Something Good: Another Wagnon Takes Over As UCO Athletic Director

Stan Wagnon might just bleed Broncho bronze and blue.

He's an Edmond native, went to school there, and his father Skip was the athletic director at UCO for 17 years.

Stan stepped into the same role as his father late last month.

"It's a little bit intimidating for one, because he has created a legacy here," said Stan Wagnon.

And now his son is continuing it. Skip Wagnon passed away five years ago, but Stan has many fond memories, like when he was a ball boy for the UCO basketball team.

"We'd go for a big win and dad would take me into the locker room and I'd be high-fiving guys as high as I could reach. I have a lot of those memories of just being around the student athletes."

Childhood memories that have shaped Stan in his professional career.

"You do have that perspective that man, what we do matters, and the way these students carry themselves, and the way our coaches interact with the community, all that stuff matters, and it can shape people's lives."

After graduating from UCO in 1995, Wagnon worked in a number of roles in athletics, most recently as commissioner of the Sooner Athletic Conference.

He also has a News 9 connection. His sister Jenny was the News Director during the bombing at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.

Stan happened to be working at the games and was at a nearby restaurant when he heard the explosion.

He did a live phone interview for the 10 p.m. news.

"I remember calling in on a payphone. Having gone through the Oklahoma City bombing, I kind of had a little different perspective of what was going on there. It was scary, but at the same time it was a different kind of situation than what we had in Oklahoma City," he said.

Wagnon said it's a strange time to be starting a job as an athletic director, but he's using this break from competition to get to know the UCO coaches and student-athletes.