TU Hall Of Famer Reacts To Steve Kragthorpe Rumors

The Cardinals of Kentucky aren't the only ones who value Coach Steve Kragthorpe. The Golden Hurricane fan base has increased dramatically since he arrived in 2002, but it's the die-hard alumni

Monday, January 8th 2007, 8:58 pm

By: News On 6

The Cardinals of Kentucky aren't the only ones who value Coach Steve Kragthorpe. The Golden Hurricane fan base has increased dramatically since he arrived in 2002, but it's the die-hard alumni who value Kragthorpe the most.

There may be no greater TU fans than the Brumbles of Broken Arrow. They've supported the Golden Hurricane for more than 50 years. News on 6 anchor and TU graduate Tami Marler says they werenâ€™t surprised by Mondayâ€™s news.

"We played some great football teams back in the '50s, as well as prior to that. TU played some great schedules in the '40s," said former TU football player Bob Brumble.

Bob Brumble would know he's been a fan since junior high. In the 50â€™s, newly married and fresh out of high school he became a star fullback for the Golden Hurricane and his blushing bride was his biggest fan.

"And my dad thought he was a pretty good player so that was good enough for me," said Sherry Brumble

Back then they called him Bustin' Bob because of his ability to break tackles.

"I always got a laugh out of that because I couldn't be too much of a Bustin' Bob when I only weighed 170 pounds. You can't bust too many people," Bob said.

His "busting" impressed someone. He was inducted into TU's hall of fame in 2002; the same year Steve Kragthorpe was named head coach.

In three years at the helm Kragthorpe's put the Golden Hurricane back in the limelight, and logged more wins in three seasons than the team's previous seven combined.

"He's a very determined young man, and a very good coach. In my opinion, this is all my opinion,â€ said Bob Brumble.

But Brumble knows others share his high opinion of Kragthorpe, not just as a coach, but as a person.

"When you have a coach that is enthusiastic and articulate and he loves to be with the fans and loves to help the kids and he's a great person to work for," Brumble said.

It was only a matter of time before someone else noticed, and TU may not have what it takes to keep him.

"But it takes money and uh, being a private institution I don't know, we struggle at times, we struggle," said Brumble.

"It's just mainly because we don't have as much support here in Tulsa as some of the other schools do for their coaches and for their team," said Sherry Brumble.

The Brumbles say alumni and boosters have worked hard to build on TU's athletic program, but it's tough for a small, private university to compete with larger, state-funded schools. They say no matter what Steve Kragthorpe decides, they'll always be his fans.