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Oklahoma Unveils 1950s Throwback Uniforms for 2024

The Sooners will wear the throwbacks on Sept. 7 against Houston, honoring the legacy of Bud Wilkinson's record-setting three-time nationial champions.

John E. Hoover

Oklahoma throwback uniforms
Oklahoma throwback uniforms / OU Athletics
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By OU Media Relations

From 1946-56, Oklahoma football was one of the most dominant programs in college football.

Led by Jim Tatum (1946) and then Bud Wilkinson (beginning in 1947), OU posted a combined overall record of 102-11-3 (.892) and an incredible 59-1-2 (.968) mark in Big 6 and Big 7 conference play from 1946-56. The Sooners won the conference crown each season during that 11-season stretch, part of a run of 14 straight conference titles (1946 through 1959) and three national championships (1950, 1955 and 1956).

Oklahoma’s 2024 alternate uniform is representative of the one worn by OU teams from 1946-56. The ensemble features crimson jerseys with white numerals, white tri-stripes on the shoulder sleeves and SEC and Jordan Brand patches. The uniform also includes crimson striping on the sides of the white pants and on the top of logo-free white helmet.

See the full reveal here

OU will sport the new throwback uniform during its Sept. 7 home game against Houston, which will kick off at 6:45 p.m. CT and air on the SEC Network. As part of the 100th-year celebration of Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, each 2024 home game will feature a different theme. The Houston contest will spotlight the Wilkinson era.

Wilkinson coached the Sooners from 1947-63 and compiled a 145-29-4 (.826) record. The 1969 College Football Hall of Fame inductee led Oklahoma to 47 consecutive wins from the 1953 to 1957 seasons, still the longest streak in FBS history. Wilkinson, who compiled a 40-11 combined record against rivals Nebraska (14-3), Oklahoma State (17-0) and Texas (9-8), directed OU to its first three AP national championships in 1950, 1955 and 1956. The 1956 squad is often regarded as Wilkinson's finest, and possibly the best in program history.

Oklahoma Sooners Brent Venables Bud Wilkinson
Brent Venables and Bud Wilkinson / OU Athletics

Wilkinson is the only individual in NCAA annals to win three national championships as both a player (1934–1936 with Minnesota) and a coach.

The 2024 alternate uniform closely resembles the "Sooner Legacy" uniform OU donned Aug. 30, 2003, in a 37-3 season-opening home win over North Texas. That game was the first in the enlarged Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, which featured an expanded east side with a new upper deck, club level and suites. The crowd of 83,073 marked the first of more than 80,000 to witness a sporting event in the state of Oklahoma. 

Replica versions of the Sooners' alternate jerseys will be available at retail in both adult and youth sizes starting Thursday, Aug. 8. Fans can purchase jerseys in-store at The Sooner Shop, located at 1185 Asp Ave. in Norman (on the west side of Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium), and online at shop.soonersports.com.

Tickets can be found here for OU’s Sept. 7 home game against Houston, which will kick off at 6:45 p.m. CT.

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John E. Hoover

JOHN E. HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.

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