University of Oklahoma Athletics
Bradford, Kindler, Shoate Selected for Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame
January 06, 2026 | Football, Athletics, Women's Gymnastics
NORMAN — Former University of Oklahoma football standouts Sam Bradford and Rod Shoate and current women's gymnastics head coach K.J. Kindler were named to the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame's 2026 class, it was announced Tuesday.
The trio will be joined by fellow honorees Emmett Hahn, Matt Holiday, Terry Miller and the 2024-25 Oklahoma City Thunder team in being formally inducted on Monday, Aug. 3, 2026, during a ceremony at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City.
SAM BRADFORD, FOOTBALL
One of the most prolific passers in OU history, quarterback Sam Bradford starred for the Sooners under Bob Stoops from the 2007-09 seasons.
After a 2007 redshirt freshman season that featured starts in all 14 games and that culminated with a Big 12 title and Fiesta Bowl berth, Bradford enjoyed a sensational sophomore campaign in 2008. He led a Sooners offense that set an NCAA single-season record with 716 points, and in the process became one of the most highly decorated players in OU history. Bradford won the Heisman Trophy, the Davey O'Brien Award, the Sammy Baugh Trophy and the Chic Harley Award that season, and was named the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year in addition to earning first-team AP and Sporting News All-America accolades.
Known for his poise in the pocket and pinpoint accuracy, Bradford led the nation in 2008 in passing TDs (50) and passing efficiency rating (180.8). He averaged 337.1 passing yards per game and a school-record 14.4 yards per completion. He threw just eight interceptions on 483 pass attempts, and led OU to its second straight Big 12 championship and the BCS Championship Game.
The Oklahoma City native, who also starred in basketball, baseball and golf at Putnam City North High School, returned to OU for his junior year in 2009 but was limited to three games due to injury. He concluded his collegiate career holding 15 school records, including marks for passing yards (8,403) and TD passes (88). In total, he completed 604 of 893 passes, finishing his tenure in Norman with a 5.5-to-1 TD-to-INT ratio, one of the best marks in college football history. He also set the NCAA freshman/sophomore record for TD passes with 86.
Bradford was the first overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft by St. Louis. He played in 83 career games over eight NFL seasons with the Rams, Philadelphia Eagles, Minnesota Vikings and Arizona Cardinals, totaling 19,449 passing yards and 103 passing TDs. He led the league in 2016 by completing 71.6% of his pass attempts with the Vikings. His 354 completions in 2010 set an NFL rookie record.
K.J. KINDLER, WOMEN'S GYMNASTICS
Beginning her 20th season at OU in 2026, K.J. Kindler has led the Sooners' women's gymnastics program to record-breaking heights and permanently placed herself among the elite college gymnastics coaches in the country. With 25 seasons as a head coach to her name, Kindler owns a career collegiate coaching record of 638-105-3 (.857) and holds a 544-52-2 (.911) record at Oklahoma.
OU, which has won seven national championships (2014, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2022, 2023 and 2025), is one of just seven programs in NCAA history to win a national title. Kindler is one of just two active head coaches (Jay Clark, LSU) to win a national championship, and the Sooners' seven titles rank third in NCAA history. Kindler's squads have reached the NCAA Championships every year of her tenure and have participated in the finals 13 times, with 11 top-two finishes. When advancing to the finals, Kindler's squads have never placed lower than third.
As Oklahoma's head coach, Kindler has developed 18 individual national champions, 204 All-Americans, 86 individual conference champions and 36 conference major award honorees. Additionally, three of her student-athletes have earned national honors. Maggie Nichols was the 2019 Honda Sport Award winner for Gymnastics and the 2020 AAI Award winner, the first in program history. Anastasia Webb, an AAI Award Finalist, was the 2021 Honda Sport Award winner and the first OU gymnast to finish as a top three finalist for the Honda Cup. In 2025, Jordan Bowers won the Honda Sport Award and was an AAI Award Finalist.
Kindler was recognized as the 2024 Big 12 Coach of the Year for the 16th time in her career and the 2024 National Head Coach of the Year after leading the Sooners to an NCAA-record 198.950 team score. In OU's first season in the SEC in 2025, she coached her squad to a regular season league title.
She is the only coach in NCAA history to take two programs to the NCAA finals, as she also did it at Iowa State, her alma mater, in 2006. Kindler was the head coach of the Cyclones from 2001-06 and was the program's first individual regional qualifier as a student-athlete.
ROD SHOATE, FOOTBALL
Rod Shoate was a three-time All-America linebacker under former head coaches Chuck Fairbanks and Barry Switzer from 1972-74 and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a member of the class of 2013. He earned consensus first-team All-America honors in 1973 and went on to garner unanimous first-team acclaim as a senior in 1974 when the Sooners won the program's fourth AP national title.
Shoate, the 1973 and '74 Big Eight Conference Defensive Player of the Year, started all 34 games and helped OU to a 32-1-1 record and three Big Eight titles during his three seasons. With Shoate starring on defense, the Sooners went 11-1 in 1972 under Fairbanks, and 10-0-1 in '73 and 11-0 in '74 under Switzer. He led the team in tackles all three seasons.
The Spiro, Okla., native finished seventh in 1974 Heisman Trophy voting, with the top six vote-getters playing on offense, including teammate Joe Washington, a running back who finished third. Shoate finished his career with 426 tackles, the third-highest total in program history. He amassed a career-high 22 tackles as a sophomore against Iowa State and 21 as a senior vs. Texas.
The speedy Shoate was a high school running back before switching to defense with the Sooners. He was selected in the second round (41st overall) of the 1975 NFL Draft by New England, where he played for Fairbanks. He spent six seasons with the Patriots before joining the USFL's New Jersey Generals, where Fairbanks also coached. He concluded his pro career with the USFL's Memphis Showboats.
Shoate passed away at the age of 46 on Oct. 4, 1999.
The trio will be joined by fellow honorees Emmett Hahn, Matt Holiday, Terry Miller and the 2024-25 Oklahoma City Thunder team in being formally inducted on Monday, Aug. 3, 2026, during a ceremony at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City.
SAM BRADFORD, FOOTBALL
One of the most prolific passers in OU history, quarterback Sam Bradford starred for the Sooners under Bob Stoops from the 2007-09 seasons.
After a 2007 redshirt freshman season that featured starts in all 14 games and that culminated with a Big 12 title and Fiesta Bowl berth, Bradford enjoyed a sensational sophomore campaign in 2008. He led a Sooners offense that set an NCAA single-season record with 716 points, and in the process became one of the most highly decorated players in OU history. Bradford won the Heisman Trophy, the Davey O'Brien Award, the Sammy Baugh Trophy and the Chic Harley Award that season, and was named the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year in addition to earning first-team AP and Sporting News All-America accolades.
Known for his poise in the pocket and pinpoint accuracy, Bradford led the nation in 2008 in passing TDs (50) and passing efficiency rating (180.8). He averaged 337.1 passing yards per game and a school-record 14.4 yards per completion. He threw just eight interceptions on 483 pass attempts, and led OU to its second straight Big 12 championship and the BCS Championship Game.
The Oklahoma City native, who also starred in basketball, baseball and golf at Putnam City North High School, returned to OU for his junior year in 2009 but was limited to three games due to injury. He concluded his collegiate career holding 15 school records, including marks for passing yards (8,403) and TD passes (88). In total, he completed 604 of 893 passes, finishing his tenure in Norman with a 5.5-to-1 TD-to-INT ratio, one of the best marks in college football history. He also set the NCAA freshman/sophomore record for TD passes with 86.
Bradford was the first overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft by St. Louis. He played in 83 career games over eight NFL seasons with the Rams, Philadelphia Eagles, Minnesota Vikings and Arizona Cardinals, totaling 19,449 passing yards and 103 passing TDs. He led the league in 2016 by completing 71.6% of his pass attempts with the Vikings. His 354 completions in 2010 set an NFL rookie record.
K.J. KINDLER, WOMEN'S GYMNASTICS
Beginning her 20th season at OU in 2026, K.J. Kindler has led the Sooners' women's gymnastics program to record-breaking heights and permanently placed herself among the elite college gymnastics coaches in the country. With 25 seasons as a head coach to her name, Kindler owns a career collegiate coaching record of 638-105-3 (.857) and holds a 544-52-2 (.911) record at Oklahoma.
OU, which has won seven national championships (2014, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2022, 2023 and 2025), is one of just seven programs in NCAA history to win a national title. Kindler is one of just two active head coaches (Jay Clark, LSU) to win a national championship, and the Sooners' seven titles rank third in NCAA history. Kindler's squads have reached the NCAA Championships every year of her tenure and have participated in the finals 13 times, with 11 top-two finishes. When advancing to the finals, Kindler's squads have never placed lower than third.
As Oklahoma's head coach, Kindler has developed 18 individual national champions, 204 All-Americans, 86 individual conference champions and 36 conference major award honorees. Additionally, three of her student-athletes have earned national honors. Maggie Nichols was the 2019 Honda Sport Award winner for Gymnastics and the 2020 AAI Award winner, the first in program history. Anastasia Webb, an AAI Award Finalist, was the 2021 Honda Sport Award winner and the first OU gymnast to finish as a top three finalist for the Honda Cup. In 2025, Jordan Bowers won the Honda Sport Award and was an AAI Award Finalist.
Kindler was recognized as the 2024 Big 12 Coach of the Year for the 16th time in her career and the 2024 National Head Coach of the Year after leading the Sooners to an NCAA-record 198.950 team score. In OU's first season in the SEC in 2025, she coached her squad to a regular season league title.
She is the only coach in NCAA history to take two programs to the NCAA finals, as she also did it at Iowa State, her alma mater, in 2006. Kindler was the head coach of the Cyclones from 2001-06 and was the program's first individual regional qualifier as a student-athlete.
ROD SHOATE, FOOTBALL
Rod Shoate was a three-time All-America linebacker under former head coaches Chuck Fairbanks and Barry Switzer from 1972-74 and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a member of the class of 2013. He earned consensus first-team All-America honors in 1973 and went on to garner unanimous first-team acclaim as a senior in 1974 when the Sooners won the program's fourth AP national title.
Shoate, the 1973 and '74 Big Eight Conference Defensive Player of the Year, started all 34 games and helped OU to a 32-1-1 record and three Big Eight titles during his three seasons. With Shoate starring on defense, the Sooners went 11-1 in 1972 under Fairbanks, and 10-0-1 in '73 and 11-0 in '74 under Switzer. He led the team in tackles all three seasons.
The Spiro, Okla., native finished seventh in 1974 Heisman Trophy voting, with the top six vote-getters playing on offense, including teammate Joe Washington, a running back who finished third. Shoate finished his career with 426 tackles, the third-highest total in program history. He amassed a career-high 22 tackles as a sophomore against Iowa State and 21 as a senior vs. Texas.
The speedy Shoate was a high school running back before switching to defense with the Sooners. He was selected in the second round (41st overall) of the 1975 NFL Draft by New England, where he played for Fairbanks. He spent six seasons with the Patriots before joining the USFL's New Jersey Generals, where Fairbanks also coached. He concluded his pro career with the USFL's Memphis Showboats.
Shoate passed away at the age of 46 on Oct. 4, 1999.
Players Mentioned
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