Former Oklahoma Football Coach Was Temporarily Fired For Making Too Much Money

Published on September 14th, 2024 11:23 am EST
Written By: Dave Manuel


Bennie Owen, the former Kansas quarterback, coached Oklahoma's football program from 1905 to 1926.

Owen also coached the university's basketball and baseball teams.

Bennie Owen was an excellent football coach - in fact, he compiled a record of 155-60-19 during his time with Oklahoma.

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In this day and age, football coaches at top programs will earn millions of dollars per year.

In the early 1900s, however, things were different.

Bennie Owen, in exchange for coaching Oklahoma's football, baseball and basketball teams, was paid a salary of $3,500 per year.

This works out to roughly $111,291.52 per year in today's dollars, give or take a few dollars.

For the state legislature in Oklahoma, this was far too much money to be spent on a coach, especially when the university was struggling with budget cuts.

In 1907, Owen lost his right arm in a hunting accident, and the legislature used this as an excuse to fire Owen. How could he probably perform his duties without a right arm?

The issue, however, was the money, and Owen's arm was used as an excuse to fire him. Oklahoma's state legislature recommended that Owen be fired, and he was soon let go.

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At the time, Stratton D. Brooks was the President at Oklahoma, and he didn't take kindly to the news of Owen's firing. In fact, he knew nothing about it.

Sure, Owen was making a great deal of money relative to other college coaches, but the results spoke for themselves. Owen was beloved by the players on all three of the teams that he coached, and all three teams had enjoyed a great amount of success.

Brooks quickly acted and got the decision to fire Owen reversed. Owen was worth the cost, Brooks would tell others at the university.

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Owen would remain as head coach of Oklahoma until 1926, though he would remain at the university in an administrative role until he retired in 1934.