1 STATE OF OKLAHOMA
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2 2nd Session of the 59th Legislature (2024)
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3 HOUSE
3 RESOLUTION 1034 By: McCall
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7 AS INTRODUCED
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8 A Resolution recognizing and honoring Barry Switzer
8 for his many contributions to the University of
9 Oklahoma and the State of Oklahoma; and directing
9 distribution.
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13 WHEREAS, Barry Switzer joined the University of Oklahoma
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14 football staff as an assistant coach before the 1966 football
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15 season, was named offensive coordinator in 1967, and served as the
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16 program's 17th Head Coach from 1973 through 1988; and
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17 WHEREAS, Coach Switzer is tied with Bud Wilkinson for the most
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18 national championships in program history, winning titles in 1974,
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19 1975, and 1985; and
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20 WHEREAS, he finished his head coaching career with a 157-29-4
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21 record, good for an .837 winning percentage, the fourth highest
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22 among NCAA I-A coaches at the time; and
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Req. No. 10833 Page 1
 1 WHEREAS, Coach Switzer's teams won twelve Big Eight Conference
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2 titles in his sixteen years as head coach and finished with a
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3 winning record each season; and
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4 WHEREAS, under his leadership, OU's Wishbone attack produced
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5 some of the most prolific rushing offenses in college football
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6 history, and Sooner defenses were routinely among the nation's best;
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7 and
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8 WHEREAS, Coach Switzer went undefeated in his first thirty games
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9 as head coach, posting a 29-0-1 record; and
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10 WHEREAS, his Sooner teams were ranked in the Associated Press
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11 (AP) Top 5 for one hundred forty-eight weeks and were ranked No. 1
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12 for forty-three weeks; and
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13 WHEREAS, Twelve of his sixteen squads finished their season
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14 ranked in the AP Top 10, ten finished in the AP Top 5, and nine in
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15 the AP Top 3; and
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16 WHEREAS, Coach Switzer thrived against OU's biggest rivals,
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17 posting a 12-5 record as Head Coach against the University of
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18 Nebraska, going 9-5-2 versus the University of Texas, and 15-1
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19 against Oklahoma State University; and
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20 WHEREAS, his penchant for knocking off quality opponents was
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21 also reflected in his 47-21-4 record against top 20 teams; and
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22 WHEREAS, his 1986 and 1987 football teams led the nation in
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23 scoring offense and scoring defense; and
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Req. No. 10833 Page 2
 1 WHEREAS, Coach Switzer's squads posted a robust 77-10-1 (.886)
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2 home record and were nearly as successful in road games, going 63-9-
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3 1 for the most true road wins and the best true-road-game winning
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4 percentage (.870) in program history; and
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5 WHEREAS, his players earned twenty-eight consensus All-America
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6 honors (twelve on offense and sixteen on defense), including 1978
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7 Heisman Trophy-winning running back Billy Sims; and
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8 WHEREAS, he coached OU players to a total of eighteen individual
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9 national honors, such as the Butkus and Jim Thorpe Awards and the
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10 Outland Trophy; and
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11 WHEREAS, eight of Coach Switzer's players have been inducted
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12 into the College Football Hall of Fame; and
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13 WHEREAS, he produced ninety-four NFL Draft picks as OU's head
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14 coach, including sixteen first-rounders and No. 1 overall selections
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15 Lee Roy Selmon in 1976 and Billy Sims in 1980; and
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16 WHEREAS, he served as Head Coach of the Dallas Cowboys from 1994
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17 through 1997, posting the best winning percentage in franchise
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18 history and leading the 1995 squad to a Super Bowl title; and
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19 WHEREAS, Coach Switzer is one of only three coaches to win a
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20 college national championship and a Super Bowl; and
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21 WHEREAS, he was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame, the
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22 Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame, and the College Football Hall of Fame;
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23 and
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 1 WHEREAS, in 1999, OU's football operations facility at the
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2 Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium was named after him; and
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3 WHEREAS, in addition to his legendary contributions to the OU
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4 football program and to the university as a whole, Coach Switzer has
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5 been a pillar in the Oklahoma community. He has always heavily
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6 involved himself with community service efforts, even in retirement.
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7 Chief among the organizations with which he's aligned himself, he
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8 has served as an honorary coach for Special Olympics for over forty-
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9 five years, and the group's annual Award of Excellence is named
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10 after him; and
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11 WHEREAS, now for more than five decades, Sooner Nation has
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12 rallied behind Coach Switzer, inspired by his iconic leadership,
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13 legendary confidence, and deep loyalty to the University of
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14 Oklahoma.
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15 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
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16 OF THE 2ND SESSION OF THE 59TH OKLAHOMA LEGISLATURE:
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17 THAT the Oklahoma House of Representatives recognizes and honors
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18 Barry Switzer for his many contributions to the University of
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19 Oklahoma and the State of Oklahoma.
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20 THAT a copy of this resolution be distributed to Joseph Harroz,
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21 Jr., President of the University of Oklahoma.
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23 59-2-10833 EK 04/03/24
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Req. No. 10833 Page 4