OU Men's Gymnastics History

Two years after the first student enrolled at the University of Oklahoma, David C. Hall, a former Brown University gymnast, came to the campus to teach physical education. Hall would become Oklahoma's first gymnastics coach.

Few formal records remain, but Hall's program lasted 15 years. Sooner yearbooks from 1902-1917 feature faded pictures of young men who were members of Hall's "Gymnasium Squads."

In 1965 Ken Farris, then an associate athlete director, journeyed to the NCAA National Championships in hopes of re-establishing gymnastics at Oklahoma. Soon after, Russ Porterfield, a former University of Iowa gymnast, was hired as the Sooners' first competitive gymnastics coach.

Porterfield's program sprung from beginnings almost as humble as Hall's efforts in the early 1900s. Later, Porterfield would admit he had to beg students to try out for OU's debut 1966 season and the squad finished last in its Big Eight debut. But Porterfield persisted, and in 1971 the Sooners notched their first winning season. (Since then OU has had only two sub-.500 years.) When he departed in 1973, Porterfield had given OU its first national champ in Odess Lovin, who won floor titles in 1972 and '73.

Porterfield's successor was Illinois native Paul Ziert, a successful high school coach. Ziert turned Oklahoma gymnastics into one of the nation's most respected programs. His early teams were led by Illinois State transfer Greg Buwick, a two-time conference floor champ. Buwick would stay on at OU as Ziert's assistant and eventually become the Sooners' third head coach.

In 1977, just four years after Ziert took over, Oklahoma had its first national title, tying Indiana State for the national crown. (The 1977 equal finish remains the only tie in NCAA team championships history.) The Sooners also claimed their first national all-around champion when 1976 Olympian Bart Conner earned the first of two NCAA titles.

Ziert's Sooners repeated as champions in 1978, while all-around honors were claimed by Conner for the second straight year. Though he sat out the 1980 season with injury, Conner came back in 1981 and became the first Oklahoma gymnast to claim the Nissen Award, gymnastics' version of the Heisman trophy.

In 1980 Conner and teammate Mike Wilson (alternate) earned spots on the 1980 US Olympic team, but couldn't compete because of the US boycott. Conner got his third shot at the Games in 1984, where he earned two gold medals.

That same year, Buwick took over the reins as head coach, leading his team to the first of many conference championships. In 1991, Buwick added the program's third national title. Under Buwick's leadership, OU also produced three Nissen Award winners: Jarrod Hanks (1991), Dan Fink (1998) and Todd Bishop (1999). With four winners in all, OU has produced more Nissen award winners than any other university and is the only school to claim back-to-back Nissen honorees.

In 1999, Buwick's last season, senior Todd Bishop earned the Sooners' first perfect 10.0 on high bar.

In 2000, Mark Williams, who served as Buwick's assistant for 12 seasons, took over as head coach, leading his team to the conference title and a fourth-place NCAA finish. Williams, who won conference "Coach of the Year" honors in his debut season, is continuing the Sooners' impressive tradition of excellence.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Related News

Related Videos

Sponsors