Congratulations for former Oklahoma football coach Bob Stoops who was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame on the first ballot when he was eligible.

It is a well-deserved honor.

In 1999, Stoops was hired to restore a mighty football program that was in disarray. He did that and more.

Stoops has the most wins in OU football history. He won an unprecedented 10 Big 12 Conference Championships and the 2000 National Championship.

Stoops took OU to 18 consecutive bowls games and he is the only coach to win a BCS national title plus wins all four BCS bowl games. He played for the national championship four times and won once.

Stoops coached 38 first-team All-Americans and 83 NFL Draft picks while at OU, and coached Heisman Trophy winners Jason White (2003) and Sam Bradford (2008) and seven Heisman finalists. The 2008 Sooner team was the highest-scoring team in college football history, totaling 716 points and averaging 51 points per game.

Stoops has the most wins in Oklahoma history (190). His overall record is 190-48 (.798) career record and his Big 12 record is 121-29 (.807). He averaged 10-plus wins a year and won more games in his first 18 seasons than any college coach in history.

Stoops did this without any major scandals. His former players praise him profusely.

And Stoops cared so much for the program, that he timed his retirement so that he could leave it in good hands by essentially naming his successor, Coach Lincoln Riley.

OU fans have been blessed with Coach Bud Wilkinson, Coach Barry Switzer and Coach Bob Stoops.

Stoops is well deserving for the College Football Hall of Fame.