Contract Extension Would Keep Gundy At OSU Through 2013

STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) _ Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy was given a one-year contract extension Friday after leading the Cowboys to their second straight bowl game. <br/><br/>The extension would keep

Friday, November 30th 2007, 12:42 pm

By: News On 6

STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) _ Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy was given a one-year contract extension Friday after leading the Cowboys to their second straight bowl game.

The extension would keep Gundy, who gained national notoriety for a postgame outburst in September, at the school through 2013. It is subject to approval by the school's board of regents next week.

``We appreciate the job Coach Gundy is doing and believe he and his staff are making progress in moving OSU football to the next level,'' said Marlene Strathe, the school's interim president, in a statement. ``I am particularly pleased with the success our student-athletes are having in the classroom under coach Gundy's leadership.''

Gundy, a former Oklahoma State quarterback, is 17-19 in three seasons as the Cowboys' coach. He led them to a 4-7 record in 2005, then took them to the Independence Bowl last season. The Cowboys are awaiting their bowl destination after going 6-6 this season.

``During the 2005 season we won just one conference game,'' Oklahoma State athletic director Mike Holder said. ``We saw improvement last year and this year we were competitive in every conference game but the last one. That shows improvement to me.''

Oklahoma State was in contention for the Big 12 South title this season before squandering a 21-point, fourth-quarter lead in a 38-35 loss to Texas. The Cowboys finished the season with a 49-17 loss at Oklahoma last week and ended up in a three-way tie for third place in the division, behind the Sooners and Longhorns.

Perhaps the most memorable moment of the season, though, came after a 49-45 win against Texas Tech on Sept. 22, when Gundy used his entire postgame news conference addressing an Oklahoma City newspaper columnist who'd been critical of benched quarterback Bobby Reid. The rant, punctuated by a ``Come after me! I'm a man! I'm 40!'' outburst, made national waves and was a YouTube sensation. Reid was suspended for Oklahoma State's game against Kansas State four weeks later when he skipped practice.

On the field, the highlight was a 45-14 blowout at Nebraska _ the team's first win in Lincoln since 1960.

The Cowboys earned their fifth bowl appearance in the last six years against what's considered the nation's most difficult schedule by the NCAA. Four of the Cowboys' losses came against ranked opponents, and their wins came against Florida Atlantic, Sam Houston State, Texas Tech, Nebraska, Kansas State and Baylor.

It's only the second time in school history that Oklahoma State will have five bowl appearances in a six-year span, with the first coming when Heisman Trophy winner Barry Sanders was on campus.

This run began when current LSU coach Les Miles took the Cowboys to three straight bowl games, when Gundy was the offensive coordinator.