Mike Holder
Vice President for Athletic Programs and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics

Mike Holder hit the ground running when he was named Vice President for Athletic Programs and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics at Oklahoma State University on Sept. 16, 2005.

In 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. Those leadership skills have served him well in his short time guiding OSU's athletic department. His plan and vision for the betterment of Cowboy and Cowgirl athletics have already begun to take shape, most notably with the continued expansion of Boone Pickens Stadium and the ongoing plans for an OSU Athletic Village.

The stadium now features suites and club seats on both the north and south sides with the mammoth west end zone project scheduled for completion in time for the 2009 season with Georgia on the schedule to open the new venue. Seating opened in the new west end zone in time for the 2008 season, increasing the capacity of Boone Pickens Stadium to approximately 60,000.

Under Holder's direction, the Oklahoma State University Department of Athletics has continued to move forward while maintaining its traditional strengths. A total of 10 OSU sports teams were ranked in the top 10 during the 2006-2007 academic year, while the football team has posted consecutive bowl wins for the first time since the 1987 and 1988 seasons. OSU has won two more national team championships under Holder's watch, raising the school's championship count to 48 - the fourth best total in the country and tops in the Big 12 Conference.

Holder 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.

Under Holder's direction, OSU Athletics has launched its innovative fundraising program called "Gift Of A Lifetime", as the department places new emphasis on building OSU's athletic endowment.

During his tenure as a 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. In 2000, Holder's team claimed the national championship, marking the eighth time his squad carried home the NCAA trophy. And while high national finishes are the norm at Oklahoma State, the accomplishments of his teams never stopped at the 18th hole.

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 more than 110 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 is 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.

Only 14 times since 1984 has a golfer been named first-team athletic All- America and academic All-America in the same season, and nine of those student-athletes were from Oklahoma State. Holder had 21 academic All-America selections from the inception of that honor in 1984 until he vacated the head coaching position for the AD's chair, as well as countless academic all-Big Eight and all-Big 12 selections.

Holder is one of five coaches in NCAA history, regardless of sport, to win a national championship in four different decades. Three times Holder coached the Cowboys to the national team title the same year an OSU individual also claimed medalist honors (1978, 1987 and 2000).

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.