Oklahoma has won 50 conference championships, more than any program in college football, and won them in four different leagues. Thirty three came in the Big Eight and its predecessors, fourteen in the Big 12, and the streak of thirteen straight between 1946 and 1959 remains the longest in the sport. The Sooners have not yet won the SEC in two seasons there.
Every Title by Conference
| Conference | Titles | Seasons |
|---|---|---|
| Southwest Conference | 2 | 1915, 1918 |
| Missouri Valley | 1 | 1920 |
| Big Six, Big Seven, Big Eight | 33 | 1938, 1943, 1944, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1962, 1967, 1968, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987 |
| Big 12 | 14 | 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 |
| SEC | 0 | Joined 2024 |
Every Title by Coach
| Coach | Titles | Seasons |
|---|---|---|
| Bud Wilkinson | 14 | 1947 to 1959 consecutive, plus 1962 |
| Barry Switzer | 12 | 1973 to 1980 consecutive, 1984 to 1987 consecutive |
| Bob Stoops | 10 | 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2015, 2016 |
| Lincoln Riley | 4 | 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 |
| Chuck Fairbanks | 3 | 1967, 1968, 1972 |
| Bennie Owen | 3 | 1915, 1918, 1920 |
| Dewey Luster | 2 | 1943, 1944 |
| Tom Stidham | 1 | 1938 |
| Jim Tatum | 1 | 1946 |
Thirteen Straight
Bud Wilkinson won the conference in each of his first thirteen seasons, 1947 through 1959, and the run overlapped with a 74 game conference unbeaten streak and the 47 game overall winning streak. Counting Jim Tatum’s 1946 title, Oklahoma won fourteen consecutive conference championships, which no program has matched. Wilkinson’s fourteen total titles are the most by any coach in the program’s history.
The Nebraska Years
Barry Switzer’s twelve titles came largely at Nebraska’s expense, and the Big Eight championship in the 1970s and 1980s was usually decided on the last Saturday in November in Norman or Lincoln. Oklahoma won or shared eight straight from 1973 to 1980 and four straight from 1984 to 1987, and Switzer went 12 and 5 against Tom Osborne. Nebraska is second on the all time list with 46 conference titles, most of them from the same league.
The Big 12
Oklahoma won fourteen of the Big 12’s 28 championships, exactly half, and the first ten came under Bob Stoops. Lincoln Riley then won the first four of his tenure, making six straight from 2015 to 2020, which is the conference record. The 2020 title, a 27 to 21 win over Iowa State in the championship game, was the last before the program announced its move to the SEC. Texas, the Big 12’s other founding power, won four in the same span. Our Red River Rivalry page covers that gap.
The SEC
Oklahoma joined the SEC in July 2024 alongside Texas, went 2 and 6 in conference play in its first season, and 6 and 2 in its second, reaching the playoff as an at large without playing in the championship game. A conference title in the SEC would be the program’s first in a fifth different league.
The Bottom Line
Oklahoma has won 50 conference championships, the most in college football, across the Southwest Conference, Missouri Valley, Big Eight and Big 12. Bud Wilkinson won fourteen including thirteen straight, Barry Switzer twelve and Bob Stoops ten. The most recent came in 2020, and the Sooners have not yet won the SEC. Our page on most conference championships has the full national list.