Oklahoma's Sooner Schooner is one of the most recognizable traditions in college sports, and the USA Today 10Best Readers' Choice Awards for 2025 validated that claim, naming the iconic OU mascot one of the 10 best traditions in college sports.
The editors and readers of the popular national publication voted the Sooner Schooner No. 3 behind only Iowa's "Hawkeye Wave," ranked the No. 1 college sports tradition, and the clanging cowbells of Mississippi State. Ranked fourth was Auburn's Rolling Toomer's Corner and No. 5 was Texas A&M's traditional 12th Man.
Sooner Schooner more than just an OU tradition; it's a national fan favorite
First introduced in 1964, the Sooner Schooner is led by a pair of white Shetland ponies, appropriately named Boomer and Sooner. The iconic replica of a Conestoga wagon traditionally kicks off every Oklahoma home game with a representative of both the RUF/NEK and RUF/NEK Lil' Sis spirit organizations driving the Schooner onto the field. The wagon also appears on the field after every Oklahoma score.
The Sooner Schooner is designed as a scaled-down replica of the Studebaker Conestoga wagon used by settlers of the Oklahoma territory during the time of the Oklahoma Land Run in the late 1880s. The Sooner Schooner name is derived from the term "prairie schooners," the common term used at the time to describe the wagons of the settlers who jumped the gun during the Land Run and went early. That group became known as "Sooners."
In the words of the organizers, the USA Today 10Best Readers' Choice Awards is the publication's "flagship awards program, (which) highlights the best of the best in various travel and lifestyle categories." A panel of experts nominates in each award category. The final set of nominees is selected by editorial review of the USA Today 10Best editors. Once the nominee slate is set, the public is invited to vote on their favorites over a period of four weeks.
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