Tulsa Introduces Ohio State Offensive Coordinator Kevin Wilson as Head Football Coach

Photo Gallery I Press Conference Transcript

TULSA, Okla. –– The University of Tulsa introduced Kevin Wilson as the school's 34^th head football coach today at an afternoon press conference in the ONEOK Club at H.A. Chapman Stadium.

Wilson comes to Tulsa following six seasons as the offensive coordinator and tight ends coach at The Ohio State University. With 31 years of coordinator experience, Wilson has directed some of the most innovative and prolific offenses in the nation over his 37-year collegiate coaching career.

"This is a great day for The University of Tulsa," said university President Brad Carson. "Coach Wilson is a proven winner and great fit for TU as he has a history of building programs where student-athletes succeed both in the classroom and on the gridiron. I'm pleased to give my full support to Coach, his lovely wife, Angie, and their children as members of the TU family."

Before his stint at Ohio State, Wilson spent six years as the Indiana University head coach. He has also coached at Oklahoma, Northwestern, Miami (Ohio), North Carolina A&T, Winston Salem and began his coaching career at North Carolina, as a graduate assistant.

"Angie, my family and I are extremely excited with this opportunity and I'm honored to be the head coach at The University of Tulsa," said Wilson. "With career ties to the state of Oklahoma, I've always had great appreciation for the university, the football program, its success through the years and the great city and people that live in Tulsa.

"I'm looking forward to getting to know our current players, the staff and putting together a new staff in the weeks to come. We look forward to building a strong foundation for a program that our players, fans, alumni and the city of Tulsa can take great pride in. It's an honor to be here. Reign Cane!"

Wilson has been a part of 13 seasons with 10 or more victories and has coached in four national championship games, including three at Oklahoma and one with Ohio State. He has helped guide the Buckeyes to a 67-8 record over the past six years and before that won 26 games at Indiana.
Ohio State has featured one of the nation's top offenses under Wilson's guidance. The Buckeyes have ranked among the top-7 in total offense all six of his seasons, and among the top-8 for scoring offense five times. In the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, Ohio State was also eighth in rushing offense and 11th in scoring offense.

"We are excited to welcome Kevin and his family to Tulsa and our Golden Hurricane family," said Rick Dickson, Tulsa's vice president and director of athletics. "In beginning this process, the profile developed was to find a leader in the highest degree of character and integrity. A leader who demonstrated the undertaking of developing young men of diverse backgrounds to take full advantage of academic opportunities and maximize their development athletically, emotionally and socially.

"In Kevin, we found someone who has past experiences and coaching record that includes working at two HBCU programs as well as two perennial blue bloods in college football, and others in between."

In Wilson's six seasons, the Buckeyes:

Averaged 524.1 yards per game and 43.6 points per game;
Topped 500 yards of total offense 47 times and 600 yards 18 times;
Scored 410 touchdowns, second-most nationally;
Threw 242 touchdown passes, No. 1 nationally;
Produced back-to-back Heisman Trophy finalists (Dwayne Haskins and Justin Fields);
Produced the first 2,000-yard rusher in school history (J.K. Dobbins); and
Produced two 1,000-yard receivers in back-to-back seasons (Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Garrett Wilson in 2021; Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka in 2022)
Produced five NFL First Round Draft selections on offense (C Billy Price, QB Dwayne Haskins, QB Justin Fields, WR Chris Olave, WR Garrett Wilson)

The range of diversity is nothing unusual for Wilson. Twice he's been on an offensive staff – at Oklahoma and Indiana – that has produced a 3,500-yard passer, two 1,000-yard rushers and a 1,000-yard receiver in the same year, and Ohio State came within 46 rushing yards from Mike Weber in 2018 to giving Wilson a third team to accomplish the feat. In 2021, his offensive unit had a 4,000+ passer, two 1,000+ receivers and one 1,000-yard rusher.

Ohio State has won four consecutive Big Ten championships plus owns a Cotton Bowl win over USC in 2018, a Rose Bowl win over Washington in 2019, advanced to the College Football Playoffs in 2020 and defeated Clemson in the 2021 CFP Semifinals to advance to the CFP championship game.

Wilson spent six seasons as the Indiana coach and led the school to consecutive bowl games in 2015 and 2016 for the first time in 25 years. His teams led the Big Ten Conference in passing three times (2012, '13 and '15) while finishing second in 2016. His 2015 offense led the Big Ten in passing, total offense and scoring.

An offensive coordinator to the late Randy Walker for seven years at Miami-Ohio (1992-98) and then for three years at Northwestern (1999-2001), Wilson and Walker led the RedHawks to a 59-36-5 record before devising a power-spread offense at Northwestern that carried the Wildcats to a Big Ten Conference co-championship in 2000. Highlights of that season included Northwestern leading the Big Ten in rushing for the first time in 54 years.

Wilson then coached under Bob Stoops for nine years at Oklahoma, serving as co-offensive coordinator from 2002-05 and offensive coordinator from 2006-10. During his tenure, the Sooners won six Big 12 championships, played in three national championship games (2003, '04 and '08) and Wilson's offenses "evolved into a beast," according to published reports and featured a then-NCAA record 716 points scored in 2008 that still ranks No. 2 in FBS history.

Following the 2010 season, Wilson was named Indiana's head coach. His IU stint was not only an exciting offensive era for the Hoosiers, but it also featured an average of 21 academic all-Big Ten players each year and his tenure was the second-longest for an IU coach in 20 years.

Student-athletes have thrived under Wilson wherever he has coached. Some of note include:
– Miami Redhawk Travis Prentice rushed for 3,937 yards and 56 touchdowns in three seasons under Wilson, and he closed his career sixth in NCAA rushing history;
– Northwestern's Zak Kustok had 532 yards of offense in a 2001 game – still the seventh-most yards in Big Ten history – when Wilson was offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach;
– Two of Wilson's running backs – Northwestern's Damien Anderson and Indiana's Tevin Coleman – accumulated 2,000 rushing yards in a season with Coleman's 2,036 in 2014 16th in NCAA history and Anderson's 2,063 in 2000 not ranked by the NCAA because of bowl game yards but fifth in Big Ten history;
– Oklahoma's Adrian Peterson just missed a 2,000-yard season under Wilson in 2004 with 1,925 yards;
– Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford became the NCAA's career-leader in passing efficiency (min. 500 completions);
– Bradford and Oklahoma's Landry Jones each passed for over 4,700 yards in a season to rank 21st and 23rd, respectively, in NCAA history;
– Wilson's 2008 Sooner offense set an NCAA record by scoring 60 points in five consecutive games;
– Indiana quarterbacks Nate Sudfeld, in 2015, and Richard Lagow in 2016, held the top two single season passing yardage totals in IU history, with Sudfeld's 3,573 yards 10th in Big Ten history; and
– The 2015 IU offense became just the fourth in FBS history – and second for Wilson – with a 3,500-yard passer, two 1,000-yard rushers and a 1,000-yard receiver in the same year (USC in 2005; Oklahoma in 2008 and Southern Miss in 2015).

Wilson was selected as the Frank Broyles Award Winner in 2008 as the nation's top assistant coach and was twice a finalist. In addition to Ohio State's five first-round draft selections, Wilson also coached four first-round draft picks at Oklahoma – Bradford, Peterson, Trent Williams and Jermaine Gresham – and 23 of his Hoosiers moved on to the NFL.

A native of Maiden, N.C., Wilson is a 1984 graduate of the University of North Carolina, where he was an offensive lineman on the football team and received his bachelor's (education; 1987) and master's (physical education) degrees. After two seasons as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, Wilson's full-time career began in 1987 at Winston Salem State and included stops at North Carolina A&T (1988) and Foard (N.C.) High School prior to his tenure at Miami.

Wilson, and his wife, Angela, are the parents of five children: daughters Elaina, Makenzie and Marlee, and sons Trey and Toby, a sophomore offensive lineman at Ohio State.

Tulsa will play a six-game home schedule in 2023 as the Golden Hurricane hosts non-conference opponents UAPB (Sept. 2), Oklahoma (Sept. 16) as well as American Athletic Conference foes North Texas, Rice, Charlotte and Temple. For season ticket deposits and information, call 918.631.4688. Season ticket holders from 2022 can renew their seats at the locked in price last season by contacting their ticket representative or the Golden Hurricane ticket office.

Coach Wilson will be introduced to Golden Hurricane fans during the men's basketball game Wednesday night at the Donald W. Reynolds Center as Tulsa hosts Detroit Mercy. Fans will have an opportunity to meet Coach Wilson beginning at 5:45 p.m. Game time is 7 p.m.

THE KEVIN WILSON FILE

Kevin Wilson Quick Facts
Hometown: Maiden, N.C.
High School: Maiden
Alma Mater: North Carolina, 1984
Degree: Education
Master's Degree: North Carolina, 1987
Year in Coaching: 38th (Fifth at Ohio State)
Wife: Angela
Children: Daughters Elaina, Makenzie and Marlee, and sons Trey and Toby

Kevin Wilson Year-by-Year Coaching Record
Year	Position	School	Record	Postseason
1984-86	Grad. Assistant	North Carolina
1987	Offensive Line	Winston Salem
1988	Offensive Coordinator/OL	No. Carolina A&T	2-9
1989	Head Coach/Athletic Director	Foard (NC) HS
1990	Offensive Line	Miami (Ohio)	5-5-1
1991	Offensive Line	Miami (Ohio)	6-4-1
1992	Offensive Coordinator/OL	Miami (Ohio)	6-4-1
1993	Offensive Coordinator/OL	Miami (Ohio)	4-7
1994	Offensive Coordinator/OL	Miami (Ohio)	5-5-1
1995	Offensive Coordinator/OL	Miami (Ohio)	8-2-1
1996	Offensive Coordinator/OL	Miami (Ohio)	6-5
1997	Offensive Coordinator/OL	Miami (Ohio)	8-3
1998	Offensive Coordinator/QBs	Miami (Ohio)	10-1
1999	Offensive Coordinator/QBs	Northwestern	3-8
2000	Offensive Coordinator/QBs	Northwestern	8-4	Alamo Bowl - Loss
2001	Assistant HC/Off. Coordinator/QBs	Northwestern	4-7
2002	Co-Offensive Coordinator/OL	Oklahoma	12-2	Rose Bowl - Win
2003	Co-Offensive Coordinator/OL	Oklahoma	12-2	Sugar Bowl - Loss
2004	Co-Offensive Coordinator/OL	Oklahoma	12-1	Orange Bowl - Loss
2005	Co-Offensive Coordinator/OL	Oklahoma	8-4	Holiday Bowl - Win
2006	Offensive Coordinator/TEs/FBs	Oklahoma	11-3	Fiesta Bowl - Loss
2007	Offensive Coordinator/TEs/FBs	Oklahoma	11-3	Fiesta Bowl - Loss
2008	Offensive Coordinator/TEs/FBs	Oklahoma	12-2	BCS Championship - Loss
2009	Offensive Coordinator/TEs/FBs	Oklahoma	8-5	Sun Bowl - Win
2010	Offensive Coordinator/TEs/FBs	Oklahoma	12-2	Fiesta Bowl - Win
2011	Head Coach	Indiana	1-11
2012	Head Coach	Indiana	4-8
2013	Head Coach	Indiana	5-7
2014	Head Coach	Indiana	4-8
2015	Head Coach	Indiana	6-7	Pinstripe Bowl - Loss
2016	Head Coach	Indiana	6-6	Foster Farms Bowl - Loss
2017	Offensive Coordinator/TEs	Ohio State	12-2	Cotton Bowl - Win
2018	Offensive Coordinator/TEs	Ohio State	13-1	Rose Bowl - Win
2019	Offensive Coordinator/TEs	Ohio State	13-1	Fiesta Bowl - Loss
2020	Offensive Coordinator/TEs	Ohio State	7-1	CFP Championship - Loss
2021	Offensive Coordinator/TEs	Ohio State	11-2	Rose Bowl - Win
2022	Offensive Coordinator/TEs	Ohio State	11-1	CFP Playoffs

Ohio State's Yearly NCAA Offensive Rankings Under Wilson

Year	Total	Scoring	Rushing	Passing
2017	506.0 (7^th)	41.4 (6^th)	243.2 (17^th)	262.8 (36^th)
2018	535.6 (2^nd)	42.4 (8^th)	171.3 (63^rd)	364.3 (2^nd)
2019	529.9 (4^th)	46.9 (3^rd)	266.8 (5^th)	263.1 (36^th)
2020	519.4 (7^th)	41.0 (11^th)	256.9 (8^th)	262.5 (37^th)
2021	561.5 (1^st)	45.7 (1^st)	180.6 (47^th)	380.9 (3^rd)
2022	492.7 (6^th)	44.5 (2^nd)	198.5 (28^th)	294.2 (14^th)

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING ABOUT COACH KEVIN WILSON . . .

"My sincere congratulations to Kevin and his family on this well-deserved opportunity. He is one of the best and brightest football minds that I've had the chance to work with, and over the last six years he has also become a great friend. Tulsa has made a fantastic hire and, on behalf of the entire Ohio State football program, I wish him great success with this opportunity."

Ryan Day, Head Football Coach, The Ohio State University

"The University of Tulsa is getting a terrific coach and person in Kevin Wilson. Coach Wilson is a really, really good guy who has a great football mind and who will bring out the absolute best in you."

Cade Stover, Tight End, The Ohio State University (4^th Year)

"I think Kevin Wilson is one of the best offensive coordinators and, to be honest, will be one of the best head coaches in the country. He's got a great mind and a great passion for football. He's the right guy and I love that Tulsa has made this move."

Bob Stoops, Former University of Oklahoma Head Coach

"Kevin Wilson is an exceptional human being with the highest of character. It is an honor to know him. A family man, great teacher of young men, integrity, respectful and great work ethic. In life a goal is to be missed, Kevin will be missed."

Gene Smith, Senior Vice President & Director of Athletics, The Ohio State University

"Fantastic hire by The University of Tulsa. Kevin Wilson has played a major role in building and sustaining championship programs throughout his entire career. We are certainly grateful for all he did while offensive coordinator at Oklahoma and know his future Golden Hurricane teams will be well-coached, create energy and be exciting to follow."

Joe Castiglione, Vice President & Director of Athletics, University of Oklahoma

Tulsa Introduces Ohio State Offensive Coordinator Kevin Wilson as Head Football Coach

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