1961.
Passing Records and Bluebonnet Bowl Appearances (1961-1970)
Glenn Dobbs' teams led the nation in passing for five straight years (1962-1966) and went to the Bluebonnet Bowl in 1964 and 1965. Notable in Tulsa football tradition are the Missouri Valley Conference teams of 1964 and 1965 which compiled records of 9-2 and 8-3 and played in the Bluebonnet Bowl in both years. The passing attack featured Jerry Rhome to Howard Twilley, both of whom achieved lengthy careers in professional football; Rhome polled second in the 1964 Heisman Trophy; Rhome and Twilley are in the College Football Hall of Fame.
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The Golden Hurricane also was handed one of the worst defeats in college football history when they were beaten in regular season play by Houston Cougars 100-6 on November 23, 1968. Dr. Phil McGraw played for TU at the time. Vince Carillot succeeded Dobbs as head coach. In July 1970, Claude Gibson was elevated to interim head coach when Golden Hurricane coach Vince Carillot resigned. When Gibson's Tulsa squad started the season 4-1, which included a stunning upset of Memphis, a team Tulsa had not beaten in six years, the interim label was removed. His first Golden Hurricane team finished 6-4. However, a 4-7 record in 1971 and a 1-5 start to the 1972 season did him in, as he was fired.
The John Cooper Era (1977-1985)
F. A. Dry was donned the interim tag when Gibson was fired, and a 3-2 finish to the 1972 season earned him the permanent head coaching position. In 1977, John Cooper was named the head football coach at Tulsa. At Tulsa, he compiled a 56-32 record with five Missouri Valley Conference titles. Cooper considers his tenure at Tulsa his "most enjoyable years as a coach". For most of his tenure, Tulsa had trouble attracting enough fans to meet the minimum requirements to stay in Division I-A and were forced to pad their gates. The Missouri Valley dropped football after the 1985 season. Tulsa, by this time the MVC's only Division I-A member in football, became an independent.
Independence and Conference USA (1986-2013)
Morton left Tulsa after two seasons to accept the head football coach position at Wisconsin. On November 2, 1985, Tulsa became the first NCAA football team to get two 200-yard rushing performances from two running backs in the same game. Alabama offensive coordinator and offensive line coach George Henshaw was selected as Morton's replacement. David Rader was promoted from quarterbacks coach and associate head coach to replace Henshaw. Rader led Tulsa to a school-record 10 wins and finished ranked No. 21 in the AP poll in 1991, but it turned out to be the school's last hurrah for more than a decade. According to Rader, school officials dropped health/PE as a major early in the 1990s; at one point, 56 percent of the players were health/PE majors.
Steve Kragthorpe was hired to replace Burns as Golden Hurricanes head coach in 2003. In his first season at Tulsa, Kragthorpe guided a program that had won just two games during the previous two seasons to an 8-5 record and its first bowl game appearance since 1991. In 2005, Tulsa won the Conference USA championship and then went on to beat Fresno State in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl. When the Tulsa head coaching position was vacant following the 2002 season, Todd Graham sent in his application. But it was not until five years later, when Steve Kragthorpe left for Louisville, that Graham would take over the reins as the Golden Hurricane head coach. After serving three years as Tulsa defensive coordinator and one year as Rice head coach, Graham was introduced as Tulsa's 27th head football coach on January 12, 2007.
With an annual salary of $1.1 million Graham was the second highest-paid coach in Conference USA, behind SMU's June Jones in 2010. For his offensive coordinators, Graham turned to his good friend Gus Malzahn, then offensive coordinator at Arkansas, as well as then WVU tight ends coach Herb Hand. He also hired former Tulsa quarterback and Tulsa Union HS coach Bill Blankenship as wide receivers coach. In his final season at Tulsa, the team reached a 10-3 record that included a 28-27 upset at Notre Dame and 62-35 win over No.
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Recent History and the American Athletic Conference (2014-Present)
After a brief search, former Golden Hurricane quarterback Bill Blankenship was named Tulsa's new head coach on January 14, 2011, receiving a promotion from special teams coordinator, wide receivers and running backs coach. Blankenship's first two seasons as head coach were marked by success, including a conference championship and Liberty Bowl victory in 2012. Baylor offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery accepted an offer from Tulsa to become their head coach on December 11, 2014. Montgomery brought with him an exciting, up-tempo, pass-oriented spread offense he helped install as offensive coordinator at Houston and Baylor under head coach Art Briles.
In Montgomery's first season at the helm, the Golden Hurricane improved to 6-7, with a loss in the Independence Bowl to cap the year. In Montgomery's second season, Tulsa finished 10-3, but fell to 2-10 in 2017. Following the dismissal of Montgomery, Tulsa announced that they had hired Ohio State offensive coordinator and former Indiana head coach Kevin Wilson as the program's next head coach. Wilson was terminated after a losing season his first year and after several bad losses his second year.
Tulsa has competed in the American Athletic Conference (The American) since the 2014 season, marking a new chapter in the program's history.
The Road Ahead: The 2025 Season
The Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team is gearing up for the upcoming 2025 season under the leadership of head coach Tre Lamb. Lamb, in his 1st season, holds a 4-8 (.333) record. As the team prepares for the season, fans eagerly anticipate the matchups and the potential for success in the American Athletic Conference.
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