The Oklahoma Sooners and head coach Brent Venables have agreed to a contract extension, the university announced on Thursday. OU Vice President and Director of Athletics Roger Denny announced that Venables has agreed to a new contract that spans six total years. The contract, which is pending approval from the OU Board of Regents, adds two seasons to Venables' current deal, and will run through the 2031 season.
Venables was hired as OU's 23rd full-time head coach in December of 2021. He replaced Lincoln Riley, who left to be the head coach at USC a week earlier. In his four seasons at the helm in Norman, Venables has compiled a 32-20 overall record.
In his first season in 2022, the Sooners went 6-7, but Oklahoma rebounded to a 10-3 mark in 2023, which was their final season in the Big 12 Conference. After Venables signed a contract extension ahead of the 2024 season, that year brought the program's first campaign in the Southeastern Conference, and with it, another 6-7 season.
In Year 4 in 2025, Venables posted his best season yet as a head coach. Oklahoma went 10-3 and made the College Football Playoff, losing in the first round. The Sooners won four big SEC games in the month of November that they absolutely had to have, making the CFP after going just 6-2 through the month of October.
Now, Venables is entering his fifth year as Oklahoma's head coach in 2026, and he's tied to the Sooners long-term. The new deal gives him more stability at OU, after the rocky 2024 season, when some questioned how long he'd be the head coach of the Sooners. His 2025 performance quieted many of his doubters, and now he has inked another extension. The board will meet in mid-September, with Venables' new deal on the agenda.
#venables #season #Sooners
Venables was hired as OU's 23rd full-time head coach in December of 2021. He replaced Lincoln Riley, who left to be the head coach at USC a week earlier. In his four seasons at the helm in Norman, Venables has compiled a 32-20 overall record.
In his first season in 2022, the Sooners went 6-7, but Oklahoma rebounded to a 10-3 mark in 2023, which was their final season in the Big 12 Conference. After Venables signed a contract extension ahead of the 2024 season, that year brought the program's first campaign in the Southeastern Conference, and with it, another 6-7 season.
In Year 4 in 2025, Venables posted his best season yet as a head coach. Oklahoma went 10-3 and made the College Football Playoff, losing in the first round. The Sooners won four big SEC games in the month of November that they absolutely had to have, making the CFP after going just 6-2 through the month of October.
Now, Venables is entering his fifth year as Oklahoma's head coach in 2026, and he's tied to the Sooners long-term. The new deal gives him more stability at OU, after the rocky 2024 season, when some questioned how long he'd be the head coach of the Sooners. His 2025 performance quieted many of his doubters, and now he has inked another extension. The board will meet in mid-September, with Venables' new deal on the agenda.
#venables #season #Sooners
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