Barry Switzer was born in Crossett, Arkansas in 1937. He was a top student and athlete at Crossett High School. In 1955, he graduated with an appointment to the United States Naval Academy and received scholarship offers from several colleges, including the University of Arkansas and Louisiana State University. He attended the University of Arkansas, completing his Bachelor Degree in business in 1960.

Coach Switzer played center and linebacker for the Razorbacks and was captain of the 1959 team that was Southwest Conference and Gator Bowl champion. Coach Switzer returned to Arkansas as a coach in 1961 after his military service. In 1966, he became Offensive Line Coach under Jim Mackenzie at the University of Oklahoma.

In 1973, Coach Switzer became Head Coach of the University of Oklahoma. During the next sixteen years, he compiled an overall record of 157-29-4, including 12 Big Eight Conference championships and three National championships. His overall college winning percentage of .837 ranks behind only Knute Rockne, Frank Leahy and George Woodruff.

In 1994, he was named Head Coach of the Dallas Cowboys. In 1995, the Cowboys were Super Bowl champions. Coach Switzer is one of only two coaches who have won championships in both the NCAA and NFL.

Coach Switzer has been honored with awards and special recognition by football and news magazines, Walter Camp Football Foundation, the Big Eight Conference, NCAA, the Washington Pigskin Club, The Sporting News, Playboy, Associated Press and United Press International. He has previously been inducted into the Oklahoma and Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame. His accomplishments also include best-selling author, successful businessman in a myriad of businesses and very quietly, an effective philanthropist. He is the founding organizer of the Swing for Sight Golf Tournament, which has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the Society for the Prevention of Blindness. For the past thirty years, Coach Switzer has given his name, time and participation as Honorary Head Coach of Oklahoma Special Olympics. Twenty years ago, he funded a private foundation at the University of Oklahoma, which provides non-athletic scholarships for minority students. Recently, a major athletic facility at the University of Oklahoma was named after him. In 2001, he was inducted into the National Collegiate Football hall of Fame.

Today, Coach Switzer is retired and living in Norman, Oklahoma with his wife, Becky. His children, Greg, Doug and Kathy have blessed him with seven grandchildren.