(NORMAN, Okla.) Last year, award winning singer-songwriter, entertainer, entrepreneur, and philanthropist Toby Keith learned that the University of Oklahoma (OU) would be presenting him an Honorary Degree at their 2024 Commencement. He was so honored and happy to be acknowledged by the University that he loved and sent his children to for their education. Walking the stage this Spring was something he was looking forward to, but sadly it was not to be.

At this weekend’s OU Commencement events, his daughter Krystal Keith proudly stood in to accept the honorary degree and share her recollections of her father’s love and loyalty to the University.

She noted, “he loved his Sooner Nation! His passion started far back before he was 12 and 13 he sold cokes at the stadium just to be able to see the OU games. He broke his ankle playing a celebrity OU Alumni game in the 90’s. For as long as I can remember, he took our family to bowl games and was on every sidelines or courtside of every OU event that he possibly could, regardless of sport, or gender. He wanted to be at all of them. He supported them whole-heartedly. He simply bled Crimson and Cream.”

         

Thank you to the Board of Regents, Joe Castiglione, President Harroz, and the Honorary Degree Committee for selecting my dad for this honorary degree. When he learned, last fall, that he was being inducted to Sooner Nation on this high of a level, he was so excited and he was so proud. I actually made a joke about how many hours I spent here getting my bachelor’s degree, and he joked that he didn’t have to work that hard to get his. But we all know he earned it and spent many more hours dedicating his life to earning it this way. He loved his family (he loved all of us), God, our country, and Sooner Nation! His passion started far back before he was 12 and 13 he sold cokes at the stadium just to be able to see the OU games. He joked that he would sell ‘em for half the game, and then he would go sit and watch the game. and sometimes got in trouble for not finishing his job. He broke his ankle playing a celebrity OU Alumni game in the 90’s. For as long as I can remember, he took our family to bowl games and was on every sidelines or courtside of every OU event that he possibly could, regardless of sport, or gender. He wanted to be at all of them. He supported them whole-heartedly. He simply bled Crimson and Cream.

My dad was born and raised just miles from here. His mom and sister still live close by. In the beginning of his career, he performed at a place that was located just under the Moore water tower that now bears his name. It was then, at the start, when all the big wigs in the music industry told him that he needed to move to Nashville since most artists lived there. But he refused to leave. He CHOSE to stay here, to make Oklahoma his home base, even if that meant added obstacles on his road to success. Home and life-at-home was his priority, even tour schedules were planned around coaching my brother’s football games from little league to high school. This is where his roots were, and he never forgot it. His loyalty to OU was extended to my siblings and I, making sure it was a huge part of our lives. When I started eyeing the beach front music schools for college, he told me that he would pay for me to go anywhere that I wanted in the world, as long as they had Division 1 Football and was in Norman, Oklahoma. And that knocked out the bible school down the street, so… My brother got two scholarships to go out of state and did a very short stint out of state before making his way back to Oklahoma. And my dad was very happy to forego that scholarship in lieu of paying for a Sooner education. It was actually his preference. When my sister wanted to study veterinary sciences, she said the other university, that other guy in Stillwater has the best vet program, he said, “well, I guess you don’t get to be the best.” He did always demanded the best but he drew a line, and it didn’t matter that OU did not offer a veterinary program.

Throughout his life and career, he made sure to work hard to have the best, to be the best. He often said “They may write better than me, they may sing better than me, and they may look better than me, but they will NEVER out work me.” And that made all the difference. He was a larger-than-life legend, he was an icon, he did things his own way, his songs inspired nearly everyone in country music and beyond. Thirty-two Number One hits, more than 44 million albums sold, 10 billion streams of his songs, recipient of the National Medal of Arts – these are just a few of his accomplishments. But his favorite, most recognized possessions were the awards for his songwriting acheievements – being inducted into the New York City based all-genre Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, and getting the Icon Award from BMI, which is an organization for songwriters. With all the many accolades that he received, he never forgot to give back to those in need. At home, he established and raised nearly 18 million dollars for his non-profit organization that funds OK Kids Korral – located right next door to the OU Medical Center it’s a cost-free home for families of children dealing with critical illness. In 2013, he was the face of this community and helped shoulder the cleanup with the OK Twister Relief benefit concert that was held right here at our Gaylord Family- Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. His service to community also extended to his patriotism. He always said, “never apologize for being Patriotic,” and practiced what he preached through his work with the USO. He did 11 USO tours in 18 different countries to entertain troops on foreign soil and in the middle of war zones. And to give you an idea, there’s a lot of entertainers that go on these USO tours. Most of them go to the bases. He would fly into the bases and do his show, and then he would say, “give me a helmet and take me where the other guys are.” And he would fly in a helicopter to the middle of hot zones, and perform for 10 or 20 people, not just the bases that were safe and covered and protected. He was going into the most dangerous zones, where guys that never got those entertainers to come to them, were housed and were sitting, and he would go and boost their morale. And that’s who he wanted to go see. We called him Captain America. And that’s something he earned.

Education was also extremely important to my dad. Growing up, he couldn’t afford to go to college, instead he paid dues at his grandma’s supper club and touring beer joints while working in the oil fields – becoming a graduate of what he called “Honkytonk University.” Outside of music, he made it his mission to become a student of life. On his own, he learned as much as he could and had a well rounded understanding of every topic he could. In addition to taking in knowledge, he was also a great teacher. Right here at OU, he taught a masterclass for the entire Fine Arts, Musical Theater department. His classroom full of students was completely captivated by his practical approach on how to write and structure a song. He called it his “hub and spoke approach,” so you can ask some of those kids what that is. He also inspired them by sharing his story. His story about perseverance, how to be the captain of your own ship, and going after what you want. He told them: “when I was 14 or 15, I wrote a handful of songs. And then at 17 or 18, I wrote three handfuls and went on and on. All of the sudden I wrote a decent one and somebody said ’hey, that’s a good song.’ So I wrote a bunch of crappy songs, and then I wrote another good one. I practiced, every day. It became frustrating and that’s when you can quit practicing. But if you have an idea, just take it, grind on it, and run to it. You’ll end up practicing more and that distance, the time between the good and bad will start getting closer.”

My dad taught me everything – singing, writing songs and… most of what I know about life! And I hope the graduates that are here today can learn from him, too. He fought hard to live his dream. He had faith and believed in himself. He never gave up the fight, even when the odds were against him. He would want me to tell you to never give up on yourself. As you start your next journey in life, know that you have strong roots here at the University of Oklahoma. Work hard and be the captain of your own ship. Believe in yourself and live your dream.

Thank you for honoring my hero!

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