Steve Largent's No. 83 Tulsa jersey will be retired on Saturday.

Football Home HEADLINES Texas A&M's Van Malone Named to Tulsa Coaching Staff It's the Last Week to Vote for Wilson Holloway for National Award Tulsa's Ron West Takes Illinois Coaching Position RELATED LINKS • Follow all of the college football action at CollegeSports.com • Email this to a friend

Tulsa to Honor Cooper and Largent at UCF Game Sunday

Largent's No. 83 to be retired

Oct. 20, 2008

Tulsa, Oklahoma - Two of Tulsa's former greats will be honored on Sunday night at the Tulsa-UCF Football Game. One is a former coach, John Cooper, and the other is a former Golden Hurricane student-athlete and NFL legend, Steve Largent.

Largent will be the eighth student-athlete in the history of Golden Hurricane football to have his jersey retired. His No. 83 will join Billy Guy Anderson (No. 14), Jerry Rhome (No. 17), Ellis Jones (No. 31), Felto Prewitt (#36), Glenn Dobbs (No. 45), Marvin Matuszak (No. 64) and Howard Twilley (#81) as the retired Tulsa Golden Hurricane football jerseys.

Cooper, a former Tulsa head football coach, was selected for induction into the National Football Foundation's College Football Hall of Fame this December, and will be recognized this Sunday during a special on-campus salute.

Largent was a second-team All-America selection in 1975 after catching 51 passes for 1,000 yards and 14 touchdowns as a senior. He completed his collegiate career with 136 receptions for 2,385 yards and 32 touchdowns and moved into second-place on the school's all-time receiving chart in 1975.

An Oklahoma native, Largent was a two-time all-Missouri Valley Conference first team performer and led the league in receiving both as a junior and senior. He also led the nation in touchdown receptions in 1974 and '75 with 14 in each season.

After being drafted by the Houston Oilers in the fourth round of the 1976 draft, Largent was traded to the Seattle Seahawks and went on to earn first-team All-Rookie Team honors that year. Largent played 14 seasons in the NFL and concluded his career with league records for receptions (819), yards (13,089), touchdowns (100), consecutive games with a reception (177), 50-catch seasons (10), and 1,000-yard seasons (8). He was selected to play in the Pro Bowl Game seven times in his career.

Largent was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1995, and was a member of the University of Tulsa's Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 1991.

Largent wore No. 83 at Tulsa, before wearing No. 80 during his professional career. Former Hurricane quarterback Billy Guy Anderson was the last Tulsa player to have his jersey retired on September 23, 1995.

Cooper coached at Tulsa from 1976-84 and compiled a won-loss record of 57-31 in eight seasons. His Hurricane teams posted seven consecutive winning seasons and won five straight Missouri Valley Conference titles. In 1982, Cooper garnered MVC Coach of the Year honors after leading his squad to a 10-1 record, the best mark in 40 years. In that same season, Tulsa was ranked among the nation's top-20 for much of the year.

Cooper also served as the school's athletic director. He left Tulsa to take the head coaching position at Arizona State University, and later became the head coach at Ohio State University.

Cooper is the fifth player or coach from The University of Tulsa to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. Former player/coach Glenn Dobbs was a 1980 inductee, receiver Howard Twilley was inducted in 1992, quarterback Jerry Rhome in 1998, and another former coach, Francis Schmidt, was a 1971 inductee.

In December, the official induction ceremony will take place at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City. The 2008 Hall of Fame Class also includes Coach Lou Holtz, and former players, Troy Aikman, Billy Cannon, Jim Dombrowski, Pat Fitzgerald, Wilber Marshall, Rueben Mayes, Randall McDaniel, Don McPherson, Jay Novacek, Dave Parks, Ron Simmons, Thurman Thomas and Arnold Tucker.

Tickets for Sunday's nationally televised Tulsa-UCF game can be purchased online at tulsahurricane.com, by calling 918-631-4688 or by stopping by the TU athletic ticket office at the Donald W. Reynolds Center on the TU campus. Tickets can be purchased for as low as $12.00. Group ticket discounts are also available. Game time is scheduled or 7:00 p.m.