SARAH PHIPPS / THE OKLAHOMAN-USA TODAY NETWORK

Oklahoma made it officially official on Tuesday.

The OU Board of Regents approved a vote to begin the process of erecting a statue of softball coach Patty Gasso outside the Sooners' brand new Love's Field. 

OU athletic director Joe Castiglione said last year, after Gasso won her seventh national championship and third in a row, that the planning stages had already begun to put up a statue to the coach with nearly 1,500 career victories.

Castiglione reiterated on March 1, at the formal Love's Field dedication ceremony, that the statue was imminent.

The Board of Regents on Tuesday made it official, with noted sculptor Brian Hanlon of Toms River, NJ, reciting the contract. Hanlon is the same sculptor who created the Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray statues in OU's Heisman Park as well as the bust of former player and coach John Blake that's on display in the Switzer Center.

The statue will stand outside Gate 1 at Love's Field, where Gasso spoke to the crowd at the March 1 dedication.

The athletic department has already received private funding toward the project. 

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