The University of Central Oklahoma (UCO) is a public university in Edmond,Oklahoma. It is the third largest university in Oklahoma,with almost 14,000 students and approximately 430 full-time and 400 adjunct faculty. Founded in 1890,the University of Central Oklahoma was one of the first institutions of higher learning to be established in what would become the state of Oklahoma,making it one of the oldest universities in the southwest region of the United States. It is home to the American branch of the British Academy of Contemporary Music in downtown Oklahoma City.
Martin Charles Jischke (JIS-key) is an American higher-education administrator and advocate who was the tenth president of Purdue University.
George Patterson Nigh is an American politician and civic leader from the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Nigh served as the 17th and the 22nd governor of Oklahoma and as the eighth and tenth lieutenant governor of Oklahoma. He was the first Oklahoma governor to be re-elected and the first to win all 77 counties in the state. Additionally,short term vacancies in the governor's office twice resulted in Nigh assuming gubernatorial duties while serving as lieutenant governor.
Wellington E. Webb is an American politician. He served in the Colorado House of Representatives and was the first African American mayor of Denver,Colorado,serving from 1991 to 2003. He served as a Democrat.
Rogers State University (RSU) is a public university in Claremore,Oklahoma,United States. It also has branch campuses in Bartlesville and Pryor Creek.
Billy Joe Anoatubby is the 32nd Governor of the Chickasaw Nation,a position he has held since 1987. From 1979 to 1987,Anoatubby served two terms as Lieutenant Governor of the Chickasaw Nation in the administration of Governor Overton James,after being popularly elected to office. He is a member of the Democratic Party.
Lloyd N. Morrisett was an American educator.
Michael K. Randolph is the chief justice of the Supreme Court of Mississippi,serving in the position since 2019. Before that,he was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2004. He represents District 2 Place 3.
Glen D. Johnson Jr. is the former Oklahoma Speaker of the House of Representatives and former Chancellor of the Oklahoma State System of Higher Education,succeeded by Allison Garrett a state system of colleges and universities in Oklahoma. In 1996,Johnson was the Democratic party nominee for US Congress in the Second Congressional District of Oklahoma,defeated by Tom Coburn.
S. Narasinga Rao is an American academic and former dean of Jackson College of Graduate Studies and Research at the University of Central Oklahoma (1996–2006).
The Central Oklahoma Bronchos,are the intercollegiate athletic teams representing University of Central Oklahoma,located in Edmond,Oklahoma. The five men's and nine women's varsity teams are called the "Bronchos". The school's identification as Bronchos dates back to 1922,when the wife of football coach Charles W. Wantland suggested it for the school's mascot. The official colors of the teams are bronze and blue,which the institution adopted in 1895. The Bronchos compete in the NCAA's Division II and in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association in all sports except women's rowing,which competes in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. The Bronchos have won 22 national championships,with the most recent coming in 2024 as the wrestling program won the NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships. The university's current athletic director is Stan Wagnon,who has served in the position since 2020.
Adam Dorrel is an American college football coach and former player. He is the head football coach for the University of Central Oklahoma,a position he has held since 2022. In only his third year at the helm for UCO he led the team to its first playoff berth in over 20 years. Previously Dorrel was the head coach at Northwest Missouri State in Maryville,Missouri from 2011 to 2016,and Abilene Christian in Abilene,Texas,from 2017 to 2021. While at Northwest Missouri State he led the program to three undefeated seasons and the NCAA Division II Football Championship in 2013,2015,and 2016.
The Central Oklahoma Bronchos football team represents the University of Central Oklahoma (UCO) in college football. The team is a member of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA),which is in Division II of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The Bronchos football program began in 1902 and has since compiled over 600 wins,two national championships,and 28 conference championships. As of 2022,the Bronchos are ranked fifth in NCAA Division II for wins. In 1962,the Bronchos went 11–0 on the season and defeated Lenoir–Rhyne University (NC) 28–13 in the Camellia Bowl to claim its first NAIA national championship. Twenty years later,Central Oklahoma defended its home turf and defeated Colorado Mesa University 14–11 in the NAIA national championship game to take its second title and finish the season with a 10–2 record. Despite its rich history in football,Central Oklahoma has struggled beginning in the late 2000s. In 2024,the program broke on a 21 year playoff drought. The Bronchos play their home games at Chad Richison Stadium,a 12,000-seat football stadium built in 1965,and remodeled in 2022. The Bronchos have enjoyed nine undefeated home seasons and are 6–1 in playoff games at Chad Richison Stadium.
The Central Oklahoma–Northeastern State football rivalry,commonly referred to as the Battle for the President's Cup,is an American college football rivalry game played annually between the Central Oklahoma Bronchos football team of the University of Central Oklahoma from Edmond,Oklahoma,and the Northeastern State RiverHawks football team of Northeastern State University from Tahlequah,Oklahoma. Both schools currently compete in the NCAA Division II level,and are members of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA). Central Oklahoma,formerly Central State,has a 54–27–2 advantage in the series but Northeastern State has kept the series record close since the introduction of the President's cup in 1998.
Nick Bobeck is an American football coach,who formerly served as the head football coach at the University of Central Oklahoma,and Navarro College,a junior college in Texas. In 2008,Bobeck received the NJCAA Coach of the Year honors after leading the Bulldogs to a 10–1 record. Bobeck's team followed that up two years later with the 2010 NJCAA National Football Championship.
Della Warrior is the first and only woman to date to serve as chairperson and chief executive officer for the Otoe-Missouria Tribe. She later served as the president of the Institute of American Indian Arts,finding a permanent home for the institution as well as helping to raise more than one hundred million dollars for the institution over 12 years. Warrior was inducted into the Oklahoma Women's Hall of Fame in 2007.
Charles William Wantland was an American athlete and coach. Wantland served as a sports coach and athletic director,and dean at Central State Teachers College in Edmond,Oklahoma.
Dr. Isabel Keith Baker was a former educator in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Throughout her 43 years as an educator,Baker taught in several Oklahoma schools,retiring as Professor Emeritus from Northeastern State University in 1994. Baker served on the Oklahoma State University A&M Board of Regents from 1991 until 1999. She played a major role in the renovation of Willard Hall,the home of OSU's College of Education. During her career and throughout her life,Baker has been recognized as a champion of gender equity. In the 1980s,Baker ran for Congress and was defeated by Republican candidate,Tom Coburn.
Eddie Griffin is a former American collegiate athletic director and collegiate wrestling coach. He served as the athletic director at the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond,Oklahoma from 2017 to 2020. Prior to this Griffin served as the athletic director at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah,Oklahoma,and the head wrestling coach at Central Oklahoma,and Clemson University.
Andrew K. Benton is an American lawyer and academic administrator who served as the seventh president of Pepperdine University and as an interim president at the University of Central Oklahoma.
