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Oklahoma State Football

Oklahoma State Fans: What is Your Frame of Mind?

April 15, 2025
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STILLWATER – It started with football last August as Oklahoma State was picked to finish third in the Big 12 Conference by the media that covers the league. Mike Gundy was returning 19 starters off a 10-4 season which saw the Cowboys lose in the Big 12 Championship Game to Texas as they departed for the SEC. The Pokes recovered to beat SEC member Texas A&M in the TaxAct Texas Bowl. 

Doak Walker Award winner, All-American, and NCAA leading rusher, Ollie Gordon II, returned along with quarterback Alan Bowman, the entire offensive line and receivers like eventual all-time leader Brennan Presley. 

The defense returned most of their starters, but the problem was they all seemed to regress in unison. The result was the end of the football program’s18-year streak of winning seasons and bowl trips. 

From 10-4 to 3-9 is a monster drop. Believe me when I say it felt as bad as it sounds every week of the drop. 

Pat Kinnison - Chief Photographer
Presley makes one of his record setting catches.

Soccer made the NCAA Tournament. Women’s basketball made the NCAA but lost in the first round to South Dakota State. The mediocrity of men’s basketball continued although they played better the last two months of the season and made the NIT winning two before bowing out. 

Oklahoma State is struggling in the diamond sports this spring that they have normally been strong in. Both baseball and softball were picked to win the Big 12. Softball is just below .500 at 6-7 in conference play and 24-14 overall. The Cowgirls have been freefalling, and this week are No. 22 in the polls (ESPN and D1).

Baseball has long fallen out of the polls and at 5-8 (Big 12) and 16-17 overall under some standings pressure for both conference and NCAA postseason involvement. 

Bruce Waterfield/OSU Athletics
Hendrickson’s individual NCAA title was a real highlight.

There is some good news. Wrestling had a strong comeback under new coach David Taylor as they finished third in the NCAA Championships and had two individuals in heavyweight Wyatt Hendrickson and 174-pound Dean Hamiti Jr. win championships. 

The Cowgirls tennis team was unbeaten in March and April and finished in a three-way tie for the Big 12 Championship. 

Golf teams are doing good as usual, and the equestrian team won the Big 12 championship in their organization. It is still a well-below average year for Oklahoma State athletics. There are new influences to navigate. 

Mike Gundy said, in hindsight, he made a mistake in spending most of the football NIL money on the current players and not on players brought in through the transfer portal. He changed that this offseason and hired two new coordinators and new position coaches. My guess is you will see changes in some of the other sports that have fallen below expectations. 

Robert Allen - Pokes Report
Kenny Gajewski

Gundy, Gajewski, and Holliday have not forgotten how to coach. Gundy is shaking the core of his program, and I believe you will see Gajewski and Holliday doing similar. 

Based on the progress of the settlement of the House vs. NCAA class-action lawsuit and the eventual $20.5 million that will be dispersed as revenue shared. Predictions are that football will get close to $15 million of that. Basketball will get around $3 million and the rest of the sports would share the remaining approx. $2.5 million. This would fall into line with what I’ve heard from a number of schools.

My question is simple, where are you on this Oklahoma State University sports year?

What are your thoughts on the Oklahoma State sports year? 

  • I’m so mad I can’t see straight
  • I’m frustrated but I’ll get over it
  • We were due a down year and we’ll appreciate success more
  • It just sports, It’s not like it is life or death
  • I love my Cowboys and Cowgirls no matter what, win or lose

Zach Lancaster is going to put up the poll on social media for you answer. We’ve also got the poll on our front page.

My answers are the second and third combined. I’m frustrated, but I have many things in my life to be thankful for and happy about. 

I do believe we were due a down year, and I believe it takes tough times to appreciate the good times.

Discussion from...

Oklahoma State Fans: What is Your Frame of Mind?

11,862 Views | 18 Replies | Last: 3 mo ago by spencertmac
PaloDuroPoke
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7:23p, 4/15/25
2 and 5 for me. Can't afford down years like that one. Loyal and True! Go Pokes
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GumbyFromPokeyLand
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7:55p, 4/15/25
RA, respectfully you need a sixth category - "With the massive changes and further projected changes to college athletics, I'm quickly losing interest".

That said, I'm mostly there with a little bit of "we were due for a tough season or two".
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Si
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8:22a, 4/16/25
Gumby's added statement of "with the changes in college athletics I'm losing interest fast" kinda nails it for a lot of us.
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RodeoPoke
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9:24a, 4/16/25

along with what Gumby and SI said... losing interest;


I had to sort of shake my head and say, "what just happened"? It's almost like some bad mojo hit the campus or something, when you also consider Schrum.

We (OSU) just got smacked up the side of the head with reality. Just as we thought we were moving toward the top echelon with our athletic village facilities and top notch programs, the whole landscape of college athletics changed, and sadly, OSU took the wrong approach to the changes or failed to act quickly enough to take advantage of the changes.

As for "we the faithful", I think many are feeling drained and exhausted by fueling our last climb and now them telling everybody that your best is no longer enough, and this rapid decline is what can happen if you (we) don't dig deeper...

makes me pause and ask

What the heck just happened? for me, it's more dismay and angst about trying to push harder when the load got heavier and the hill got steeper and we all got a little bit older.

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NJAggie
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1:30p, 4/16/25
I'll go 3, 4, & 5.

I love when our teams win, but it just doesn't happen sometimes.

I'm more frustrated by the constant attacks on coaches for not delivering perfect results that show no understanding of the personnel issues or how sports actually operate.
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OSUCWBY
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8:36p, 4/16/25
Gundy made changes that were a must. Now we wait and see. Holiday has only skated as far as I am concerned. He needs pitching and a new coach for them. Barring this it is time for a new manager.
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RodeoPoke
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In reply to OSUCWBY • 6:13a, 4/17/25
OSUCWBY said:
Gundy made changes that were a must. Now we wait and see. Holiday has only skated as far as I am concerned. He needs pitching and a new coach for them. Barring this it is time for a new manager.

well, you sounded like Captain Obvious until you leaped off the ledge there in the last sentence....

What we need is a baseball benefactor.. .much like tennis and wrestling got... just saying
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JoeH
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10:56a, 4/17/25
I'm sort of leaning towards the sixth option of Gumby above; NIL money and the open portal have caused me to lose interest in college sports, in general. If this was professional sports it would be unlimited free agency and no salary caps and the team with the most money would generally win. I am a dinosaur and therefore old-school. I remember when the players played for the love of the game and were proud to represent the school. The primary purpose was to get a college education and the sports scholarships gave the players the opportunity to realize that education when they might not have the means otherwise. Now it is all about money and no loyalty. The universities make a 4-5 year commitment to the individual and the players make no reciprocal commitment back. This might be controlled a bit more if on the portal, the receiving school had to reimburse the prior school for educational and training costs of the player. But that will never happen in today's environment.
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RodeoPoke
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In reply to JoeH • 11:10a, 4/17/25
JoeH said:
I'm sort of leaning towards the sixth option of Gumby above; NIL money and the open portal have caused me to lose interest in college sports, in general. If this was professional sports it would be unlimited free agency and no salary caps and the team with the most money would generally win. I am a dinosaur and therefore old-school. I remember when the players played for the love of the game and were proud to represent the school. The primary purpose was to get a college education and the sports scholarships gave the players the opportunity to realize that education when they might not have the means otherwise. Now it is all about money and no loyalty. The universities make a 4-5 year commitment to the individual and the players make no reciprocal commitment back. This might be controlled a bit more if on the portal, the receiving school had to reimburse the prior school for educational and training costs of the player. But that will never happen in today's environment.

at a minimum, make them pay for their own tuition and R&B, they all make more than the average US family.

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GumbyFromPokeyLand
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1:37p, 4/17/25
The problem IS the transfer portal. Without the leverage gained by the fear of transferring, NIL$ for athletes already enrolled at a school would be nonexistent. The lack of movement to do away with unlimited transfers blows my efffffing mind.
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RodeoPoke
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In reply to GumbyFromPokeyLand • 4:36p, 4/17/25
GumbyFromPokeyLand said:
The problem IS the transfer portal. Without the leverage gained by the fear of transferring, NIL$ for athletes already enrolled at a school would be nonexistent. The lack of movement to do away with unlimited transfers blows my efffffing mind.

I sort of agree, but would refine it to say that the Portal is a symptom (result) of not declaring them EMPLOYEES, which they now are, and allowing schools enter into long-term employment contracts, like they do for coaches.

I'm not sure we can get there, but I don't really see any other options ATM
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Ohiopoke
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5:58p, 4/17/25
I admit I am losing interest quickly as the players have all of the control and are not accountable in the new system and world of college sports. I did renew my sports tickets for one more year but a renewal after that is going to be based on the outcome of the NIL legal process and our Universities ability to properly adapt and adjust to the new world of college athletics.

I can see a day when universities sponsor less sports than the number required by the NCAA which needs to be retired and replaced with a different ruling body which operates relative to the new world of college sports and not the historical past.

With all of this said I am very sad at the state of college sports and thankful that I lived in a time when we (OSU) was able to overcome their past and produce some very competitive programs in a variety of sports from 1980 through 2021.
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Ohiopoke
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6:00p, 4/17/25
By the way...thanks for this site having the guts to ask for this feedback!
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GumbyFromPokeyLand
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In reply to RodeoPoke • 6:34p, 4/17/25
GumbyFromPokeyLand said:
The problem IS the transfer portal. Without the leverage gained by the fear of transferring, NIL$ for athletes already enrolled at a school would be nonexistent. The lack of movement to do away with unlimited transfers blows my efffffing mind.
RodeoPoke said:

I sort of agree, but would refine it to say that the Portal is a symptom (result) of not declaring them EMPLOYEES, which they now are, and allowing schools enter into long-term employment contracts, like they do for coaches.

I'm not sure we can get there, but I don't really see any other options ATM


What stops an employee under contract or not under contract from just quitting and going to work for somebody else? Courts have long held employment provisions prohibiting free movement between employers invalid and/or unenforceable. And any monetary penalties per the contract will just be picked up by the new employer, or, nonexistent altogether. If athletes become employees, the only foreseeable fix for the transfer problem would be to get an anti-trust exemption for college athletics.

For sure, the ultimate death and financial ruin of college athletics will be from transfers, not revenue sharing and/or NIL.
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RodeoPoke
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In reply to GumbyFromPokeyLand • 8:12a, 4/18/25
+ 1 more quotes (click to expand)
RodeoPoke said:

I sort of agree, but would refine it to say that the Portal is a symptom (result) of not declaring them EMPLOYEES, which they now are, and allowing schools enter into long-term employment contracts, like they do for coaches.

I'm not sure we can get there, but I don't really see any other options ATM
GumbyFromPokeyLand said:


What stops an employee under contract or not under contract from just quitting and going to work for somebody else? Courts have long held employment provisions prohibiting free movement between employers invalid and/or unenforceable. And any monetary penalties per the contract will just be picked up by the new employer, or, nonexistent altogether. If athletes become employees, the only foreseeable fix for the transfer problem would be to get an anti-trust exemption for college athletics.

For sure, the ultimate death and financial ruin of college athletics will be from transfers, not revenue sharing and/or NIL.

those are valid points indeed, but they seem to have adapted employment in the NFL in a way that people don't just quit mid season and then expect to get picked up by another team.

I haven't thought through the details, but a model already exists (in almost every professional (paid) sports team)

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backphil
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9:06a, 4/18/25
I threw in the towel on season football tickets after Gundy's lazy, smirking attitude after the 2022 season. Lack of NIL money to buy the best players is the main factor today and lack of loyalty of the players to the school causes me to be disinterested.
Class 1980
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RodeoPoke
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In reply to backphil • 12:20p, 4/18/25
backphil said:
I threw in the towel on season football tickets after Gundy's lazy, smirking attitude after the 2022 season. Lack of NIL money to buy the best players is the main factor today and lack of loyalty of the players to the school causes me to be disinterested.
so.... you're saying that you sank the team and stopped supporting years ago, so the whole collapse is actually your fault, and now you're going to blame it on lack of support. What?


???
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spencertmac
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12:35p, 4/18/25
Mixed feelings. I have always loved Ok State and college sports more so than Pros. But, this age of college is unrecognizable to what most of what I loved about it.
I was cheering for fellow Pokes that took pride in the University & culture alongside other Pokes. College sports was defined by Pageantry, Regionality, and Loyalty creating a brotherhood essentially. The players would leave the Ok State and always represent it and support the university along side us. I just look at icons like Barry, Thurman, Fowler, Cormier, etc and how they represent Ok State with pride.
Now, I'm actually surprised if a player sticks around for more than 2 years even though they say all the right things when there here.
I guess we would like to ask RA a Q:
Do these kids even care what University they play for anymore or is it simply playing for the highest bidder?
Because it seems to feel more and more like the latter.
Who does a kid who has transferred 3-4 times even consider his Alma mater or is that even a thing anymore?
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