Some traditions are too delicious to die.

Pizza bread, a beloved icon of days past, made its glorious return to the Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology campus with a lively, music-filled celebration.

Folks came out in droves to welcome back pizza bread on Tuesday, April 7. A combination of past and present OSUIT students, faculty and staff, as well as Okmulgee residents and city officials, lined up outside of the State Room to chow down on free pizza bread and watch pizza bread-inspired contests.

Okmulgee Mayor Mickey Baldwin was in attendance and read a proclamation declaring it Pizza Bread Day in Okmulgee.

“The legacy of pizza bread continues to unite generations of OSUIT students, alumni and citizens of Oklahoma. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the mayor, Mickey Baldwin, and the City Council of Okmulgee, Oklahoma, do hereby proclaim April the 7th, 2026, as Pizza Bread Day in the City of Okmulgee,” the proclamation declared, as read by Baldwin.

Pizza bread creator Glenn Shoaf retired from OSUIT in 2002 after working as a baking instructor and supervisor for 38 years. He returned to campus on the morning of Pizza Bread Day and helped Culinary Arts students prepare hundreds of pizza breads for the celebration.

“It was a good crowd. Everybody was happy, and it couldn’t have been any better,” Shoaf said.

Shoaf created pizza bread in the early 1970s as a delicious, cost-efficient meal students could purchase on Fridays and enjoy over the weekend while living on campus. He and his baking students prepared pizza bread in OSUIT’s once-upon-a-time bakery. They sold it by the hundreds to students and local community members who lined up every Friday morning to purchase Shoaf’s signature creation.

The recipe was simple: an 18-inch half-loaf of the bakery’s homemade French breads, sauce mix, cheese and either pepperoni or hamburger. And the $1 cost couldn’t be topped. The students and local residents couldn’t get enough, many buying multiple. Pizza Bread was often sold out within minutes.

Baldwin, an OSU alumnus who was a student on the Stillwater campus, said Shoaf’s creation fulfilled an important need.

“It goes with that awareness that our children, our students, no matter if they're older, still need a little bit of assistance to help them get through the weekend,” Baldwin said.

Billy and Sarah Hannon were students at OSUIT during the early 1980s. They met at OSUIT and later married. They returned to campus to help welcome back one of their favorite Friday traditions from their time as students.

“We'd get over here early enough to get some [pizza bread], and usually, you just wouldn't get one, you'd get a couple of them because you'd want it to have for the weekend,” Sarah Hannon said.

“That was our Friday lunch and Saturday and Sunday dinner — whatever you needed. That was part of our staple here,” Billy Hannon said.

After graduating from OSUIT, Billy went on to have a long career at his alma mater, working as a carpenter, plumber and finally trade supervisor for the campus’ Physical Plant.

He heard about Pizza bread’s return during a meeting with other OSUIT retirees and shared the good news with Sarah.

“I was excited because I finally could get the recipe [from Mr. Shoaf],” Sarah said.

Pizza bread was a one-of-a-kind flavor experience.

“It had such a good taste. I have, over the years, tried to imitate that [flavor], tried to make it, [but] it just didn't turn out the same,” she said.

Two pizza bread-eating contests were held during the event, and several OSUIT students entered, eager to chow down. Each participant was given a full 18-inch pizza bread and was instructed to eat as much as they could within a one-minute time limit.

CAT Dealer Prep Program student Tristan Sasse won the first contest, and Culinary Arts student Noah Allen triumphed in the second.

Sasse, a competitive eating veteran with two pie-eating contests under his belt, skipped breakfast in preparation for the Pizza Bread Eating Contest. His strategy proved sound — he finished nearly all 18 inches of his pizza bread.

“I crushed the competition; nobody was close,” Sasse said. “That pizza bread was very delicious, and I hope it stays around for generations.”

Allen was one of the culinary students who helped prepare the pizza bread served during the celebration. He had not planned on stuffing himself with pizza bread at breakneck speed.

Allen attacked the pizza bread with gusto, devouring over half of it. He said it was a satisfying experience.

“The bread was crunchy; the sauce was delicious — it just tastes like home. It just tasted right. I can't describe it,” Allen said.

CAT Dealer Prep student Tanner Weathers was runner-up in the second competition. He made a valiant effort, biting into his pizza bread so fast and hard that he punctured his lip.

“I shed blood, sweat, and tears into this competition. Unfortunately, I came up short. Busted the lip open — just made me cry a little bit — that's OK,” Weathers said.

Chef Aaron Ware, a Culinary Arts instructor, helped guide the culinary students in preparing for the event, which brought back many familiar faces from his days as a student at OSUIT.

“I see so many faces of people who used to attend and instructors. It's like a homecoming,” Ware said.

Ware was a student of Shoaf’s. He said the pizza bread craze was a very real phenomenon.

“There would be lines, I'm telling you. It was crazy. Now you see it when restaurants open, and there's a line — it was that same feel. People from the community, they would come and they would stand in line waiting on the pizza bread,” Ware said.

Dorwin Sanders, a current culinary student who helped prepare pizza bread for the celebration, said he is proud to help revive the tradition.

“I’m honored,” Sanders said. “I worked with [Chef Shoaf] in the kitchen earlier, constructing the pizzas, and it was a great learning experience.”

Hayden Roberts, assistant dean of the School of Technology, Arts, Sciences and Health, said Pizza Bread Day allowed the culinary students to shine in front of their fellow students, alumni and the Okmulgee community. The event also spotlighted the Culinary Arts program’s rich history.

“On a nostalgic level, it's nice to see us honored, particularly our legacy and our history,” Roberts said. “One of the things that I have tried to support is our history of this program, given that we were started back when the college first began in 1946. We're one of the oldest continuous programs on campus, and to be able to remind people about that is great, particularly with the 80th anniversary coming up.”

Pizza bread was discontinued in the mid-90s, but past students never forgot how delicious and filling it was, and current students were intrigued by its legend.

A monthlong campaign to “BRING BACK PIZZA BREAD” was launched in March.  The campaign united current students, alumni and local supporters. Hundreds signed petitions both online and in person, demonstrating overwhelming enthusiasm for its revival. Pizza bread’s official return was announced on March 31 by OSU President Jim Hess.

The effort to bring back pizza bread exemplifies OSUIT’s rich tradition and reverence for its history, said Dr. Heather Ortiz, assistant vice president for academic affairs.

“I love the fact that the way that this came about, the people voted for pizza bread, and the people have demanded it to come back. Here we are bringing that back to this place in time, and again, using this opportunity to share the stories,” Ortiz said. “I couldn't be more proud of the students, the alumni, the faculty, administration and the community coming together in this opportunity.”

As for the man who created the phenomenon so many years ago, Shoaf hopes that pizza bread’s return to the OSUIT campus is permanent, giving present and future generations of OSUIT students a reliably delicious and affordable meal.

“I looked around over the crowd, and I didn't see one bite of it going to waste,” Shoaf said. “They ate it all, so that's telling me they really enjoyed it.”