A recent ESPN article recognized the best traditions of each of the teams in its post-spring Top-25 rankings. Sooner fans would agree that the Sooner Schooner was an easy choice as a tradition unique to Oklahoma football.
The Oklahoma athletic website explains that the Schooner, styled like a miniature covered wagon, is “reminiscent of the mode of travel used by pioneers who settled Oklahoma Territory around the time of the 1889 Land Run.”
Although the Sooner Schooner harkens back to an historical time over a century ago, the Schooner itself was not introduced until 1964 and did not become an official Sooner mascot until 1980.