OSU Athletic Director
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Mike Holder was named Vice President for Athletic Programs and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics at Oklahoma State University on Sept. 16, 2005.
In his 32 years of leading his alma mater’s golf program, Holder’s name became synonymous with success not only on the golf course, but in fundraising, facility development and the academic performance of his student-athletes.
His plan and vision for the betterment of Cowboy and Cowgirl athletics have taken shape, most notably with the completion of Boone Pickens Stadium. The stadium, now a horseshoe with more than 60,000 seats, features 123 suites.
Also during Holder’s tenure, OSU opened the 92,000 square foot Sherman E. Smith Training Center, the sparkling 50,000-square foot Michael and Anne Greenwood Tennis Center and a brand new track and field complex.
Holder’s tenure has also featured landmark fundraising by the athletic department, including the $165 million gift from T. Boone Pickens that pushed OSU’s facility drive into high gear. At Holder’s urging, OSU Athletics has placed an emphasis on scholarship endowments. The “Leave A Legacy” endowment drive has seen Oklahoma State climb from dead last in the Big 12 to the top with gifts and commitments of approximately $61 million. As recently as 2009, OSU’s endowment stood at just $2.1 million.
Perhaps Holder’s adept fundraising stems from his “fund-giving”. He and his wife, Robbie, illustrated their commitment to Oklahoma State when they donated $500,000 for the first fully endowed scholarship for Cowboy football. The scholarship is named for former OSU player, the late Vernon Grant. The Holders’ lifetime giving to OSU surpasses $2.5 million, including $1 million for an entrepreneurship super chair at OSU in the Spears School of Business.
During his tenure as the men’s golf coach, Holder’s successes included not only his team’s results on the course, but his players’ performances in the classroom and beyond. His vision and fundraising abilities resulted in the creation of Karsten Creek, a magnificent golf course in Stillwater, selected as the Best New Public Course in 1994 by Golf Digest magazine. That publication listed Karsten Creek as the nation’s 14th “greatest public course” in 2017.
Holder took over his OSU coaching post on July 1, 1973, and during his tenure, his teams set student-athlete standards that were unequaled. While he coached 112 All-America selections, including 38 first-team choices, and has numerous former players competing on the PGA Tour, overseas and on mini-tours, Holder saw to it that his players also excelled in the classroom. During his tenure, OSU produced three Ben Hogan Award winners, which was based on academic and athletic excellence nationwide. Kevin Wentworth earned the honor in 1990, Trip Kuehne claimed the prestigious award in 1995 and Hunter Mahan was named the 2003 recipient. Kuehne was OSU’s outstanding male graduate in 1995 as well.
As a student-athlete, Holder was the 1970 Big Eight medalist and led OSU to the conference team title. He was a third-team All-American as a junior and a senior and an honorable mention All-American as a sophomore.
Holder, a graduate of Ardmore High School, earned his degree in marketing from Oklahoma State in 1970 and completed work on his MBA at OSU in 1973. His wife, Robbie, graduated as salutatorian from Jasper High School in 1966, and attended the University of Houston where they met at the All-American Intercollegiate golf tournament in 1968.
Oklahoma State University - Athletics