OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – A giant in the college basketball world is gone. Former Oklahoma State head coach Eddie Sutton has died at the age of 84.
KANSAS CITY, MO – MARCH 13: Head coach Eddie Sutton of the Oklahoma State Cowboys smiles after the Cowboys won the Phillips 66 Big 12 Men’s Basketball Tournament against the Texas Tech Red Raiders on March 13, 2005 at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri. The Cowboys won 72-68 to win their second straight Big 12 Tournament title. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
Sutton’s storied career spanned more than 50 years. Sutton had success wherever he coached, but catapulted Oklahoma State basketball to new heights.
After four years as the head coach at Kentucky, Eddie Sutton’s reign as the Wildcats leader ended with a recruiting scandal and JC probation.
After sitting out of coaching for one year, the 53-year old Sutton got a call from his alma mater. Oklahoma State had an opening for their head basketball coaching position and Sutton’s former coach, the legendary Henry Iba, welcomed him home to Stillwater. At that opening news conference, Sutton took the initiative. He brought up his days at Kentucky and his battles with alcohol.
“I dealt with it, and I think the fact I dealt with it better prepares me to help other people and especially to help young people.”
It didn’t take long for Sutton to have success at OSU. Former coach Leonard Hamilton had left plenty of talent to work with, and led by junior forward Byron Houston, the cowboys went to the sweet 16.
Another sweet 16 followed the next season, which saw the beginning of the “Big Country” era. Bryant reeves went from a wide-eyed freshman to a polished All-American by 1995. And he and three other seniors led OSU to a place they had not been in 44 years, the Final Four.
1 Apr 1995: Head coach Eddie Sutton of the Oklahoma State Cowboys looks on during a game against the UCLA Bruins. UCLA won the game, 74-61. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Dunn /Allsport
31 MAR 1995: OKLAHOMA STATE HEAD BASKETBALL COACH EDDIE SUTTON SHAKES HANDS WITH A WELL WISHER DURING A PUBLIC FINAL FOUR PRACTICE AT THE KINGDOME IN SEATTLE, WASHINGTON. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Dunn/ALLSPORT
DALLAS – MARCH 14: Head coach Eddie Sutton of the Oklahoma State Cowboys talks with his team while playing against the Missouri Tigers during the quarterfinals of the Dr. Pepper NCAA Big 12 Championship Tournament at the American Airlines Center on March 14, 2003 in Dallas, Texas. The University of Missouri Tigers defeated the Oklahoma State Cowboys 60-58. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
DALLAS – MARCH 14: Tony Allen #24, head coach Eddie Sutton, John Lucas #15 and Stephen Graham #21 of the Oklahoma State Cowboys pose with the Big 12 trophy after being named to the Big 12 All-tourney team for defeating the Texas Longhorns during the finals of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournament March 14, 2004 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. OSU won 65-49. (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images)
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – MARCH 27: Head coach Eddie Sutton of the Oklahoma State Cowboys celebrates by cutting down the net after defeating the St. Joseph’s Hawks 64-62 during their fourth round regional game of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament at Continental Airlines Arena on March 27, 2004 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)
KANSAS CITY, MO – MARCH 12: Head coach Eddie Sutton of the Oklahoma State Cowboys and head coach designate Sean Sutton talk with Ivan McFarlin #23 in the first half against the Kansas Jayhawks in the Semifinals of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Men’s Basketball Tournament at Kemper Arena on March 12, 2005 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
KANSAS CITY, MO – MARCH 13: Head coach Eddie Sutton of the Oklahoma State Cowboys smiles after the Cowboys won the Phillips 66 Big 12 Men’s Basketball Tournament against the Texas Tech Red Raiders on March 13, 2005 at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri. The Cowboys won 72-68 to win their second straight Big 12 Tournament title. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
OKLAHOMA CITY – MARCH 20: Head coach Eddie Sutton of the Oklahoma State Cowboys points in the second half against the Southern Illinois Salukis during the second round of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship on March 20, 2005 at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
CHICAGO – MARCH 24: Head coach Eddie Sutton of the Oklahoma State Cowboys looks toward John Lucas #15 after Lucas just missed a game winning shot against the Arizona Wildcats in game two of the Chicago Regional in the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship at the Allstate Arena on March 24, 2005 in Chicago, Illinois. Arizona defeated Oklahoma State 79-78. (Photo by Doug Benc/Getty Images)
SEATTLE – DECEMBER 10: Head Coach Eddie Sutton of the Oklahoma State Cowboys reacts to a foul call during the game against the Gonzaga Bulldogs at Key Arena on December 10, 2005 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)
SEATTLE – DECEMBER 10: Head Coach Eddie Sutton of the Oklahoma State Cowboys reacts during the game with the Gonzaga Bulldogs at Key Arena on December 10, 2005 in Seattle, Washington. Gonzaga won 64-62. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)
19 Mar 2000: Head coach Eddie Sutton of the Oklahoma State Cowboys gives instructions to his team during the NCAA East Regional second round game against the Pepperdine Waves at the HSBC Arena in Buffalo, New York. Oklahoma State defeated Pepperdine 75-67 to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. Mandatory Credit: Rick Stewart/ALLSPORT
26 Mar 2000: Head coach Eddie Sutton of the Oklahoma State Cowboys looks on during the first half of the NCAA East Regional Final game against the Florida Gators at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, New York. Mandatory Credit: M. David Leeds/ALLSPORT
KANSAS CITY, MO – MARCH 13: Head coach Eddie Sutton of the Oklahoma State Cowboys sits with his grandson Parker after the Cowboys won the Phillips 66 Big 12 Men’s Basketball Tournament Championship against the Texas Tech Red Raiders on March 13, 2005 at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri. The Cowboys won 72-68 to win their second straight Big 12 Tournament title. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
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The season ended in Seattle with a loss to eventual champion UCLA. But it was clear by then, Sutton had re-established cowboy basketball as a national power.
Six years after Sutton’s high point as Cowboy coach, came the low point. Not only in Sutton’s tenure at his alma mater, but in the school’s athletic history.
On January 27, 2001, 10 members of the OSU basketball family were killed when a plane crashed on a return flight after a game against Colorado. They’ve been forever memorialized at Gallagher-Iba Arena, and the hearts of OSU fans everywhere.
Sutton said, “It will be difficult, and now seemingly impossible. But we will get through this. And we will be better people for it.”
The pain of the plane crash still lingers for those around the program, but Cowboy success continued.
In 2004, a team full of transfers, second-chance players gelled like no other in Sutton’s time at Oklahoma State.
OSU was back in the Final four, this time in San Antonio, where Georgia tech ended the Cowboys’ season with a two point win.
OSU lost to Arizona in the sweet 16 the next year. And 2006 marked the end of Sutton’s tenure in Stillwater.
On February 10th, Sutton was in an accident caused by drunken driving saying, “I succumbed to temptation and went and bought a bottle.”
Following the accident Eddie took a leave of absence, and his son Sean took over the coaching duties for the rest of the season. In May of that year, Sutton officially resigned as head coach of the Cowboys saying, “I’ve had my time and what a time it was.”
Two wins shy of 800 for his career, Sutton returned to coaching two seasons later at the University of San Francisco getting his 800th win to become just the fifth division one men’s coach to accomplish the feat.
Sutton has been a frequent sight at OSU home games in the last decade and his imprint on OSU athletics will be felt for years to come.
It was officially announced in March of 2020 that Eddie Sutton would be enshrined in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. Sutton went to three Final Four’s, was a two time AP College Coach of the Year and was a College Basketball Hall of Fame inductee in 2011.
