Mike Gundy Named the 2022 Grant Teaff Award Winner

STILLWATER – While in San Antonio on Sunday at the 2022 American Football Coaches Association Convention, Oklahoma State University head football coach Mike Gundy was named the winner of the 2022 Grant Teaff Award by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

Baylor Bear Athletics

Caption

Named after Grant Teaff, former Baylor University coach, AFCA executive director and Trustee Emeritus of the FCA Board of Trustees, the Coach of the Year Award presented by FCA recognizes a football coach who exemplifies Christian principles and who is involved in FCA. The award is also based on the success and performance of the coach’s team that season. Previous winners include Blake Anderson (2019), Matt Campbell (2018), Scott Frost (2017), John Stiegelmeier (2016), Larry Fedora (2015), Dabo Swinney (2014), Tommy Bowden, Tommy Tuberville and Jerry Kill. 

Gundy met Coach Teaff in Waco when he was an assistant at Baylor for longtime Teaff assistant coach Chuck Reedy. Teaff had just retired and left the Baylor program to Reedy. Gundy told me that meeting Teaff was something that changed his coaching philosophy. I believe that Gundy has adopted a lot of his culture in his program from principles similar to Teaff.

“When I first started coaching, I thought it was all about the player,” Gundy has said and told me many times. “Then I realized we have to teach and coach the person first. They’ll realize that wins and losses aren’t nearly as important as what we’ve instilled in them and what they carry on with their wife, their family, their kids, their job, society — to make the world a better place.

Pat Kinnison - Chief Photographer

Mike Gundy

“Our goal has to be to make them better people, better husbands, better fathers to their kids, and productive members of society,” Gundy has said.”

Gundy was there in San Antonio with his wife Kristen. His team finished 12-2 this season and with a 37-35 win over Notre Dame in the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl. It was Gundy’s 16th straight winning season and his 16th straight bowl game. His record overall is now 149-69 at his alma mater. He is now 11-5 in bowl games and has coached the Cowboys in five New Year’s Six bowl games.

“This is a neat award,” Gundy told me. “You know it is special to me because of Coach Teaff.”