Bobby Cox of Dale, Oklahoma, was inducted into the OBU Athletic Hall of Fame in 1996 and into the NAIA Baseball Hall of Fame in 2011. The winningest coach in Oklahoma Baptist athletics history, Cox led the Bison to four NAIA World Series appearances, two NCCAA national championships, a GAC tournament title, and back-to-back NCAA regional berths. With a career record of 1,378-643 (.682), he never had a losing season in 35 years leading the OBU baseball team.
He is the only coach to take the Bison to the NAIA World Series, accomplishing the feat in 1989, 1996, 2011, and 2014 (notching an OBU high 55 wins). The team also reached the NAIA Opening Round in 2012 and 2013.
Competing in the National Christian College Athletic Association during OBU’s transition from the NAIA to NCAA Division II level, his team won back-to-back NCCAA World Series titles in 2016 and 2017. After overseeing the program’s successful transition to Division II, Cox led the Bison to NCAA Central Regional berths in both of their first two years of NCAA postseason eligibility in 2018 and 2019. After winning the program’s first GAC tournament title, the 2019 squad also made history by claiming the program’s first NCAA postseason victories while advancing to the Central Region I championship game.
During his career on Bison Hill, Cox coached 30 All-Americans, two NAIA Players of the Year, and 22 Major League Baseball draftees. On April 25, 2019, pitcher Taylor Hearn became the first former Bison to make his major league debut, starting for the Texas Rangers against the Seattle Mariners.
Cox was named Sooner Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in 1986, 1996, 2011, and 2014; District 9 Coach of the Year in 1986, 1989 and 1991; Area 3 Coach of the Year in 1989, Great Plains Region Coach of the Year in 1996 and Region Coach of the Year in 2011. He was named NCCAA Coach of the Year in 2016 and 2017.
As a player for the Bison, Cox was an All-District performer in 1979, leading his team with a .389 batting average while driving in a team-high 33 RBI in 34 games.
