OKLAHOMA CITY — An Oklahoma senator proposed a bill Tuesday to rename three inches of a panhandle highway after departed football coach Lincoln Riley.
Riley suddenly left the Oklahoma Sooners football program after five seasons to go to USC following OU's loss last month to in-state rival Oklahoma State.
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Oklahoma State Sen. Bill Coleman (R-Ponca City) wants the last three inches of the westbound lane of State Highway 325 in the state's panhandle as the "Lincoln Riley Highway."
“I felt the State of Oklahoma needed an appropriate goodbye to this former head coach whose sudden departure left many in shock, including a team of young, dedicated college players," Coleman said.
"I found the tiniest section of our most desolate of highways to pay tribute to Coach Riley’s exit from Oklahoma football and the state. This is only fitting as this is the last three inches one sees before leaving our great state heading west.”
Coleman said he'd pay for any signage needed for the highway renaming.
“While we are all free to pursue employment elsewhere, there is a level of professionalism that is expected to be adhered to,” Coleman said. “From all indications, professionalism was pretty much absent in how this departure was executed.”
The bill could become law during the legislature's next session that convenes Feb. 7.
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