Tulsa gets new coach

[Hoss]

Tulsa Names Buffalo Bills' assistant coach Steve Kragthorpe as head football coach

Tulsa, Oklahoma -- Buffalo Bills Quarterbacks Coach Steve Kragthorpe will be introduced as The University of Tulsa's new head football coach at a news conference on Thursday, December 19.

TU Director of Athletics Judy MacLeod today confirmed the appointment of Kragthorpe. He becomes the 26th head football coach in school history. Kragthorpe, 37, brings 13 years of coaching to the Tulsa football program, including 11 years on the collegiate level and two years of professional football.

"We're extremely pleased to have Steve Kragthorpe as our football coach," said MacLeod. "Steve has the enthusiasm necessary for success in today's competitive football environment. He has demonstrated his outstanding ability as an offensive coach on both the collegiate and professional levels."

MacLeod added that, "Steve brings a wealth of experience to our football program. He possesses the coaching ability, organizational skills, and the personal
characteristics and qualities we were looking for in a head coach."

"I'm very excited for my family, and thrilled about this golden opportunity to be the head football coach at The University of Tulsa," said Kragthorpe. "Tulsa and northeastern Oklahoma is a great area, and The University of Tulsa is such a quality institution. I feel very comfortable with the administration and the commitment they're willing to make. I can't think of a better situation for my family than to move to Tulsa and become the head football coach."

Kragthorpe spent the past two seasons (2000-01) as quarterback coach with the NFL's Buffalo Bills. Last year, he tutored Rob Johnson, now with the Tampa Bay Bucs, Alex Van Pelt and Drew Bledsoe this season.

Prior to that, Kragthorpe spent four years (1997-00) as an assistant coach at Texas A&M, including the final three seasons as offensive coordinator. He also coached the wide receivers from 1997-99, before becoming the quarterback coach for the 2000 season. The Aggies posted a four-year mark of 35-16 and participated in four Bowl games, including the Cotton Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Alamo Bowl and Independence Bowl.

Kragthorpe broke into the coaching ranks in 1990 as the quarterback coach at Northern Arizona and remained in that position until being elevated to offensive coordinator for the 1992 and '93 seasons. He was the offensive coordinator at North Texas for the 1994 and '95 seasons, and served as the quarterback coach at Boston College in 1996.

As a college coach, he tutored Boston College's Matt Hasselbeck, now with the Seattle Seahawks, and Jeff Lewis at Northern Arizona. Lewis was a five-year NFL quarterback with the Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers.

As a collegiate player, Kragthorpe played quarterback for two seasons at Eastern New Mexico (1983-84) before transferring to West Texas A&M. He started 11 games as a senior and completed 179 of 344 passes for 1,980 yards and nine TDs.

Kragthorpe earned his bachelor's degree in business administration from West Texas in 1988. He also received his master's degree in business administration, while serving as a graduate assistant coach at Oregon State in 1988 and '89.

Kragthorpe and his wife, Cynthia, have three sons: Chris (13), Brad (10) and Nik (8).

[Guest]

Don't take this hire lightly - Kragthorpe can flat-out coach. He was largely responsible for the emergence of the A&M offense when he was coaching there. And he's a very personable guy who can recruit (although hopefully recruiting to Tulsa will continue to be like recruiting to Baylor - a tough sell.)

Good luck to a good guy (Kragthorpe) - except when he's facing SMU.