Oklahoma claims seven national championships and has been named champion by at least one recognised selector in seventeen different seasons, which is more than any program except Notre Dame, Princeton and Yale. The claimed seven were split three each between Bud Wilkinson and Barry Switzer with one for Bob Stoops, and the last came in 2000. The program has since played in four BCS title games and five playoffs without winning another.
The Seven Claimed Titles
| Season | Coach | Record | How it was decided |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | Bud Wilkinson | 10, 1 | AP and Coaches, voted before the Sugar Bowl loss to Kentucky |
| 1955 | Bud Wilkinson | 11, 0 | Consensus, Orange Bowl over Maryland |
| 1956 | Bud Wilkinson | 10, 0 | Consensus, no bowl under Big Seven rules |
| 1974 | Barry Switzer | 11, 0 | AP poll, on probation and banned from bowls |
| 1975 | Barry Switzer | 11, 1 | Consensus, Orange Bowl over Michigan |
| 1985 | Barry Switzer | 11, 1 | Consensus, Orange Bowl over Penn State |
| 2000 | Bob Stoops | 13, 0 | BCS title game, Orange Bowl over Florida State |
Gold rows are undisputed titles. The 1950 championship was awarded before a Sugar Bowl loss ended a 31 game winning streak; Oklahoma claims it, as every program did under the rules of the time.
The Wilkinson Three
The 1955 and 1956 titles came in the middle of the 47 game winning streak, which ran from October 1953 to November 1957 and remains the longest in major college history. The 1956 team could not play in a bowl because Big Seven rules barred consecutive appearances, so it finished 10 and 0 with no postseason and was named champion anyway. Wilkinson’s teams lost eight games in the entire decade of the 1950s.
The Switzer Three
The 1974 team went 11 and 0 while on NCAA probation and barred from television and bowls, and the AP named it champion while the coaches poll, which excluded teams on probation, chose USC. The 1975 team repeated and beat Michigan 14 to 6 in the Orange Bowl. The 1985 team, with Jamelle Holieway at quarterback after Troy Aikman broke his leg, beat Penn State 25 to 10 in the Orange Bowl for the third. Our Penn State national championships page has that game from the other side.
2000: Stoops in Year Two
Bob Stoops inherited a 5 and 6 team and won the national championship in his second season with a 13 and 0 run that included wins over No. 11 Texas by 49 points, No. 2 Kansas State and No. 1 Nebraska in consecutive October weeks. Josh Heupel finished second in the Heisman vote. The Orange Bowl against Florida State, a 13 to 2 win, was the last game of the 2000 season and remains the program’s most recent championship.
The Ten Unclaimed Titles
At least one recognised selector named Oklahoma champion in 1915, 1949, 1953, 1957, 1967, 1973, 1978, 1980, 1986 and 2003. The 1949 and 1973 teams both went unbeaten. The 1978 team lost only to Nebraska and beat the Cornhuskers in an Orange Bowl rematch. The 1986 team lost only to Miami and won the Orange Bowl with a defence that allowed fewer than seven points a game. The school claims none of the ten. Our page on most national championships explains why counts diverge.
The 25 Years Since
Oklahoma reached the BCS championship game in 2003, 2004 and 2008 and lost all three, to LSU, USC and Florida. It reached the four team playoff in 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2019 and lost all four semifinals, and reached the twelve team playoff in 2025 and lost the first round game at Alabama. The 0 and 5 playoff record is the worst of any program with that many appearances. Our College Football Playoff results page has every championship game.
The Bottom Line
Oklahoma claims seven national championships: three under Bud Wilkinson in the 1950s, three under Barry Switzer in the 1970s and 1980s, and one under Bob Stoops in 2000. Ten other seasons produced titles from at least one selector, giving the program seventeen recognised championship seasons. The 2000 title is the most recent, and the Sooners are 0 and 5 in the playoff since. Our national champions by year page has every season.