NFF National Scholar-Athletes
DB - 3.82 GPA – Accounting
Head Coach: Lincoln Riley | Athletics Director: Joe Castiglione
Faculty Athletics Representative: Dr. Gregg Garn
Patrick Fields exemplifies the scholar-athlete ideal, balancing his simultaneous pursuit of a bachelor's and master's degree while guiding Oklahoma to three Big 12 titles. The Tulsa, Oklahoma, native becomes the Sooners' 11th NFF National Scholar-Athlete.
A 2020 Second Team Academic All-American and two-time First Team Academic All-District selection, Fields boasts a 3.82 GPA and is set to graduate in December with both a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in accounting (minor in economics) and a master's degree in accounting. The 2020 OU Dan Gibbons Outstanding Scholar-Athlete of the Year received the Big 12's 2021 Dr. Gerald Lage Academic Achievement Award and the Cotton Bowl's 2020 Dan S. Petty Scholarship Award. A three-time first team academic all-conference honoree, Fields has been on the Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll every semester, and he was part of the Academic All-Big 12 Rookie Team in 2018.
This season, Fields has led the No. 13 Sooners to a 10-2 record. Second on the team with 71 tackles, the two-year captain also boasts four tackles for loss, two interceptions and recorded a 100-yard return for a two-point conversion following a blocked PAT against Nebraska. The Sooners now await their bowl destination.
The standout defensive back led the Sooners to three straight Big 12 titles (2018-20), three top 10 finishes (No. 4 in 2018, No. 7 in 2019, No. 6 in 2020) and two berths in the College Football Playoff (2018 and 2019). In 2020, Fields finished third on the team with 45 tackles while leading OU to a win in the Cotton Bowl over Florida. A three-year starter, Fields earned Honorable Mention All-Big 12 accolades in 2019.
Active off the field, he is one of only two student-athletes nationally serving on the NCAA Division I Football Oversight and Competition Committee. Fields founded the Black Wall Street Scholarship, collaborating with the president of the OU National Black Alumni Association to establish an endowment providing scholarships for underrepresented students from Tulsa. He also founded "Town Business," a seminar that teaches high school football student-athletes about financial literacy, money management, credit and personal branding. A 2021 Wuerffel Trophy finalist, Fields coordinated a back-to-school event and football camp in July for economically vulnerable elementary school students in his hometown.
