Today’s ROD is Bob Winters. Bob is a native Tulsan with deep roots here. His grandfather, along with six others, brought the Charter for the City of Tulsa from Muskogee in 1898. Bob graduated from Memorial High School in 1964 which was the school’s first graduating class. He attended the University of Oklahoma on a baseball scholarship from 1964 to 1967. In 1969, Bob obtained his B.S. Degree in Business Administration from Northeastern State University.
After graduation, Bob received a special, personal invitation from Uncle Sam to spend some quality time overseas. He spent one year in Vietnam and was discharged in 1970.
Bob has spent the last 35 years employed by Nelson Stud Welding. He sells studs and stud welding equipment and provides service on the equipment he sells.
Of course, we all best know Bob for the great job he has done the past 10 years giving us The Sports Report during football and basketball seasons.
Bob enjoys watching all types of sports and enjoys playing Texas Hold’em. He and his wife Rhonda have been married 30 plus years and have two children. Son Scott is a District Manager for Johnson and Johnson in Houston and daughter Amber employed by Helmerich & Payne as a Benefits Specialist.
Today’s Program
When the Tulsa head coaching position was vacant following the 2002 season, Todd Graham sent in his application. But it was not until five years later that Graham would take over the reigns as the Golden Hurricane head coach.
He did come to Tulsa for the 2003 season, but as the Hurricane assistant head coach and defensive coordinator under first-year coach Steve Kragthorpe. However, Graham’s blueprint on the program was evident as he built one of the best defensive units in Conference USA and the nation before leaving the position following his third year at Tulsa.
After a year away, Graham was introduced as The University of Tulsa’s new head football coach on January 12, 2007. He is the 27th head football coach in Golden Hurricane history.
Following the 2005 season, Graham left the Tulsa program to become the head coach at Rice University a day after helping the Hurricane post an impressive win and outstanding defensive performance against Fresno State in the 2005 AutoZone Liberty Bowl.
In two seasons as a collegiate head coach, Graham has posted an overall 16-10 record and has taken both of his teams to bowl games.
In 2006, Graham led Rice to an overall 7-6 record and the school’s first bowl berth in 45 years. After beginning the season 0-4, he led a turnaround that saw the Owls win seven of its next nine games, including six straight, thus earning him Conference USA Coach of the Year honors as selected by the news media.
In his first season at the Tulsa helm, Graham led the Hurricane to a 10-4 record, the 2007 Conference USA West Division title, an appearance in the C-USA Championship Game and the GMAC Bowl Championship. The 10 wins marked only the sixth time in school history that Tulsa won that many games, while the Hurricane posted a 63-7 win over Bowling Green in the GMAC Bowl, the largest margin of victory in Bowl history. Tulsa had the nation’s top offense as the Hurricane led the country in total offense with a 543.9 average per game.
“We’re extremely pleased to have Todd Graham return to The University of Tulsa as our football coach,” said TU Director of Athletics Bubba Cunningham when announcing Graham’s appointment. “There’s no question that Todd fits the two main attributes we were looking for in a head coach, the ability to recruit and the right fit for our University. Todd’s enthusiasm is infectious and his football knowledge and coaching ability is evident.”
Cunningham added that, “Todd`s role in the rebuilding of the football program began four years ago when he became the Tulsa defensive coordinator. Continuity for our program will allow us to reach for even higher achievement.”
“I’m very excited for my family, and thrilled about this opportunity to be the head football coach at The University of Tulsa,” said Graham at the time of his appointment. “To be able to return to a program that you helped to rebuild, and now have the chance to take it to an even higher level is exciting.”
“I’m extremely appreciative of the remarkable commitment that The University of Tulsa has made to me and my family, and making this a great opportunity for us,” added Graham.
Graham has played major roles in reversing the fortunes of struggling programs, starting with his first college coaching job at East Central University in Ada, Okla. His three seasons as the Tigers’ defensive coordinator saw ECU improve from a break-even program to the NAIA national championship in 1993.
As head coach and athletics director at Allen (Texas) High School, Graham led a program that had no district wins in the year prior to his arrival to five playoff berths in six seasons.
At West Virginia University, under Head Coach Rich Rodriguez, Graham helped the Mountaineers improve from a 3-8 mark to a 9-4 record in his second season. At Tulsa under Kragthorpe, the Hurricane jumped from 1-11 in 2002 prior to his arrival, to an 8-4 record in ‘03. Both the WVU and Tulsa turnarounds were the best in NCAA Division I in those seasons.
Now, Graham takes over a program that has won 29 games in the last four years and has been to three bowl games in that same time span. “I felt privileged to be a part of Coach Kragthorpe’s coaching staff at Tulsa, and appreciate the confidence he had in me to help in reviving the great tradition that Tulsa has on the football field,” said Graham.
Before receiving his first collegiate head coaching position at Rice, Graham spent three seasons on the Tulsa coaching staff as assistant head coach and defensive coordinator, while also coaching the Hurricane safeties. In each of his three seasons, Tulsa ranked among the nation’s top-25 in pass defense and showed continual improvement in all areas defensively. Nationally, the Tulsa defense ranked third in takeaways and interceptions, 11th in pass defense efficiency, 17th in pass defense, 40th in total defense and 43rd in scoring defense for the 2005 campaign.
Tulsa’s defense saw dramatic improvement under Graham’s tutelage in his first season. In 2003, the Hurricane improved in total defense nationally, jumping 49 spots from the previous year, to rank 60th in the ‘03 campaign. Tulsa’s defense also ranked 11th in pass defense efficiency, 16th in pass defense, an improvement of 28 spots; and 72nd in scoring defense, an improvement of 29 spots in the national rankings from the previous year. In the Western Athletic Conference, the Hurricane defense ranked first in pass defense, second in total defense and pass defense efficiency, and third in scoring defense for the 2003 campaign.
Graham spent two years as an assistant coach at West Virginia, while serving as co-defensive coordinator, defensive scheme coordinator and safeties coach in 2002, and where he coached the linebackers during the 2001 season. In 2002, the Mountaineer defense ranked 33rd nationally in total defense and 30th in rush defense. He helped WVU register a 9-4 record with wins over nationally ranked Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh in 2002.
Before his move back to the collegiate ranks, Graham was highly successful at Allen High School in his six years (1995-2000). His teams made five playoff appearances and won two bi-district championships. In 2000, Allen posted a 9-3 record and captured the 5A Division II bi-district title while defeating four teams ranked among the top-10 in the state of Texas.
Previously, he was the head coach at Carl Albert (Okla.) High School in 1994, ranking 10th in the state’s final class 5A poll.
From 1988-90, Graham was an assistant coach at Poteet High School in Mesquite, Texas, where those teams compiled a 25-5 record.
A native of the Dallas-Forth Worth area, Graham was an all-state defensive back at North Mesquite High School. He went on to play at East Central University, where he was a two-year NAIA All-America defensive back and three-time all-conference performer. He signed as a free agent with the NFL’s St. Louis Cardinals.
Graham, 43, earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education at East Central University. He and his wife, Penni, have six children: Bo, Hank, Natalie, Haylee, Dakota and Michael Todd Jr.
Source: TU Web site
Southside Quick Notes
- Prospective new member – Benjamin Gibbs – Stock Broker
- Please remember that we need about 8 volunteers at the Rotary Medical Supply Warehouse Saturday May 31st from 7A.M. to 11 P.M.
- The Southside Rotary and the Southside Rotary Foundation donated $ 1,500 to the winner of the Jenks Ultimate Gift Contest. The award was presented in the name of former member Blaine Imel. We are considering making this an annual award honoring Blaine. This year’s winner was Mike Sartin.
- The Foundation does have money available for donations. We do ask for a written request that thoroughly explains the needs. Some of the things the Board takes into consideration prior to voting on a request include:
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- 510C3
- A Mission Statement
- Description of how funds are to be used
- Prefer not to be a ministry
- Must have a face with the request- for an example a blanket request for the DAV will probably not be approved, but a request from the local branch of the DAV for a project to assist a returning veteran who has a need would be considered.
- In the past the Board has also attempted to give priority to requests coming from members.
Fellowship Schedule
• June 26, 2008 Change of Horses – Ti Amo’s – This is an evening meeting. Times to be announced.
