Tulsa Football began its legacy in 1895 as Henry Kendall College. Over the first few decades, the team had many highlights, including using the "tower play" against Missouri School of the Mines in a 117-0 victory on November 13, 1915. That play, which involved a player hopping onto a teammates shoulders to catch a pass, was banned in the following year.

Henry Kendall College began posting undefeated seasons as they headed into the 1920's, and on February 8, 1921, the school name was changed to the University of Tulsa. TU received a new home as well, moving into Skelly Stadium in 1930.

In the 1940's, The Tulsa Golden Hurricane became the first school to go to five straight New Year's Day bowl games, starting with the Sun Bowl on January 1, 1942. That was followed with two Sugar Bowls, the Orange Bowl and the Oil Bowl.

The Hurricane took a slight dip in the 50's, but Glenn Dobbs took over as the Tulsa head coach in 1961 and revitalized the TU passing attack. Jerry Rhome and Howard Twilley were a well known combination, with both finishing as Heisman Trophy runner-ups during their careers.

Tulsa began cranking out NFL players, and it was no different in the 1970's, with names like Steve Largent and Drew Pearson. That trend continued through the 80's, as Tulsa saw 60 players drafted between 1970 and 1989. The most recent draftee is quarterback James Kilian, who was selected by the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2005 NFL Draft.

TU made their 10th and 11th bowl appearances to close out the 80's and usher in the 1990's. A close loss in the 1989 Independence Bowl was soon forgotten, as Tulsa defeated San Diego State 28-17 in the 1991 Freedom Bowl.

The Tulsa Football tradition began to slide as the Hurricane suffered through 11 straight losing seasons. However, when all seemed lost after back-to-back one-win campaigns, Steve Kragthorpe was hired away from the Buffalo Bills. "Coach K" posted an 8-4 mark in his first year and began the resurgence of TU football with a second-place conference finish and a bowl appearance. It continued in his third season with a Conference USA championship and a Liberty Bowl victory in 2005. In 2006, Kragthorpe led Tulsa to its third bowl game in four years.

January of 2007 ushered in a new era of Tulsa football, with former Hurricane defensive coordinator Todd Graham coming back as head coach. He helped engineer the turnaround of Tulsa's program under Kragthorpe from 2003 to 2005, before turning around another program - Rice - in 2006. Graham hopes to build on Tulsa's recent success.

1941 Sun Bowl

1942 Sugar Bowl

1943 Sugar Bowl

1944 Orange Bowl

1945 Oil Bowl

1952 Gator Bowl

1964 Bluebonnet Bowl

1965 Bluebonnet Bowl

1975 Independence Bowl

1989 Independence Bowl

1991 Freedom Bowl

2003 Humanitarian Bowl

2005 Liberty Bowl

2006 Armed Forces Bowl

Glenn Dobbs (1942), Felto Prewitt (1944), Ellis Jones (1945), Marvin Matuszak (1951, 1952), Jerry Rhome (1964), Howard Twilley (1964, 1965), Drane Scrivener (1972), Jerry Ostroski (1991), Ashlan Davis (2004), Garrett Mills (2005)

John Simmons (1963), Billy Guy Anderson (1965), Ken Duncan (1970), Ralph McGill (1971), Steve Shores (1972), Steve Largent (1975), Rick Engles (1975), Jimmie Stewart (1976), Lovie Smith (1978), Don Blackmon (1978, 1980), Dan Bitson (1988, 1989), Mark Govi (1992), Chris Penn (1993)

Al Humphrey (1975), Steve August (1976), Doug Panfil (1978), Reno Hutchins (1981), Sid Abramowitz (1982), Nate Harris (1984)

Nick Bunting (2003)

Howard Twilley (1964, 1965), Mack Lancaster (1974), David Milwee (1995), Levi Gillen (1996, 1997), Drew McLaughlin (2001), Michael Dulaney (2002), Garrett Mills (2005), Paul Smith (2006)

Glenn Dobbs (1942, 9th place)

Jerry Rhome (1964, Runner-up)

Howard Twilley (1965, Runner-up)

Jerry Rhome, 1964 Back of the Year

Howard Twilley, 1965 Lineman of the Year

Francis Schmidt, Coach (1919-21)

Glenn Dobbs, Halfback (1940-42)

Howard Twilley, Receiver (1963-65)

Jerry Rhome, Quarterback (1963-64)

Bob St. Clair, Tackle (1990 NFL Inductee)

Jim Finks, Quarterback (1995 NFL Inductee)

Steve Largent, Receiver (1995 NFL Inductee)

Jerry Keeling, Quarterback (1989 CFL Inductee)

Kaye Vaughan, Tackle (1978 CFL Inductee)

• 199 Pro Draftees

• 26 Blue-Gray Game participants

• 19 East-West Shrine Game participants

• 25 Senior Bowl participants

• 8 Hula Bowl participants

• 1 Gridiron Classic participant

• 33 Conference titles

• 21 C-USA All-Conference Selections

• 252 MVC All-Conference Selections

• 35 WAC All-Conference Selections

• 2 C-USA All-Freshman Team Selections

• 1 WAC Coach of the Year

• 1 WAC Freshman of the Year

• 1 C-USA Defensive Player of the Year