Oklahoma State Fans Turn on Mike Gundy After Tulsa Loss

Head coach Mike Gundy faces boos, firing calls, and scrutiny over a $15M buyout after Oklahoma State’s upset loss to Tulsa.

Arun UpadhayaySeptember 20, 2025

85,652 2 minutes read

Stillwater, September 20 EST: The sound hit before the halftime gun. Not the fight song. Not the roar of a comeback brewing. It was boos. Loud, angry, fed-up boos pouring down from the east and west stands of Boone Pickens Stadium. That was the moment when the ground under Mike Gundy finally shook.

Outcoached And Out Of Step

Tulsa, a team with its own problems, came into Stillwater and shoved the Oklahoma State Cowboys into a 19-12 embarrassment. Gundy admitted it himself afterward, “outcoached early.” He was not wrong. Penalties stacked up. Third downs died. Drives that should have ended in points fizzled out with sloppy execution.

The coach tried to frame it as patience, a developmental phase, the kind of talk that usually buys time. But let’s be honest. After getting blasted by Oregon a week earlier, patience is in short supply. Cowboy fans do not want theory. They want touchdowns.

A Fan Base Turns Sour

This is Stillwater, where loyalty runs deep. Gundy has been here nearly two decades. He is a hometown son. But when your own crowd showers you with boos, you cannot pretend it is business as usual. The sight of players jogging to the tunnel while their own fans booed them that is a scar that will not fade quickly.

Online it got uglier. Some called him finished. Others flat-out demanded his firing. “He’s destroying the program,” one post read. That sort of venom would have been unthinkable five years ago. Now it is everywhere.

The Fifteen Million Dollar Question

The catch is money. Firing Gundy today costs 15 million dollars. That is a number meant to keep coaches safe. But it is also a number boosters whisper about when the seats start emptying and TV cameras show a half-dead crowd. Athletic directors crunch those numbers when apathy starts creeping in.

So yes, the buyout protects him. But only to a point. If the losses keep stacking, that figure begins to look like a price worth paying.

The Legacy And The Crossroads

No one should forget what Gundy has done here. Seventeen straight bowls. The 2011 Big 12 championship. The winningest coach in program history. He turned Oklahoma State from an afterthought into a program other teams circled on the calendar. That is the truth.

But the other truth? College football does not care about old résumés. It is a week-to-week business now. Rivals reload. Coaches who slip lose their grip fast. And right now the Cowboys look lost. Penalties wipe out big plays. Drives stall. Fans are restless.

What Now?

Gundy insists this is a team in progress. Maybe so. Maybe they grow out of these mistakes. But the clock is ticking. In today’s game, you do not get years to figure it out. You barely get weeks.

The only answers will come on the field. Not from contract clauses. Not from press conferences. If Oklahoma State keeps looking this flat, the boos will not stop. And if the boos keep coming, the decision on Gundy’s future might come a lot sooner than anyone thought possible.

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Arun Upadhayay

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A former college-level cricketer and lifelong sports enthusiast, Arun Upadhayay brings the heart of an athlete to the sharp eye of a journalist. With firsthand experience in competitive sports and a deep understanding of team dynamics, Arun covers everything from grassroots tournaments to high-stakes international showdowns. His reporting blends field-level grit with analytical precision, making him a trusted voice for sports fans across New Jersey and beyond.

Oklahoma State Fans Turn on Mike Gundy After Tulsa Loss