The University of Oklahoma Board of Regents has approved naming a new student-athlete training facility at Kimrey Family Stadium the Toby Keith Family Performance Center, honoring the late country music star's deep ties to Sooner athletics. The decision came during a board meeting held in Oklahoma City.
Roger Denny, OU's vice president and director of athletics, announced that the indoor performance center would carry Keith's name, saying the move honors Keith and his family's legacy, according to KOKH. The outlet reported that Keith and his family supported Oklahoma athletics, including Sooner baseball, for many years, and that Keith held a sincere love for the university and pride in being a Sooner. A major gift from the Covel family — Keith's birth surname was Covel — will help fund the new facility and shape the future of OU baseball, the station reported.
Tricia Covel said the gift was about honoring Toby's legacy in a place where future generations of Sooners will work, compete and chase championships, per the same KOKH report. Keith, born Toby Keith Covel, died at age 62 on February 5, 2024, following a two-year battle with stomach cancer, according to Wikipedia. He grew up in nearby Moore, Oklahoma, and remained a prominent lifelong supporter of OU athletics; as a child, he sold refreshments at OU football games and frequently attended university athletic events, according to UC Davis Health.
A $49 Million Stadium Transformation
The performance center is one piece of a much larger $49 million renovation and expansion of Kimrey Family Stadium, the station's report noted. The indoor facility itself will span approximately 55,000 square feet, housing student-athlete training areas, player development technology, and team operational spaces, according to Sports Illustrated. It will give student-athletes resources for player development, training, sports performance, and related team activities, the station's report added.
The venue hosting the new center has its own long history. It originally opened in 1982 as L. Dale Mitchell Baseball Park at a cost of $1.27 million before the Board of Regents officially renamed it Kimrey Family Stadium in November 2025, according to the University of Oklahoma. That earlier name honored Dale Mitchell, a mid-1940s OU letterman who holds the school's record for career batting average and went on to play Major League Baseball. To preserve that history, the renovated complex will designate its primary entrance as the L. Dale Mitchell Plaza, the university said.
Two-Phase Construction Timeline
The stadium project is structured into two phases. Project 1, covering outfield and spectator wall enhancements, was completed ahead of the 2026 season, while Project 2 — covering team facilities and fan amenities — is scheduled to begin in fall 2026, the university said. Project 2 includes new concessions, restrooms, upgrades to the stadium's seating bowl, and a dedicated fan plaza, per KOKH's report. The student-athlete areas of the stadium are scheduled for completion in spring 2028.
The university said no state-appropriated funds or student tuition or fee funds will subsidize the project. The effort builds on a landmark commitment made in July 2024 by Bartlesville donors Brian and Kim Kimrey, who pledged $20 million to OU Athletics, including $10 million earmarked specifically for baseball stadium upgrades — a gift that, combined with other contributions, represents the largest total giving commitment in OU Athletics history, according to the university.
SEC Standards Reshape Campus Facilities
Oklahoma Athletics officially joined the Southeastern Conference on July 1, 2024, a move that has driven a department-wide push to modernize facilities to meet SEC competition standards, according to the Southeastern Conference. Oklahoma and Texas departed the Big 12 Conference a year earlier than initially planned to make the jump. The baseball complex upgrade reflects that broader campuswide push — the same September 15 regents meeting that approved the Toby Keith Family Performance Center naming also approved design plans for an $80 million Engineering Research Building on the Norman campus, according to the Norman Transcript.
Since Keith's death, OU Athletics has woven tributes to him throughout its programs. The department established a home football game tradition in which stadium crowds sing his anthem “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue” between the third and fourth quarters. Keith was also posthumously inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2024. The new performance center at Kimrey Family Stadium gives that tribute a permanent, physical home on the campus where Keith grew up cheering on the Sooners.
