Patty Gasso, Oklahoma agree to new contract running through 2028, significant raise
To the winner goes the spoils, as the old phrase goes. And Patty Gasso has done plenty of winning as the Oklahoma head coach of late, and the Sooners have been happy to heap on the praise, honors, and now a new contract extension.
Gasso’s new deal will keep her under contract through the 2028 season and pays her an average of at least $2 million annually, according to The Oklahoman. Gasso, who was already the highest-paid coach in the sport, remains as such.
Gasso has led Oklahoma to a historic four-straight national titles amid an unrivaled run of success.
And the news of her new contract broke on the same day that the Sooners celebrated her success with a high honor.
The Sooners are putting on display a statue of Gasso outside Love’s Field, with a ceremony held on Friday.
Gasso, who has led the Sooners to multiple national titles, including a historic, first-ever four-peat the last four seasons, is the first female coach or athlete to be honored with a statue at Oklahoma.
A ceremony, open to the public, was held at Love’s Field, where the statue will be erected. Festivities began at 4 p.m. local time around Gate 1 of the softball stadium. Various OU administrators spoke, such as athletic director Joe Castiglione, and Sooner softball alumna will also be on hand.
Gasso’s accomplishments as a head coach are numerous. She’s never failed to reach the NCAA tournament at Oklahoma in 31 years and made the Women’s College World Series 17 times. She’s led the Sooners to eight total national titles and is the third all-time winningest coach.
After winning the fourth-straight title in June, Gasso discussed her future
After Oklahoma hoisted its eighth national championship trophy in softball that night — all won with Gasso at the helm, including seven since 2013 — the head coach shared where she’s at with her coaching career. In short: She’s not going anywhere just yet.
“We have some really outstanding future Sooners on their way. I’m going to be coaching again. Rebuild this program, get it back here hopefully,” Gasso said.
The latest title also marked a bit of history for Oklahoma, as the Sooners won a fourth-straight national title, the first program to ever do so in softball. And it marked a tremendous send off for a nearly unrivaled senior class, a group that Gasso raved about.
“This group of seniors really left their mark,” Gasso said. “That’s one thing you want them to do, is leave the program better than you found it. They really did a good job of training and teaching these young athletes what it’s going to look like in the future. I think they both won awards tonight. I didn’t hear. They were, like, sobbing on each other. I’m like, What is the matter? What just happened? There was pandemonium down there. That’s something to build off of, as well.”
And with such an accomplished, seasoned group leaving town, Gasso is actually somewhat energized. As the Sooners rolled through college softball the past two years, especially, Gasso wasn’t needing to do a lot of coaching to get the experienced, talented roster where it needed to go.
But with a bit of a roster reset coming and a bevy of underclassmen set to fill major roles in 2025, Gasso is excited to get back to the nuts and bolts of coaching.
And if she keeps it up, she could be adding a 17th regular season conference championship, a 10th conference tournament championship and a ninth national crown sooner, rather than later.
“I’m really excited,” Gasso said. “They are, too.”