“The reason a divorce is expensive? Because it’s worth it.” That’s what Oklahoma State and Mike Gundy are finding out right now. The Cowboys’ decision to part ways with their longtime head coach comes with a $15,000,000 price tag — a number that looks as staggering on paper as it sounds. In the world of college football, though, money is often the cheapest part of the breakup.
Just ask Texas A&M. In 2023, the Aggies shelled out $77.5 million to dump Jimbo Fisher, the richest buyout in NCAA history. Boosters paid up, but what they got wasn’t dominance — it was a nosedive. The Aggies spiraled in the win-loss column, proving $77 million can buy the most expensive midlife crisis in college football. Firing him midseason only added to the absurdity, like selling the family station wagon for a Corvette you can’t even drive straight.
LSU’s story is different. Two years after winning a national title, the Tigers gave Ed Orgeron $16.9 million and sent him packing. Coach O left smiling, and LSU landed Brian Kelly almost immediately. Within a year, the Tigers were back in the SEC mix. For them, the divorce was costly — but worth it.
Texas? That’s a longer cautionary tale. The Longhorns sent Charlie Strong off with $11 million in 2016, then Tom Herman with $15 million in 2020. Each time, Texas promised the move would bring them back. Instead, the only thing that kept coming back was the bill. For a program that shouts “Texas is back!” every August, it sure seems like the buyout checks show up more reliably than the wins.
So what about Oklahoma State? The $15 million will get paid. The athletic department and boosters will handle it, just as their peers have done. But the more important question isn’t financial — it’s cultural. For nineteen years, Mike Gundy wasn’t just a head coach. He was Oklahoma State football. He delivered 18 straight bowl appearances, a Big 12 title, and the kind of stability most programs only dream about. He built an identity that last- ed nearly two decades.
Is fifteen million dollars really enough for all of that? Texas paid the same to Tom Herman and never got close to the kind of return Gundy gave Stillwater. LSU paid more to Orgeron, who lasted half as long. By comparison, Gundy’s price feels like a bargain — but only if the next hire proves it was worth it.
That’s the gamble of buyouts. They can buy change, but not continuity. They can clear the sideline, but they can’t guarantee wins. And they can never put a true dollar amount on nearly twenty years of culture, loyalty, and identity.
So yes, divorces are expensive. And the truth is, the kids always suffer. In this case, the “kids” are the fans, the boosters, the band, the students, and everyone who tied their wagon to the Mike Gundy era of Oklahoma State football. They’re the ones left sorting through the split, wondering what comes next.
Because you don’t just push a man like Gundy out and expect his legacy to keep humming along as if nothing changed. That’s not how it works. The wins, the stability, the swagger — those were built over nearly two decades, and they walked out the door with him.
The check has been written. Now comes the hard part: seeing if Oklahoma State can build something new, or if they’ll spend the next few years learning just how high the hidden costs of this divorce really are.
