I just wanted to share some thoughts on Coach Kragthorpe. As most know by now, he passed on Sunday after a long battle with Parkinson's.
I remember when he was hired in December of 2002 to be TU's next head coach. He was a 37-year old assistant coach for the Buffalo Bills. Online media was a new thing back then, and I had been covering TU for about a year. I never got to know Keith Burns, so Steve was really the first head coach I covered in-depth. I was immediately struck by Steve's attention to detail, and most of all, his passion for the game.
At a weekly press conference, and @CaneVideo probably remembers this, I asked a question about Nick Bunting's post-game comments after a previous win -- in which he stated TU owed SMU for a beating the year before. Steve was already irritated (which I didn't know) about former TV reporter Kenny Choi cutting up clips to make it seem Steve was talking about a different topic than what he was asked about. So, Steve kind of jumped down my throat after my question. But about an hour later, he called to apologize and explained what was going on. That instantly boosted my respect for him. He was always welcoming and gave me full access to practices, camps, etc. The entire staff was great to us. He would always meet with me for about an hour prior to fall camp, to chat about the team and expectations. We'd sit out on the couch in the entry to the coaches' office.
Steve was also great during the off-season, allowing me and @Bill Lowery to be right in the middle of prospect camps, and he'd introduce us to high school coaches in attendance, like Joey McGuire (now the Tx Tech coach). He'd have a preseason golf tournament -- seems like it was always at Battle Creek. One year, I was paired with Steve Gage and Steve August, which was a great time. There was a different coach at each hole, which would complete your foursome. Steve was always on the Par 3 that goes over water...hole 11, I think.
One other moment that I think about from time to time was the home game against Navy in 2004. TU came out flat and stayed that way in a 29-0 loss, moving to 0-3. A bit of a hangover after losing to OSU the week before. The media waited for Steve to come out for the postgame press conference, and it took way longer than usual, but we could hear Steve in the locker room, and he was FIRED UP. You could clearly hear what he was saying, and he was not happy. It just showed the passion that he had, and the desire to be great. That was his only losing season at TU.
Steve got the program back on track with three winning seasons and three bowl games in four years. I think I only got to chat with him one time after he left TU in January of 2007. I give him all the credit for helping me establish Inside Tulsa Sports by giving us access in an era where online media was not given much respect.
I remember when he was hired in December of 2002 to be TU's next head coach. He was a 37-year old assistant coach for the Buffalo Bills. Online media was a new thing back then, and I had been covering TU for about a year. I never got to know Keith Burns, so Steve was really the first head coach I covered in-depth. I was immediately struck by Steve's attention to detail, and most of all, his passion for the game.
At a weekly press conference, and @CaneVideo probably remembers this, I asked a question about Nick Bunting's post-game comments after a previous win -- in which he stated TU owed SMU for a beating the year before. Steve was already irritated (which I didn't know) about former TV reporter Kenny Choi cutting up clips to make it seem Steve was talking about a different topic than what he was asked about. So, Steve kind of jumped down my throat after my question. But about an hour later, he called to apologize and explained what was going on. That instantly boosted my respect for him. He was always welcoming and gave me full access to practices, camps, etc. The entire staff was great to us. He would always meet with me for about an hour prior to fall camp, to chat about the team and expectations. We'd sit out on the couch in the entry to the coaches' office.
Steve was also great during the off-season, allowing me and @Bill Lowery to be right in the middle of prospect camps, and he'd introduce us to high school coaches in attendance, like Joey McGuire (now the Tx Tech coach). He'd have a preseason golf tournament -- seems like it was always at Battle Creek. One year, I was paired with Steve Gage and Steve August, which was a great time. There was a different coach at each hole, which would complete your foursome. Steve was always on the Par 3 that goes over water...hole 11, I think.
One other moment that I think about from time to time was the home game against Navy in 2004. TU came out flat and stayed that way in a 29-0 loss, moving to 0-3. A bit of a hangover after losing to OSU the week before. The media waited for Steve to come out for the postgame press conference, and it took way longer than usual, but we could hear Steve in the locker room, and he was FIRED UP. You could clearly hear what he was saying, and he was not happy. It just showed the passion that he had, and the desire to be great. That was his only losing season at TU.
Steve got the program back on track with three winning seasons and three bowl games in four years. I think I only got to chat with him one time after he left TU in January of 2007. I give him all the credit for helping me establish Inside Tulsa Sports by giving us access in an era where online media was not given much respect.
