If you’re wondering why Oklahoma State isn’t exactly pulling top-tier coaching interest right now, Grant Hughes of 247Sports just gave the clearest answer you’ll get. He ranked the current Power Conference job openings by NIL budget, and Oklahoma State came in second-to-last. The Cowboys were listed at $5.3 million, ahead of only Stanford.
That puts them behind everyone from LSU and Florida to Arkansas and Virginia Tech. Yes, even UCLA has more juice in the NIL department, according to Hughes. For a program that’s been in the Big 12 mix for the better part of two decades, that number should raise eyebrows. Hughes even spelled it out: “Oklahoma State’s coaching vacancy would be far more appealing if the Cowboys still had the abundant resources that were available when T. Boone Pickens was living.”
That’s not just a casual jab. It’s the reality. Pickens pumped more than $650 million into Oklahoma State during his lifetime. That included a $165 million gift to the football program back in 2006 that literally changed the trajectory of the entire athletic department. Since his death in 2019, though, things have gone quiet on the funding front, and it’s starting to show.
The Cowboys have solid facilities and a good brand in the Big 12, but in the NIL era, that’s not enough. Coaches want to know what kind of backing they’ll get when it comes time to keep a roster together or go after real difference-makers. If you’re walking into a rebuild with a middle-of-the-pack budget, you’d better have a plan. Otherwise, you’re just showing up to a gunfight with a pocket knife.
Mike Gundy saw this coming. He spent most of his final year hinting, and at times flat-out saying, that Oklahoma State wasn’t playing the same game anymore. The numbers prove he was right. Whether or not NIL was the reason for his exit, it was definitely part of the tension.
Now the Cowboys are on the hunt for a new head coach, and the budget behind the scenes is going to be a big part of that pitch. Tradition still matters. So does history. But if the checkbook can’t compete, neither can the program.
