STILLWATER, Okla. – The Oklahoma State family suffered the loss of a legend Wednesday as Cowboy great Myron W. Roderick passed away.
 
Roderick’s legacy at Oklahoma State, as a student-athlete, coach and athletic director, will never be forgotten.

The Winfield Kan., native began his storied history with OSU athletics as a wrestler from 1953-56, when he also earned three letters as a tennis player.

In three years of collegiate wrestling competition, Roderick won 42 of his 44 matches and earned three NCAA individual titles, with one coming at the 137-pound class and two more at 130. He continued his career at the 1956 Olympic Games, where he lost a split decision to the eventual champion.

At 23, Roderick took over the reins of the program and, just one year after winning his last individual NCAA title, became the youngest coach in any sport to guide a team to an NCAA championship.

His teams continued his success and dominated the world of collegiate wrestling for 13 years, posting 140-10-7 dual record on the way to 13 Big Eight Conference titles and seven NCAA team championships.

As a testament to Roderick’s coaching prowess, he was named the NCAA wrestling coach of the year on three occasions and produced 20 individual NCAA champions and three Olympic gold medalists. He received the two highest amateur wrestling awards when he won Man of the Year in 1971 and when he was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

He also served as the head coach of the Cowboy tennis program from 1958-1967, claiming a 105-23-1 dual record and six conference titles.

As an athletic director, Roderick guided the program at Oklahoma State for seven years from 1983-1990. Under his direction, OSU athletic teams won more than 30 Big 8 championships, as well as four NCAA championships.

A 1952 graduate of Winfield High School, Roderick was born on Sept. 15, 1934, in Anthony, Kan. He won back-to-back wrestling state championships before coming to OSU.

Roderick left Oklahoma State 1969 to become executive director of the United States Wrestling Federation, of which he was co-founder. He resigned from that position in 1974 to enter private business and take over the reins as executive director of the United States Racquetball Federation. He returned to OSU in 1983 as the university’s eighth athletic director.