WELCOME TO SWOSU FOOTBALL Southwestern Oklahoma State University football, a tradition dating back to 1905, is under the direction of Head Coach Dan Cocannouer, a former player at SWOSU in the 1970’s. Coach Cocannouer decided prior to the 2014 season that the Bulldogs would return to wearing the traditional while helmets as opposed to the navy ones that had been worn since 2005. “I’ve been thinking about ways to help our program out each year and one of the biggest pieces of feedback I get from our former players is, ‘When are you going to go back to white helmets?’,” Cocannouer said. “’I’ve thought about it quite a bit, because I like the blue helmets, they’re very sharp, but I’m ready to get back to tradition.” SWOSU has worn several variations of the white helmet HOME JERSEY COMBINATION: through the years, with different Bulldog logos along with Navy Jersey/Navy Pants/White Helmet the popular ‘SW’ logo that was on the side of the lids from 1988-2003. It was also the helmet worn by SWOSU during the programs only National Championship in 1996. That helmet design was replaced by a white helmet with the new ‘SWOSU’ logo in 2004 before the change to blue occurred in 2005. “When you look at our history, all but one conference championship was won by the team while they were wearing white helmets,” Cocannouer mentioned. “We’ve come a long way since we’ve been here and I feel like it’s time for our kids to start expecting to win. We’re at the point with our program where we feel like we should expect to win and these white helmets are going to keep us in mind of that.” AWAY JERSEY COMBINATION: White Jersey/Navy Pants/White Helmet 2 @@SWOSUAthleticsSWOSUAthletics @@SWOSUFootballSWOSUFootball HEAD COACH DAN COCANNOUER Dan Cocannouer enters his sixth season as the head coach of the Southwestern Oklahoma State University football team in 2014. He returned home to lead his alma mater in 2009 following a long, successful high school career and he will begin his sixth season with a record of 18-36, which includes a 15-22 record in conference games. SWOSU bettered its win-loss record in each of Cocannouer’s fi rst three seasons, improving from 1-10 in his inaugural season to 5-6 in 2011, the fi rst season of the Great American Conference. Following a 2012 season that saw the Bulldogs fi nish 3-7, they responded by going 6-5 in 2013 to record the program’s fi rst winning season since 2007. The 2013 season saw the Bulldogs open the year with an exciting 27-23 come-from-behind win over Harding – an NCAA Division II playoff team the previous season – in the Fast Lane Kickoff Classic. SWOSU then defeated Arkansas Tech on the road to improve to 2-0 for the fi rst time since 2007. The Bulldogs then lost two of their next three games before alternating wins and losses the fi nal six games of the season, including a 62-17 throttling of Northwestern Oklahoma State in the season fi nale that secured the winning season. Nine players earned All-Great American Conference honors in 2013, giving the Bulldogs 21 all-conference honorees in the three-year history of the conference. Among those earning honors were fi rst team selections Ryan Corbin and Devin Benton, who each earned First Team All-GAC distinction for the second consecutive season. Corbin and Benton both landed on the All-Super Region Three team as well and Corbin went on to be named to fi ve All-American teams, making him the third All-American coached by Cocannouer at SWOSU. Corbin was a First Team All-America selection by Beyond Sports Network, second team by D2Football.com & Daktronics, and earned third team honors from THE COCANNOUER FILE the Don Hansen Football Committee and the Associated Press All-America Team. In 2012, the Bulldogs had four players earn All-GAC honors after fi nishing 3-7 in their second year with the conference. Following the season, Colton Rainey became Cocannouer’s second player to earn All-American NAME: ............ Dan Cocannouer recognition by picking up an honorable mention selection by Beyond Sports Network. In 2011, SWOSU safety Clarence Laster earned several All-American honors for the Bulldogs after leading EDUCATION the Great American Conference with eight interceptions and a total of 97 tackles. His eight interceptions were HIGH SCHOOL: Tuttle HS, 1974 the most by a SWOSU player since 1980 and ranked third in all of NCAA Division II. Laster was a three-time GAC Player of the Week that season and he was named a fi rst team All-American by Daktronics and a second COLLEGE: ....................SWOSU team selection on the Associated Press Little All-America squad. His other All-America honors were second BS, Health & PE, 1978 team selections by Don Hansen and D2Football.com. M.Ed. in Education, 1983 Prior to coming back to SWOSU, Cocannouer had spent 25 seasons as a high school head coach in the state of Oklahoma, establishing a reputation as one of the most prominent and well-respected coaching leaders in the state. He came to SWOSU after eight years at Edmond Santa Fe High School where he compiled a 70-26 FAMILY: record (.729 winning percentage) and led the Wolves to the Class 6A fi nals in 2003. Wife: ...........Jeri Lyn(Burch) His other high school stops included lead high school programs at John Marshall, Chandler, Alva, Pauls Daughters: .....Janie & Josie Valley and Walters High Schools. All total, he has coached more than 36 years, including the last 30 as a head coach. He led fi ve different schools to the state playoffs and served on the Oklahoma Football Coaches COACHING CAREER Association (OFCA) Advisory Board for several years and he is a past President of the Oklahoma Coaches 2009-present: ...............SWOSU Association (OCA) and the OFCA. With his prep success came the opportunity to coach in numerous all-star Head Coach games, including the Oklahoma All-State game (1988), Jim Thorpe Classic (2000, 2002), Oil Bowl (1997-98) and Enid Shriner All-Star Game (1992-96). Cocannouer played at SWOSU from 1974-77 under legendary head coach Otis Delaporte, helping the 2001-08: ........ Edmond Santa Fe Bulldogs to conference titles in 1974 and 1977. He was a senior leader on the Bulldog team that won a school- Head Football Coach record 11 games and fi nished as the NAIA National Runner-up in 1997 after playing in the Apple Bowl at the Seattle Kingdome. By returning to lead his alma mater, he became the fi rst SWOSU graduate to lead the 1999-00: ...............John Marshall Bulldogs since Joe Metcalf did the same from 1952-57. Head Football/Golf Coach Cocannouer holds two degrees from SWOSU. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Health and Physical Education in 1978 before serving as a graduate assistant for the Bulldog football team while until he earned 1997-99: .................Chandler HS a master’s degree in Education in 1983. He also later obtained a secondary administrative certifi cate from Northwestern Oklahoma State in 1996. Head Football/Golf Coach A native of Tuttle, Oklahoma, Cocannouer and his wife Jeri Lyn reside in Weatherford, where she is Director of Special Education, Federal Programs and Testing Director for Weatherford Public Schools. The 1994-96: ........................ Alva HS couple has two adult daughters, Janie and Josie. Head Football Coach/AD 1992-94: ............Pauls Valley HS Head Football Coach/AD 1991-92: ..............Comanche HS Offensive Coordinator 1984-90: ................... Walters HS Head Football/Track Coach/AD 1979-84: ..................Altus HS/JH Assistant Football/Wrestling 1978:....................... Watonga HS Assistant Football 1978-79: .......................SWOSU Graduate Assistant ##BulldogPrideBulldogPride wwww.swosuathletics.comww.swosuathletics.com 3 FAST LANE FIELD AT MILAM STADIUM FAST LANE FIELD at MILAM STADIUM is the longtime home of the Southwestern Oklahoma State University football team. The playing surface underwent its most signifi cant transformation in its history of more than 75 years when an AstroTurf playing surface was installed in March of 2010. The fi eld features many of the fi nest elements common to both professional and major college fi elds and was installed by one of the industry pioneers, AstroTurf, Inc., of Houston, Texas. The new surface was made possible to the supporters of SWOSU Athletics. The stadium now dons the name ‘Fast Lane Field’ thanks to a generous donation from ASAP Energy Inc., which maintains many Fast Lane franchises in Western Oklahoma. Other SWOSU supporters with their logo featured on the turf include: SWOSU Alumni Association, Coca Cola, Pioneer Cellular, City of Weatherford, Beutler & Son, Oklahoma Farm Bureau Insurance, Nextera Energy, Weatherford Regional Hospital, Legacy Bank and Sudden Link TV & Internet. The facility, with a seating capacity of 8,600, is located on the west end of campus on the corner of Seventh Street and Davis. Recently the Pioneer Cellular Event Center was built and opened outside the south endzone, providing new concession areas and restrooms to be used for SWOSU Football games starting in 2014. In addition, the SWOSU Wellness Center overlooks Fast Lane Field from the east while coaches and media members view the game from the press box, located atop the west bleachers. A new speaker system was installed on the press box prior to the 2013 season, giving Bulldog football a new, clearer sound. Thousands of outstanding student-athletes and hundreds of games have been played at the historic stadium, including the 1996 NAIA Division I National Championship game that SWOSU won 33-31 over Montana Tech.