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Tulsa Golden Hurricane

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As we continue our football series, today we’ll take a look at the Tulsa Golden Hurricane. Tulsa has competed in the American Athletic Conference (AAC) since 2014 after leaving Conference USA (C-USA).

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The Tulsa Golden Hurricane have been one of the most exciting teams to watch this season, thanks to their fast-paced and high-scoring offense. With a potent passing attack and a strong running game, the Hurricane have been able to put points on the board in bunches.

The defense has also been impressive, with a tough, physical approach that has kept their opponents in check. The Tulsa Golden Hurricane will look to continue their strong play and make a deep run in the post-season as the season progresses.

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History of Tulsa Golden Hurricane Football

Tulsa Golden Hurricane football first took to the field in 1895 when the school was known as Henry Kendall College and played in Muskogee. The University did not complete the move to Tulsa until 1907.

The Golden Hurricane saw great success in their early years. From 1914-1947, they finished third or better in the Oklahoma Collegiate Conference, Big Four Conference, and/or Missouri Valley Conference in all but four seasons (they also spent two seasons as an Independent team, not bound to a conference). They competed in the MVC from 1935-1985.

However, the Missouri Valley Conference voted to drop football as a sport following the 1985 season. At the time, the MVC was a mix of Division I-A and I-AA schools. Tulsa and Wichita State were I-A, Tulsa became an independent team while Wichita State folded their program. Schools like Drake, Illinois State, Indiana State, Southern Illinois, and West Texas State were I-AA; some formed a new Missouri Valley Football Conference (which has its own complex history of schools joining and leaving) while others sought different conferences altogether.

Independent until 1996, Tulsa returned to conference play as a member of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC), where they played until 2005. At that time, the Golden Hurricane joined C-USA and played there until 2014, opting to be a member of the AAC instead.

Championships by Tulsa Golden Hurricane Football

The Golden Hurricane has not won a national championship in college football, and part of that may be because Tulsa has the lowest undergraduate enrollment of any FBS school. In the 2020-21 school year, Tulsa’s undergraduate admission was just 3,276.

From 1935-1985, Tulsa won or shared the championship 25 times in Missouri Valley Conference play. Before joining the MVC, Tulsa won five Oklahoma Athletic Conference titles and three Big Four Conference titles.

Tulsa did not win a conference title while competing in the WAC, but they won or shared the division title five times in eight seasons in C-USA. The Golden Wave has yet to win an AAC title.

In program history, Tulsa has a 10-12 record in bowl games. Their last bowl appearance came after the 2016 season, where they beat the Central Michigan Chippewas 55-10 in the Miami Beach Bowl. Quarterback Dave Evans was the game’s MVP.

Key Stats

Dane Evans is Tulsa’s all-time leading passer, posting a total of 11,680 passing yards. Evans is one of two quarterbacks in school history with more than 10,000 passing yards (Paul Smith is the other at 10,936). Evans also holds the school record for passing touchdowns (84), one ahead of Smith, while Smith holds the single-season passing yards (5,065) and passing touchdowns (47).

Fullback Alex Singleton obliterated school records for rushing touchdowns in a season (24) and in a career (43). However, he isn’t in the Top 10 of the Golden Hurricane all-time leading rusher list. The top spot there goes to D’Angelo Brewer, who amassed 3,917 yards in his career. Three other rushers topped the 3,500-yard mark (Tarrion Adams, Mike Gunter, Trey Watts).

Howard Twilley was the most productive wide receiver while at Tulsa, setting school records in single-season and career receiving yards (1,779 in a season, 3,343 in his career), as well as single-game (five), single-season (16), and career (32) receiving touchdowns.

Top Players in Tulsa Golden Hurricane Football History

Far and away, the Tulsa alumni who saw the most success in the NFL was Steve Largent. Selected in the fourth round of the 1976 Draft by the Houston Oilers, but Largent was traded to the Seattle Seahawks before making his NFL debut. Largent went on to a prolific 14-year career and held several NFL receiving records at the time of his retirement. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1995.

The Golden Hurricane Program has also retired nine jersey numbers: Billy Guy Anderson’s No. 14, Jerry Rhome’s No. 17, Ellis Jones’ No. 31, Felto Prewitt’s No. 36, Glenn Dobbs’ No. 45, Jerry Ostroski’s No. 55, Marv Matuszak’s No. 64, Tilley’s No. 81, and Largent’s No. 83.

Dobbs, a tailback and quarterback, was the highest drafted player in Golden Hurricane history, taken with the third overall pick of the first round in the 1943 draft. Two others were also selected in the first round: tackle Steve August went 14th overall in 1977 and linebacker Zaven Collins went 16th overall in 2021.

Top Coaches in Tulsa Golden Hurricane Football History

Tulsa has 30 listed head coaches in team history, though there are several years where there was no official record of who the coach was. The gap years are 1900-07 and 1909-11, though the program did not field a team in several of those seasons.

Gus Henderson coached Tulsa from 1925-35 and holds the school record for coaching wins. Henderson the Golden Hurricane to a 70-25-5 record in that span. He also coached at the University of Southern California and at Occidental College, piling up a career record of 126-42-7. His .865 win percentage at USC remains a school record.

Three Tulsa coaches have a career win percentage above .800: Francis Schmidt (24-3-2 – .889), Henry Frnka (40-9-1 – .816), and Sam P. McBirney (25-6-1 – .806). McBirney coached the Golden Hurricane to its first conference championship, while Schmidt led the team to two Oklahoma Athletic Conference titles in three seasons as coach. Frnka was the first coach to reach a bowl game, taking Tulsa to five bowls in five seasons, including wins in the 1941 Sun Bowl and the 1944 Orange Bowl.


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Tulsa Golden Hurricane FAQs

What conference did Tulsa leave before joining the AAC?

Conference USA

Which head coach led Tulsa to it’s first conference championship?

Sam McBirne

Who is the highest Tulsa player drafted in NFL Draft?

Howard Twilley

How many jersey numbers does Tulsa have retired?

9

Coming into the 2021 season, how many bowl games has Tulsa played in?

22

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