The O'Colly, Friday, May 2, 2025

Friday, May 2, 2025

Paper Trail

Kayse Shrum’s surprising resignation as OSU’s president BY ASHTON SLAUGHTER I EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Former Oklahoma State

President Dr. Kayse Shrum’s resignation in February seemed sudden, but records obtained by The O’Colly indicate her suggestion on university funding was the first step in a long process with an abrupt ending.

On May 30, 2023, in an Oklahoma State leadership budget meeting for the 202324 fiscal year, Shrum suggested that $5 million from the OSU Medical Authority and Trust (OSUMA) would be put toward the OSU Research Foundation (OSURF) and Oklahoma Aerospace Institute for Research and Education (OAIRE).

Shrum noted there was $10 million in the OSUMA base; half in Poly-Tech and the other in OAIRE. Shrum suggested transferring $5 million from OSUMA to OSURF and OAIRE, and taking $500,000 from OAIRE and giving it to the Human Performance and

Nutrition Research Institute (HPNRI).

This started a 21-month saga that included unanswered emails, rescheduled meetings and Shrum’s Feb. 3 resignation.

OSURF was renamed the Innovation Foundation on Sept. 18, 2023, and it was cut by OSU on March 10, as it was at the heart of $41 million in misappropriated funds, as determined by an audit of state funding. Of that total, $11.5 million came in “improper” transfers to the IF; $55.5 million in total deposits weren’t fully reported.

Former IF President and CEO Elizabeth Pollard resigned the same day as Shrum, and Pollard later told The O’Colly she “felt President Shrum’s vision supported (the Innovation Foundation’s) agenda” and that she had “full respect” for Shrum’s leadership.

Former OSU Senior Vice President and Chief of Staff Jerome Loughridge re -

signed Jan. 25, but a university official said his resignation was planned weeks prior to Shrum’s.

Aside from Shrum, those present in the May 2023 meeting were: OSU Senior Vice President for Administration and Finance Joe Weaver, OSU Provost and Senior Vice President Jeanette Mendez, OSU Senior Vice President of System Affairs Kyle Wray, Loughridge, OSU Center for Health Services President Johnny Stephens (via phone) and OSU Director of Presidential Affairs Richelle Wingo (who took minutes).

Here’s how records lay out how this May 2023 meeting led to a surprising resignation of the university’s 19th president, who was popular among many students and was prominently featured in publicity efforts, and what happened in the 615-day period.

See SHRUM on page 8A

OSU

KENNEDY THOMASON STAFF REPORTER @_KENNEDYPAGE

Oklahoma State faculty fear punishment over interviews

KENNEDY THOMASON STAFF REPORTER @_KENNEDYPAGE

An Oklahoma State faculty member asked that their quotes questioning a proposed university policy not be used in an O’Colly article because they feared administrators would punish their department.

“What I didn’t want to happen was to have the department bear the brunt of a decision I made,” the faculty member said recently.

This faculty member isn’t alone. Two other OSU employees have expressed concerns that speaking with The O’Colly about university operations would lead to retaliation by OSU administrators. None had faced retaliation as of publication.

These concerns stem in part from OSU emails asking faculty and staff to refer all media questions to Brand Management and from deans concerned with their college’s image.

But faculty and staff won’t face retalia -

tion for speaking with the press unless they violate federal or state privacy laws, OSU President Jim Hess said recently.

“I think freedom of expression is one of the foundations of our country,” Hess said in an interview.

“And so, I would never allow somebody to be retaliated against for talking to anybody as long as it wasn’t a protected issue.”

Media law attorney Mike Hiestand said the public suffers when journalists are kept from talking with experts at universities.

“If you are muzzling the experts in your state on a particular topic, you’re providing your readers and providing the citizens with second-rate news,” Hiestand said. “So we all suffer.”

Many universities nationwide made efforts to silence faculty and staff during the COVID-19 pandemic, which began in 2020, in response to media coverage, said Hiestand, senior legal counsel for the D.C.-based Student Press Law Center.

See FACULTY on page 5A

Oklahoma State’s 20th president acknowledged the university’s potential financial issues as faculty and students welcomed him to the role Tuesday.

“We will be facing some financial headwinds, and I want to be forthright with you about that,” Jim Hess said. “As you all know, with great opportunities come great challenges. And we will have the opportunity to face a few headwinds along the way, and we’ll do so together, collaboratively. And in

a manner that respects our mission and our dignity of the people who work here.”

Hess was named interim president in February following the resignation of former president Dr. Kayse Shrum. He had the interim tag removed and was appointed as OSU’s president last Friday.

Hess inherited $41 million in mismanaged funds with the Innovation Foundation. About a month into his tenure as interim head of the university, he shut down the foundation.

Hess clarified Tuesday that the “financial headwinds” OSU could face would stem from national economic downturns and reduced state funding.

See HESS on page 6A

Payton Little

Former OSU President Dr. Kayse Shrum surprisingly resigned Feb. 3.

Payton Little

Some Oklahoma State faculty have been given warnings for speaking with reporters. OSU’s new president said faculty won’t face retaliation.

Bryson Thadhani

OSU President Jim Hess inherited $41 million in mismanaged funds.

Inside

Trump administration restoring student visas, 13 Oklahoma State students whose statuses were affected have been reversed

those impacted.” If a student’s SEVIS record is reinstated, they maintain their F-1 status and are legally allowed to remain in the United States. For students who have revoked visas, the Department of State has notified them; OSU hasn’t been notified.

The Trump administration is restoring visa registrations for college students across the country whose records have been terminated in recent weeks.

The Justice Department announced this last Friday at a hearing in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts. This could be important to Oklahoma State students, who, with the administration changing course, may be able to stay on campus.

“As of this morning, all 13 of our students whose SEVIS status was previously terminated have been changed back to active status,” Elisabeth Walker, OSU international students and scholars director, wrote in an email The O’Colly received from Brand Management on Monday. “We have notified all the students affected and will continue to monitor the situation while providing appropriate guidance and support to

Having an expired or revoked visa does not determine a student’s immigration status within the U.S.; it needs to be valid when they enter the country.

At first, it was eight OSU students who had their records terminated for anything from political activism or criminal records. Then, it was “up to 13,” The O’Colly learned via an obtained email sent from Randy Kluver, associate provost and dean of OSU Global.

In the April 18 printed O’Colly, a group of 23 OSU alumni signed a letter to the editor opposing the termination of these students’ visas. They wanted OSU to step in and do something about it.

Elizabeth D. Kurlan, an attorney for the Justice Department, said ICE won’t terminate student records based on findings in the National Crime Information Center.

news.ed@ocolly.com

The O’Colly selects summer, fall 2025 Editors-in-Chief

Raynee and the rest of our crew.”

With time in the spring semester winding down, The O’Colly has appointed new leaders for the next two semesters.

In the summer, Kenzie Kraich, a senior strategic communications major and soon-to-be graduate student, will serve as EIC. Kraich, from Akron, Colorado, will be in Stillwater, having boots on the ground to update our website and put together a Friday E-Edition.

“The O’Colly has been a huge part of my development as a professional, a student and an individual,” Kraich said. “So to be able to give back and such a major way is a huge blessing. This position is not one i take lightly, and I’m super excited to jump in and get started.”

In the fall, The O’Colly will have Co-Editors-in-Chief, as seniors Parker Gerl and Raynee Howell are set to lead the newspaper.

“I am grateful to be selected as Co-Editor-in-Chief for the fall,” Gerl said. “To continue to be able to help lead The O’Colly is exciting, and I’m looking forward to working with

Editor-in-Chief Ashton Slaughter editorinchief@ocolly.com

Sports editor Parker Gerl sports.ed@ocolly.com

News & Lifestyle editor Hayden Alexander news.ed@ocolly.com

Design editor Megan Turner design.ed@ocolly.com

Photo editor Payton Little photo.ed@ocolly.com

Social Media editor Bryson Thadhani news.ed@ocolly.com

Ask the Pokes

Who are you most excited to see perform at Calf Fry?

“I’m most excited to see Treaty Oak Revival. I really like their song ‘Missed Call.’”

- Senae Barlow, sophomore

“I’m most excited for Calf Fry this year to see Wyatt Flores, even though I’ve seen him multiple times; I’m so in love with his songs and his new album.”

- Samantha Ruiz, junior

“I’m most excited to see Ty Myers””

- Shauna Haskins, freshman

Calf Fry line-up

Gerl will assume the EIC role after spending his summer as a Tulsa World sports intern and will be a senior sports media student. From Cypress, Texas, Gerl is currently The O’Colly’s sports editor. He’s previously been the assistant sports editor and a staff reporter.

Howell, a rising senior with a multimedia journalism major and communications studies minor from Okmulgee, Oklahoma, is currently The O’Colly’s assistant news & lifestyle editor and was a staff reporter before that.

“I’m excited and honored to be named Co-Editor-in-Chief alongside Parker,” Howell said. “The newsroom is my home at OSU, and I want to continue to foster The O’Colly’s collaborative, family-like environment. I look forward to working with members of our staff to carry on the legacy of The O’Colly.”

We are proud of these three individuals and look forward to the work

The O’Colly will do under their leadership, as we will continue to foster collaboration and serve our audience while growing student journalists.

news.ed@ocolly.com

Assistant News & Lifestyle

Howell news.ed@ocolly.com

Assistant Sports editors Kenzie Kraich, Calif Poncy, Sam Mitchell

Assistant Photo editor Connor Fuxa

Assistant Social Media editor

Jose Brito

Assistant Design editors Alexandra Guinn, Tobey Lunceford

Friday May 2

2:00 p.m. - Pre-Party Gates Open

2:30 p.m. - Boston James

4:00 p.m. - Krislyn Arthurs & The Trainwreck

5:00 p.m. - Calf Fry Gates Open

5:45 p.m. - Ray & The High Rollers

6:30 p.m. - Noah Bowman

7:45 p.m. - Ty Myers

9:00 p.m. - Tanner Usrey

10:30 p.m. - Wyatt Flores

12:00 a.m. - Austin Williams

Saturday May 3

2:00 p.m. - Pre-Party Gates Open

2:30 p.m. - Jake Taylor

4:00 p.m. - Hoss Miller Band

5:00 p.m. - Calf Fry Gates Open

5:45 p.m. - AllTown

6:30 p.m. - Taylor Hunnicutt

7:45 p.m. - William Clark Green

9:00 p.m. - Casey Donahew

10:30 p.m. - Ian Munsick

12:00 a.m. - Kashus Culpepper

Adviser Brett Dawson brett.dawson@okstate.edu News &

Richard

Payton Little OSU has notified all 13 students affected and is continuing to “monitor the situation.”

Students grapple with realities of drink spiking in college towns

With the annual Calf Fry music festival this weekend come increased safety concerns.

With drink-spiking cases on the rise, students are at risk of becoming the next victims on a list that is already too long.

Heidi Gilbert, a nurse at Stillwater Medical’s Sexual Assault Administrative unit, emphasized the importance of remembering that alcohol is a drug, an often-forgotten fact among college students.

“By far, the number one drug in drug-facilitated sexual assault cases is alcohol consumed by the individual,” Gilbert said. “I think that that doesn’t get enough attention.”

Drink spiking occurs when someone secretly adds drugs like Rohypnol, GHB, ketamine or, commonly, an excessive amount of alcohol to another person’s beverage, rendering the victim incapacitated. The drugs can cause symptoms such as nausea, dizziness, slurred speech, memory loss and blackouts.

Many victims do not realize what happened until hours later.

Katie, an Oklahoma State graduate who asked to keep her last name anonymous, said she was a victim of drink spiking twice during her time as an undergraduate. Katie said she had fewer than the five drinks to which she limits herself but felt as though she’d exceeded her typical amount.

“I kind of knew in the moment what was happening, but at the same time, my brain just couldn’t really process it,” Katie said. “I woke up the next morning and was like, ‘That was odd.’ You don’t even know what’s happening in the moment. It just hits you.”

Gilbert explained that victims of drink spiking often hesitate to report incidents because of fear, shame or the inability to remember details of the night.

“They worry about getting in

trouble for making those choices but it’s bigger than that,” Gilbert said. “Student Conduct doesn’t care if you’re 18 and drinking; still come in. You were still a victim.”

Students who believe they have been affected by drink spiking should seek medical attention immediately and notify authorities. Confidential support services are also available through OSU’s counseling and wellness programs.

“I encouraged my friend to go to the emergency room the morning after we went out,” said Isabelle Cawthra, an OSU freshman and friend of a roofie victim. “It made me realize, though, this stuff can happen to anyone. Like, that could have just as easily been me. It has definitely made me more cautious on nights out.”

Gilbert advised to always go out in groups, particularly with someone trustworthy.

“The best thing is to not get so drunk that you can’t have good decision-making,” she said. “It’s not uncommon for people to drink too much and have a good time, but you have to have someone you explicitly trust to make sure you get home.”

Gilbert emphasized the importance of students being intentional with what they put in their bodies, even willingly.

“I think oftentimes it gets missed that people are consuming so much and they’re like ‘Well, I’m safe because I’m not getting roofied,’ but they’re just so intoxicated that they are taken advantage of,” Gilbert said.

With reports of drink-related issues spiking this time of year, students acknowledge the risks and are planning to take extra precautions.

“I only go out with very trusted friends now,” Katie said. “Do not just leave your drink out. I will bring my drink with me everywhere or ask a friend to watch it.”

If you or someone you know has been affected by drink spiking, seek support from campus safety, medical professionals or trusted friends. Your actions could help prevent the next incident. JULIA

news.ed@ocolly.com

Employment Opportunities at the O’Colly

The O’Colly is looking for students that need part-time employment during the summer and fall semesters. We have writer, photographer, graphic artists, sales and social media positions available for those interested.

Stop by room 106 of the Paul Miller building.

YAF receives backlash from flyer; professor raises potential concerns

Black flyers with the bright letters “D.E.I.” across the top can be found on walls and bulletin boards across the Oklahoma State campus.

Upon a closer look, passersby see the true message: “Deport every illegal.”

The OSU chapter of Young Americans for Freedom, a conservative Christian organization, posted the flyers around campus. Chairman Andrew Williamson said the purpose of the flyer was to place the organization’s viewpoint on the deportation of undocumented people into the public square while facilitating conversation among students.

“We’ve seen the issue of an insecure border under the Biden administration and how disastrous that has been for our country,” Williamson said. “So, we came up with this idea to exercise our freedom of speech to engage our fellow students on this issue.”

The acronym DEI — diversity, equity and inclusion — is commonly used to describe programs created to benefit historically marginalized groups. Using the acronym was strategic for YAF, as it allowed the group to make two political statements at once.

“We’re absolutely opposed to diversity, equity and inclusion, as it has been popularized and used because we believe in evaluating people based off of merit,” Williamson said. “We should not be discriminating on the basis of race or gender. There should not be any sort of discriminatory practices, which is what we’ve seen with DEI.”

To post a flyer at OSU, excluding on the free speech boards, organizations must go to the Student Union Meeting and Conference Services for approval. YAF’s posters were submitted and approved.

The bottom of the poster states, “Unauthorized removal of the flyer is a violation of the student code of conduct and may result in disciplinary action.” While removing a permitted flyer is not directly mentioned in the code, Section II, No. 10 states “inhibiting other individuals’ right to expressive activity” is prohibited conduct, as based on Oklahoma law.

Spokesperson Mack Burke said OSU is content-neutral concerning student groups and does not endorse student groups’ messages.

“The university has over 500 student groups, and some of those are going to have conflicting views,” Burke wrote. “But it is not within the university’s purview to limit constitutionally protected speech.”

Some students found the flyers offen-

sive, prompting KFOR to visit campus. The backlash from its student interviews did not stop Young Americans for Freedom from printing more copies. Williamson said despite some students disagreeing or having hurt feelings, it’s common sense for a nation to uphold its laws.

“We think it’s only right that deportations of illegals take place to uphold the rule of law and protect Americans from vicious foreign criminals to ultimately deter future criminal entry,” Williamson said.

A study co-lead by Northwestern University economist Elisa Jácome and released last year found that immigrants are consistently less likely to be incarcerated than people born in the U.S. Regardless, Williamson said at the end of day, the deportations should encourage lawful entry into the country.

Differing viewpoints on deportation and DEI were not the only concerns with the poster. The O’Colly received an email from a professor, who asked for their name to be withheld for fear of retaliation, explaining how the purple, blue and green rainbow included on the poster could have an underlying meaning.

The professor has an expertise in farright extremism and hate speech. They recognized the color scheme from a GIF previously circling on 4chan, an anonymous image board forum.

The GIF was of Dragon Ball Z character Piccolo raping the Gine, another character from the show. 4chan banned the GIF and users began to post purple, green and blue images to reference the GIF. While they brought up the possibility of the poster containing the rape joke, they also said the organization could be unaware.

“It’s likely that these students don’t know the origin or meaning of these colors, but they did go out of their way to include them for some reason,” they wrote in an email.

The O’Colly began looking into the claims when the professor sent a followup email asking if anything had yet come of their email.

“I realize that it sounds crazy to suggest that those colors can signal a rape joke, but it is common on far-right circles,” they wrote in an email. “It’s also understandable to think that it’s not really a problem because it’s so obscure, that it can’t really offend anyone because no one really understands it. But the point of doing this for this student group is to troll the university, to get away with it and laugh.”

The O’Colly asked Williamson about the design choice. He said the colors were chosen to be eye-catching, and he didn’t know anything about the 4chan joke.

Courtesy KFOR

Young Americans for Freedom posted flyers around campus to spark conversation among students.

File Photo

Attendees of the Calf Fry Festival should become aware of the dangers of drink spiking.

Lifestyle

Ray & The High Rollers secure spot on Red Dirt’s biggest night

HAYDEN

Every year, Calf Fry sets the stage for big names and bigger music, but it’s also a place for local musicians to perform a set or two.

After hosting its annual “Battle of the Bands: The Road to Calf Fry,” Tumbleweed is ready to welcome the top three finalists to perform at Calf Fry.

Ray & The High Rollers, a Red Dirt band from Stillwater, advanced to the semifinals after winning Round 4 of the competition. The four-man group won its shot at the Calf Fry stage along with AllTown and the TJ Todd Band.

Lead singer Ray Flaherty said he and his bandmates have been looking for an opportunity like Calf Fry for a while.

“We’ve been trying to do it for a couple of years, so it was kind of a sigh of relief as soon as we won semifinals; that was a really cool moment,” Flaherty said.

Nate Crossland, the band’s bassist, has never been to Calf Fry but has heard from others about the event. He said he was surprised when the band won but is grateful it did.

“I really didn’t think that we were going to make it past the first round,” Crossland said. “We are very content with being on the Calf Fry lineup. We’re grateful for any day, any place that we’ve got and to be a part of Calf Fry.”

Crossland grew up watching his dad play in a cover band. He spent every practice sitting by the drums until he was big enough to play his own set. Crossland later picked up the tuba and started marching in the seventh grade, which landed him in the OSU tuba line as a fresh -

man in 2021. It was there he met Mitchell Crawford, the band’s drummer, and soon after ran into Flaherty while he was hanging out in Bennett Hall. What started as hangouts quickly turned into jam sessions and an idea for more.

“It was really just us hanging out, grilling, a lot of bonfires and drinking beer... being guys, then the itch just slowly started to grow and grow over the months,” Crossland said.

Flaherty was used to the band setting, having played in a band back home in Shattuck. While he enjoyed playing at home, he wanted a chance to play more regularly.

“There were really no places to play around there,” Flaherty said.

“I wanted to go somewhere where there was actually live music. It’s a cool experience, though. I enjoy it. I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”

Flaherty and his bandmates eventually started picking up gigs here and there, playing at Stonecloud and other spots around town. Now the band plays weekly and got the chance to play during “The Boys From Oklahoma” concert series at several spots in Stillwater.

After years of playing together and working toward something bigger, Ray & The High Rollers are ready to bring their music to Calf Fry at 5:45 p.m. Friday.

“It’s surreal,” Crossland said. “I looked at the past lineups and saw all the huge names that are always coming in, and it was just crazy to see Ray & The High Rollers on the lineup.”

The band is excited for the shot at Red Dirt’s largest festival, but for them, it’s all about making music together.

“We just like playing together,” Flaherty said. “We like playing for people. It’s just for the love of the game.”

news.ed@ocolly.com

Tips for navigating Calf Fry

Eat

Cowboys and cowgirls, it’s time to ignore finals, grab your cowboy hats and head to Calf Fry.

Before you tap your foot to Red Dirt tunes and achieve a new level of procrastination, make sure you are prepared to take on the three-day festival. Here are 7 tips for taking on Calf Fry.

Utilize shuttles

You can purchase a shuttle pass on Tumbleweed’s website. Buses run between 6 p.m. and 1 a.m. from Washington Street (The Strip) to Tumbleweed. You can also purchase a parking pass on Tumbleweed’s website.

Don’t drink and drive

If you can’t get a shuttle pass, secure a ride to and from the event if you plan on drinking. Do not drink and drive. A DUI can lead to fines, license suspension or jail time.

Hydrate Calf Fry is a three-day party, and as tradition dictates, alcohol is typically involved. If you plan to participate, drink water. If you are staying sober, drink water.

Underage drinking is illegal, and you can get kicked out of Calf Fry, fined and arrested.

Although food will be available at Calf Fry, I recommend eating a substantial meal beforehand to ensure you’re well-fed before heading to the festival. Food will most likely be expensive, and if you’re not a fan of calf fries or are unfamiliar with them, consider eating beforehand.

Safety in numbers

Wherever your honky-tonk adventures take you this weekend, do not go alone. Go with a group and stay together. Ladies, the bathroom rule applies at Calf Fry. Look out for your friends and treat your designated drivers with kindness.

Charge your phone

It’s going to be a long night — or nights, depending on your Calf Fry plans — and you’re going to need your phone. Charge your phone or bring a portable charger.

Prepare for rain Tumbleweed does not allow umbrellas so pack a poncho or rain jacket and stay weather aware. There is a chance of showers and storms on Thursday and Friday.

Thanks to the near-constant downpour on Tuesday and Wednesday, the grounds at Tumbleweed are likely to be muddy. Plan accordingly.

news.ed@ocolly.com

Battle of the Bands winners bring Oklahoma talent to Calf Fry stage

RAYNEE HOWELL ASSISTANT NEWS & LIFESTYLE EDITOR

@RAYNEEHOWELL

The flashing lights of the mixing console, the soundproof room full of instruments and one man at the helm opened up a world of possibilities for a group of young musicians from Enid.

Brock Niehus and Aaron Kurtz from AllTown, a four-piece Red Dirt band, can be found in a third-floor recording studio creating their debut album alongside producer Luke Tallon.

As juniors at Enid High School, Niehus and Kurtz released an EP that was produced in a makeshift studio in a spare bedroom. Now, the group is working in the Michael and Anne Greenwood School of Music at Oklahoma State.

“This is way professional,” Niehus said. “There’s millions of dollars put into the studio, and this is (Tallon’s) professional job. He knows what he’s doing. So it just feels a lot more real than last time. It feels like we’re doing things correctly.”

Tallon saw the group on TikTok and sent them an email. The same day, AllTown called Tallon to talk about creating a record together. Tallon’s goal is to capture the band’s enthusiasm on stage into a record.

“My idea is to just let these guys who have all the energy on stage help bring that energy into the studio,” Tallon said. “Try to capture that and mostly get out of their way and let them do their thing (and) steer the ship occasionally.”

Creating music in a professional studio is a milestone for many aspiring musicians, but the milestones keep coming for AllTown. Kurtz, Niehus, Lane Haas and Archer Conrady performed in the “Battle of the Bands: The Road to Calf Fry” competition at Tumbleweed Dance Hall. AllTown finished in the top three competing against 18 bands in an eight-week battle.

Last year, AllTown performed in the same competition, making it to the semifinals, which led it to perform at the pre-party. With a few changes to the sound, leaning toward a rock influence, the four felt more comfortable on stage this year.

“It was more like we were just having fun,” Niehus said. “And it was like we were meant to be there, just hanging out.”

dream for each of the members, and breaking out into the Red Dirt scene in Stillwater means something to them. Grateful and blessed is how Niehus and Kurtz put it.

“We try not to take a day for granted,” Kurtz said. “We get to play music and do it full time and play for people, and it’s just a blessing.” Kurtz also looks forward to networking with other bands backstage. TJ Todd from The TJ Todd Band echoes Kurtz. He’s looking forward to making connections.

“We can’t wait to get to meet everybody, and obviously getting to see Treaty Oak (Revival) backstage is gonna be pretty cool,” Todd said.

The TJ Todd Band — Todd, Ko Withrow, Jacob Williams, Mateo Fajardo, Josh Thomas and Miles Lewis — took first place in the Battle of the Bands. The group had first pick of which night to play. With the band finding inspiration in Treaty Oak Revival, choosing Thursday night was a no-brainer.

“We cover Treaty (Oak Revival) for three-hour gigs at the dive bars down in southern Oklahoma,” Todd said. “We’ve covered Treaty Oak every single show at least once, and they’ve been, for the past two years, I’d say, as a collective group, that’s been our favorite band.” Todd and Withrow grew up together in Sulphur, and through attending East Central, met Fajardo and Williams. Their first few gigs were small, including a performance for a Back-to-School Bash.

Once Lewis and Thomas joined, the sound continued to develop and the band felt a shift. Performing at Tumbleweed in the Battle of the Bands was a monumental moment showing the full band’s potential.

“It was unbelievable,” Todd said. “We had a great crowd that showed up where we’re from, too, but also, just like everybody from Stillwater, we just had a really good crowd… and that’s something every artist and every band wants that, like when you’re playing, you want to know that people are engaged and liking it, and we could tell there was something different about it.”

As top-three finishers, AllTown will perform at 5:45 p.m. Saturday on the Calf Fry main stage. Playing on the main stage alongside bigger names hasn’t quite hit them yet.

“We’re super grateful,” Niehus said. “It means the world to be able to say, we are playing a part in Calf Fry 2025, and we’re on the main stage. Like, that’s crazy.” Pursuing music full time is the

Calf Fry will be the largest venue the band has ever played. Todd said the size is going to be mindblowing. Songs from the group’s debut album, which came out last month, will be on the set list along with a few unreleased songs from the current record the band is working on.

Todd and the other members hope performing at Calf Fry will help them reach other states on their next tour, but performing at all means the world.

“It’s just crazy to see our name on the same ballot as all these other people,” Todd said. “We’re so ready to just get up there and just let loose. Have fun and just do what we do.”

Jake Muret

Brock Niehus and Lane Haas of AllTown performing at the Battle of The Bands semifinals.

Hayden Alexander

Ray & The High Rollers are performing Thursday night at Calf Fry.

Faculty

Hiestand and other free speech experts say public university faculty and staff are free as private citizens to speak about university policies. Efforts to silence faculty could lead to public universities losing First Amendment lawsuits, they say.

The O’Colly is not repeating details of previous articles to avoid revealing the identities of the faculty interviewed for this article.

The faculty member, who also holds some administrative responsibilities, said they asked their quotes be removed from an article after a meeting with their dean.

During the scheduled meeting, the faculty member said they mentioned the interview. The dean told the faculty member that OSU policy requires faculty and staff to get permission from the provost before giving interviews, they said.

But no such policy exists, said Chris Francisco, senior vice provost for academic affairs, in an email to The O’Colly.

After the meeting, the faculty member said they were worried top administrators would target their department.

“I didn’t want the department to be punished for something I did that probably wasn’t worth making waves because it (the proposed policy) wasn’t going to change anyway,” the faculty member said.

Another faculty member was called into a meeting with their dean two weeks after they were quoted in an O’Colly article.

The faculty member thought the meeting was about something else. But once they got there, it felt like “being called to the principal’s office,” they said. The dean suggested it made the college look bad, they said.

“(The dean) clearly has no understanding of free speech and the press,” the tenure-track faculty member said. “Like, literally didn’t know that (they were) trying to censor me, even though (they were) misinterpreting me completely.”

The faculty member said the idea of talking with reporters makes them “really anxious” because they will have to go before their dean, whose approval is required for the faculty member to be granted tenure.

“I have people who are tenured saying to me, ‘You need to lay low for (a few) more years, then you can say what you think,’” they said.

A third faculty member said they didn’t want to be interviewed about a meeting with their dean to discuss their quotes in an O’Colly article. They declined to comment further, saying they are worried the interview could harm other faculty.

Blurry line for faculty protections

First Amendment protections for faculty and staff depend on whether the speech is made within their scope as an employee or as a private citizen, constitutional law expert Joseph Thai said.

Academic freedom protects faculty members who speak within their expertise, such as an immunology professor discussing vaccines, but the extent of that freedom is unclear, the OU College of Law professor said. Staff members do not have protections for academic freedom, he said, but they

are protected when they speak as private citizens about a matter of public concern.

Faculty also are protected as private citizens when they speak on a matter of public concern, but their speech can’t impair the university’s ability to have an “effective and functioning workplace,” Thai said.

To speak as a private citizen, the faculty’s statements cannot be a product of their job’s paid duties and cannot be an expectation of their job. If a faculty member speaks about corruption or universitywide problems, then it can be considered speech from a private citizen.

Specific cases involving faculty or staff depend on the facts and cannot be answered easily without context, as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled in Dahlia v. Rodriguez.

Although faculty free speech protections aren’t completely clear, Thai said part of the function of a university is for professors to talk on their areas of expertise.

“The commitment of universities to free speech is a commitment to robust discussion and debate on matters of public concern, and that can include university policies,” Thai said.

Despite the constitutional freedom to speak as private citizens about university policies, several emails to OSU faculty and staff ask them to refer reporters to Brand Management, the university’s public relations office.

An April 2023 email from Human Resources asked faculty and staff to “refer all contacts and questions” from reporters to Brand Management so the office could ensure “consistency of response” and minimize “disruption to operations.”

During a Faculty Council meeting the next month, Provost Jeanette Mendez clarified that the email was meant to discourage employees from talking about lawsuits. She said faculty may speak within their academic expertise.

OSU spokesperson Mack Burke said part of Brand Management’s purpose is to “make sure that there’s no misinformation” spread across OSU’s five-campus system.

“I think that the spirit of that email was really that Brand Management is there to help you and that Brand Management is a resource for you,” Burke said in an April interview.

But in March, Brand Management asked OSU employees to send all questions from media about allegations of mismanaged money at the OSU-affiliated Innovation Foundation. Brand Management also asked employees to “avoid speculating or offering personal opinions.”

Although these emails are phrased as requests, student press law expert Hiestand said faculty and staff can misinterpret them as orders.

“If I’m an employee and I get a memo like that, even if it’s not an order, I mean it’s pretty clear how the university, how your boss wants you to act,” Hiestand said. “So unless you feel really comfortable in your position or just feel so outraged by this, you’re probably not gonna take action.”

But Burke said Brand Management’s goal is “aligning the messaging” of the university, not restricting free speech.

“I understand how somebody could’ve interpreted it that way or interpreted it in that fashion,” Burke said. “But to be clear, we’re not here to, as Brand Management, in any way interfere with anybody’s free speech.”

Dave Cuiller said making faculty

fear retribution for speaking with reporters is unethical.

It also makes the university “susceptible to a lawsuit,” said Cuillier, director of the Brechner Center for Freedom of Information at the University of Florida.

“Just because you’re a government employee doesn’t mean you lose your right to express your opinion,” Cuillier said.

Although the First Amendment provides basic freedoms, Oklahoma does not guarantee statutory protection for state employees to talk with reporters.

In 2022, lawmakers repealed the Whistleblower Act, which removed protections for talking with reporters. The act’s goal was to “encourage and protect the reporting of wrongful governmental activities and to deter retaliation against state employees for reporting those activities,” according to the repealed version.

Under the statute, state officials could not prohibit or punish employees who talked with reporters about an agency’s operations and functions.

Another statute allows employees to internally report wrongdoing to their superiors, but it does not explicitly protect employees who talk to reporters.

At OSU, the EthicsPoint system is available for students, faculty or staff to anonymously report wrongdoing.

OSU guarantees no one will be retaliated against if a report is filed in “good faith,” according to the EthicsPoint website. It also encourages faculty and staff to report concerns through management or Human Resources.

“By using the system, we can work together to address fraud, abuse, misconduct, and other violations, while helping to cultivate a positive environment,” OSU’s website states.

The Ombuds Office also provides a confidential environment for students, faculty and staff to report “campus-related problems and concerns, between or among individuals and/or with organizations,” according to its website.

‘Hesitant to speak’ Faculty Council member James Knapp has frequently talked with The O’Colly.

Knapp said he doesn’t know of any faculty discouraged from speaking with reporters or punished for having done so.

“However, I wouldn’t be surprised if those kind of things had happened,” Knapp said.

He said some people have told him they fear being punished for talking with reporters.

Like other faculty, Knapp received the emails asking that interview requests be referred to Brand Management. He considered the emails inappropriate.

“I thought that was, by and large, unworkable,” Knapp said. “I mean, you can’t presume to put a filter on everything that comes out of a faculty member’s mouth.”

Rather than talk with reporters in person, some faculty and administrators have offered to do interviews only by email. This semester, a department head refused to do an in-person interview, citing “departmental policy” and “guidance provided by administration.”

Burke said faculty and staff can choose how they do interviews. When articles are data-heavy or require a high degree of specificity, Brand Management might suggest an email

interview, he said.

But journalism experts frown upon conducting interviews through email.

They don’t allow for follow-up questions, which is a core part of interviewing, said Steve Fox, a University of Massachusetts Amherst journalism lecturer.

“The purpose of the interview is to sit down with somebody and be able to get to know them, to read them, to kind of figure out what’s going on,” Fox said.

He said it can also allow for public relations staff to answer on behalf of an official.

OU Daily Editor-in-Chief Peggy Dodd said in an email that student reporters at the University of Oklahoma have faced similar obstacles. Faculty and staff are afraid to have their names tied to interviews about the federal Department of Government Efficiency layoffs at OU. DOGE has cut funding for the National Weather Center, which led to employee and student layoffs.

She said the open records department has been “slow rolling” reporters. In Stillwater, OSU hasn’t provided records The O’Colly requested more than two months ago.

Burke said OSU’s public information office has received a “gargantuan amount of records requests this spring.” This semester, both the Innovation Foundation and resignation of former OSU President Dr. Kayse Shrum generated media coverage and prompted record requests.

Some records, such as emails and text messages, take longer to process, he said.

“Our legal team has to review those because there is often sensitive information that is protected by law,” Burke said.

OSU employees ‘free to express’ OSU President Hess said he is unaware of any faculty or staff who have faced retaliation for speaking with media.

He said they may speak with reporters about anything not involving confidential student records or personnel issues.

Hess said universities are places where people “are free to express.”

“It doesn’t bother me if the staff or a faculty member has a different opinion than me or anybody else,” Hess said. “How you get to the best solutions is getting the most people expressing how they think the problem should be solved.”

The faculty member with some administrative responsibilities said they are still anxious about speaking with reporters, even if it would reflect positively on their department.

“So, I just worry it’ll show up in the paper and people will know who it was, and then the area will suffer,” they said.

In an email asking that their quotes be removed before a previous O’Colly article was published, they said they didn’t feel as if they had “any other choice.”

The faculty member recently said they remain afraid their department could face retaliation if they were identified in this article.

“I’m not as afraid probably now, but there’s still… people in that former administration… that were that way,” they said. “So, I just worry it’ll show up in the paper and people will know who it was, and the area will suffer.”

Payton Little

Newly appointed OSU President Jim Hess said he “would never allow somebody to be retaliated against for talking to anybody as long as it wasn’t a protected issue.”

NEWS/LIFEstyle

Hess

While addressing the potential financial issues, Hess has also rolled out his priorities, which include building a new veterinary medicine hospital and raising money for student scholarships.

Hess has until May 30, when the Oklahoma Legislature adjourns, to get legislative support for the hospital. Hess said he plans to “fulfill those opportunities over the next few weeks.”

Hess’ presidency will also focus on having students complete their education at the “lowest possible cost,” he said.

“I take that very, very seriously,” Hess said. “My wife tells me that I’m tighter than bark on a tree. I’m very fiscally conservative.”

Hess has a background in economics and previously served as the vice provost of OSU-CHS in Tulsa.

OSU Alumni Association President Ann Caine said she will be working with Hess and his team on budgeting, which she said is a “big concern” as it tightens at the state level.

In her many meetings with Hess, Caine said Hess is thoughtful and “doesn’t hem-haw around.”

“Our alumni are loving it,” Caine said. “They love that he’s listening and that he’s partnering with us on moving OSU forward.”

Stillwater Mayor Will Joyce said

the city has also enjoyed a good relationship with Hess so far.

OSU has partnerships with the city, including the new airport terminal and the commercial air service, Joyce said.

“There’s a lot of challenges for the university, there’s challenges for the city, we have a lot of projects that we can collaborate on and try to help each other,” Joyce said. “It’s just very optimistic to know that you’ve got somebody in this office who will be part of trying to find collaborative solutions.”

OSU’s student body president said Hess’ 43-year career in higher education has “upheld (OSU’s) landgrant mission.”

Aubrey Ruffin, elected in March as Student Government Association president, said she has seen Hess and his wife, Angela, “embody a shared commitment to well-being” to students.

“He has shown us a genuine kindness, respect and clear desire to listen and uplift student voices,” Ruffin said.

Angela Hess is making mental health her main focus as First Cowgirl, though details of her platform have not yet been shared.

At the heart of Hess’ goals for OSU is to serve students.

“They are the only reason we’re here,” Hess said. “Without them, none of the rest of us need to be here.”

news.ed@ocolly.com

‘Andor’ breathes new life into a galaxy far, far away

This is where the fun begins.

It’s a good time to be a “Star Wars” fan. Star Wars Celebration 2025 brought the fandom together, announcing several new projects, including director Shawn Levy’s “Star Wars: Starfighter” starring Ryan Gosling and a new Darth Maul show.

“Star Wars: Revenge of The Sith” enjoyed a week-long theatrical run celebrating the film’s 20th anniversary, reigniting love for the prequels and uniting fans across generations.

A new short, “Star Wars: Tales of the Underworld,” is coming out on May 4, continuing a three-year-long tradition.

To round out the epic run, the first half of season two of “Andor” is streaming on Disney+ and to no one’s surprise, it’s off to a great start.

Season one of “Andor” expanded on the story of Cassian Andor, a rebel who was instrumental in retrieving the Death Star plans. The end of his adventure played out in “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” but “Andor” takes us back, delving deep into Cassian’s motivations and bettering an already solid storyline.

“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” was, for many fans, the first time watching a “Star Wars” film felt like turning on one of the original films, and “Andor” is continuing the tradition. Season one set up Cassian’s motivations and season two follows Cassian as a rebel fighting for a cause.

Season two continues season one’s devotion to a darker, less hopeful tone. The original films often gloss over the Empire’s brutality, but “Andor” dives headfirst into the savagery of a galaxy at war and the depths to which the rebels will go to protect their loved ones, redefining morality with each move. Love has always driven “Star Wars” characters, and Cassian will stop at nothing to protect what he loves.

Deigo Luna plays Cassian perfectly. The first six episodes of the series take place over two years with each three-episode arc bringing the char-

acters closer to the events of “Rouge One: A Star Wars Story.” Luna portrays Cassian’s slow descent into a rebel with no boundaries, so well shifting with each arc into a more paranoid and desperate man. Every actor involved in “Andor” is phenomenal. Genevieve O’Reilly as Mon Mothma is able to make Mon’s political battles feel just as dire as the blaster shots Cassian trades with the Empire. Stellan Skarsgård as Luthen Rael mirrors what Cassian is slowly becoming, slipping further toward darkness. Adria Arjona as Bix Caleen gives a strong performance as a woman tormented and fighting for control in the vast galaxy.

The show itself is beautiful. The set design transports you to a galaxy far, far away, melding the original designs with modern technology. The details in each setting throughout the first three episodes tell their own story. The bleak soulless Imperial housing and bases clash with the luxurious culture of Chandrila, which in turn juxtaposes with the wheat-speckled fields of Mina Rau. Each setting tells a starkly different reality and deepens the “Star Wars” universe.

Every great work has its blemishes, and “Andor” does fall short in some areas. As “Star Wars” tends to do, real-world politics are in play, and it works for the story, but the second a character said “visas,” instead of identification card, it instantly pulls viewers out of the galaxy far, far way. “Star Wars” has always been inspired by real-world politics, but always stylizes it to fit the universe, to be otherworldly, but not recently.

While getting to see a more livedin world is not necessarily an issue, “Star Wars” is supposed to be worlds away. It takes the viewer out of the action when characters use earthly terms and concepts. It also feels odd to see “Star Wars” characters live out an awkward dinner with mom and play a version of rock paper scissors.

The first half of season two is streaming, but there are still six episodes to go. The final season of “Andor” is off to a good, if a little slow, start. Overall the show is the best of “Star Wars” since “Ashoka” wrapped up its first season and worth a binge watch over the May 4 “holiday.”

news.ed@ocolly.com

Courtesy Creative Commons

The first six episodes of “Andor” season 2 are now streaming on Disney +.

Bryson Thadhani

Jim Hess was named President of Oklahoma State University on April 25.

NEWS/LIFEstyle

OKC hosts 25th annual ‘Memorial Marathon’

ANNIE ROSS STAFF REPORTER

The 25th annual Memorial Marathon took place on last Sunday with pre-race events beginning last Friday.

The weekend event consisted of a variety of festivities to honor those who lost their lives in the Oklahoma City bombing April 19, 1995. Bad weather pushed the races on Saturday back, but that didn’t stop Jeff Abbott, a Dallas resident, from making the trip to Oklahoma City, to complete the 26.2-mile race.

“I’m originally from Tulsa, but right now we live in Dallas,” Abbott said. “This is my first time here and first full marathon I’ve ever ran.”

The OKC Memorial Marathon is both the largest race and the largest fundraising event in Oklahoma, according to the OKC Marathon website. Abbott considers the event a staple of the community.

“It’s been going on for so long I feel like It’s just become an integral part of the community,” Abbott said. “I grew up in Tulsa, and it impacted us almost as much as it did here… So I think it’s really great that we continue to do this annually.”

Many other native Oklahomans participated in the events that raised money for the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum. Shelby Pruitt, a resident of Oklahoma City, participated in the race for a second time this year. This time he completed the half-marathon, which is 13.1 miles.

“I’ve lived in Oklahoma my whole life, and I ran the OKC half-marathon in 2015 and wanted to get better,” Pruitt said. “I’ve done several 5Ks around the city and a 5K for the memorial.”

Reagan Collins, another resident of Oklahoma City, competed in the race for the second time this year. However it was her first time taking on the half-marathon solo.

“This is my second time running, but this is the first time I’m kind of doing it by myself,” Reagan said. “I was pretty excited to get the time I did.”

Reagan was under-prepared for the event but had some strong moments of dedication in preparing, she said.

“I probably should have trained a little bit better personally,” Reagan said. “I started earlier this year and kind of had some waves of preparing a little bit better.”

Runners weren’t the only people present at the memorial. Many members of the Oklahoma City Fire Department were there to remember those lost. The very first fire truck to arrive on scene 30 years ago was displayed near the finish line celebration.

Oklahoma City Fire Major Mike Nikkel was operating a display of a bell that was on multiple ladder trucks before being retired after its last run during the bombing. The bell has been on display at every marathon.

“It actually started out on this ladder truck right here in ‘73, and then as that truck got replaced it went on a different one,” Nikkel said. “It was finally retired after Ladder 55, which is the one that went to the bombing.”

The bell is brought to this event each year to give those with a personal record a chance to ring the bell in remembrance. Many people stopped by to honor those who passed away.

“Anybody who has a personal record can come over and ring the bell,” Nikkel said. “I’ve probably had at least 150 today.”

The website for the marathon has already been updated to 2026 as preparations for the next marathon begin. A countdown to next year’s event is up on the website’s homepage.

Turquoise talk: Why buying authentic jewelry is important

helping other businesses. Cantrell purchases her pieces exclusively through Native artists, who often make jewelry as their full-time job and sell their pieces on a smaller scale, she said.

Turquoise jewelry is the Oklahoma State student’s diamond.

Some of it genuine, some of it faux.

That’s true of turquoise everywhere — but some argue buying the real deal is the only way to go. Last month, social media posts detailing the truth behind where larger turquoise companies sourced their stones sparked conversations about where turquoise enthusiasts should buy their pieces.

Avery Cantrell, OSU alumna and owner of Desert Sky Jewelry Co., was always interested in where her jewelry came from, though. Growing up in the livestock industry, she was surrounded by peers decked out in turquoise and Navajo pearls.

She didn’t know too much about turquoise when she first wore it, but she began researching different kinds of stones and where they were mined, as well as artists.

“So the more I learned about it, the more I just kind of wanted to help other people find their pieces that they’ve been looking for, and also help the artists,” Cantrell said.

She match-made people and turquoise for all kinds of occasions — weddings, anniversaries or just because. Her pieces have found forever homes with wives, mothers, girlfriends and bridesmaids.

“I know that probably sounds really cheesy, but it’s something that I think is really fun,” Cantrell said. “I just enjoy helping people find something that they love as much as I do.”

Cantrell started her business in 2023 while she was an agricultural communications major at OSU, something she admits was a little ambitious. She said she probably didn’t give it the time it deserved then, but she does now. It’s a side hustle to her full-time job at an electric cooperative in Cleveland, and she also has a photography business.

Part of her own business involves

Cantrell said the jewelry shoppers see in most local boutiques is different from genuine pieces. The faux turquoise will break or tarnish easily, while genuine pieces are high-quality and can last multiple lifetimes.

“I know that everybody has a preference, and some people might just want to buy because it’s trendy, and they don’t care about what it’s going to be like in 50 years, or passing it down to their daughters and their granddaughters someday,” Cantrell said. “But that’s something that I personally really do care about.”

The Buckin’ Flamingo sells turquoise on a larger scale. A steady stream of customers visits the storefront in Pawhuska, Oklahoma, on weekends and over the summer. Customers are often dazzled by the cases and walls full of intentionally sourced pieces.

Teresa Cheves, who works at the store and whose family owns it, said the owners go directly to makers. Most of the jewelry is Navajo handmade, but she said all of it is sterling silver and incorporates authentic stones from states such as Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado.

Cheves said if a person buys a piece and something happens to it, they can help repair it or exchange it, too.

Cheves owns about 10 pieces, most of them Golden Hills turquoise. She started collecting pink conch pieces recently, starting with a ring.

“I’ve got a few fake pieces, but if you spend just a few dollars more, you get the authentic thing, and it lasts, and it’s handing down generation, generation, you know, vintage pieces, they go up in value, where the plastic is just plastic,” Cheves said.

news.ed@ocolly.com

Courtesy Avery Cantrell

Authentic turquoise jewelry can become a relic to be passed down generationally.

Annie Ross

To honor first responders, the first fire truck to respond to the bombing was displayed at the finish line.

BELLA CASEY STAFF REPORTER

Shrum

‘I assume we can’t’

A line in an email Stephanie Rossander sent to Pollard on Oct. 13, 2023, is a good starting point.

“I assume we can’t transfer funds between the entities if we determine there is another need in another area but wasn’t sure,” wrote Rossander, director of business operations, who was a fiscal manager for the IF. Rossander’s words begin to tell the story of the confusion and doubt some had about transactions and transfers of money.

In a list of action items from a Sept. 13 meeting that discussed the Fiscal Year 2024 Audited Financial Statements, Eric Polak, OSU’s vice president of administration and finance, discussed legal matters and financial reporting issues with IF leadership and the president’s office, with the “need to establish a new fresh structure with crisp delineation of OSU and IF activity.”

The Office of Internal Audit reviewed the FY2023 discrepancy between Cowboy Technology’s contribution from OSURF, among other things.

On Oct. 3, Loughridge organized a required meeting for Polak, Pollard and Brandee Hancock, deputy general Counsel for the OSU/A&M Board of Regents and Shrum’s appointed chief legal officer, to attend. Just eight days later, Pollard attached the list of action items from the September meeting in an email to Loughridge “for discussion.”

Avoiding the auditor

On Nov. 18 and 19, a string of emails between Wingo (from the president’s office) and Loughridge show them discussing delaying a meeting with OSU A&M Chief Audit Executive Michelle Finley.

It begins Nov. 18 at 8:03 p.m., when Loughridge emails Wingo asking if she can schedule a meeting for Wednesday with the text of the email asking for a 45-minute time with Shrum, Stephens, Mendez and “m” — presumably, “me” Wingo’s response: “Is this your way of getting out of another MF (Michelle Finley) meeting… I’ll work on it in the morning.”

Loughridge: “Guilty… as… charged! I’ll share the actual topic verbally in the morning.”

Wingo: “I look forward to hearing

about it!”

Loughridge: “And if you can manage to bump MF until after Thanksgiving, I’ll buy you a new car.”

Wingo: “You seriously doubt my abilities. Consider her meetings moved to next year!”

Loughridge: “Oh, I learned long ago not to doubt your abilities…”

Wingo: “I’m pretty sure I can make MF think it was her idea as well. I love a challenge.”

Loughridge: “Don’t play with your food…”

Wingo’s email back to Loughridge the following morning included “sorry you’re stuck with MF,” while finding a time to meet.

On Jan. 13, Finley sent Shrum and Loughridge (and copied Mary Smith, the office manager of the office of internal audit and Wingo) an email that included OSU’s external audit reports ahead of a Jan. 30 OSU A&M Audit, Risk Management and Compliance Review Committee (ARMCR) Meeting.

Smith sent Wingo an email Jan. 13 at 3:20 p.m. It took until Jan. 21 at 1:16 — and 14 emails back and forth — to finalize a meeting.

During that span, Pollard, Polak and Innovation Foundation director of fiscal operations Adam Niehenke met via Zoom on Jan. 14 to discuss the IF and “Cowboy Budget & Gap.”

On the meeting’s budget was a section for Niehenke to discuss the budget reallocation of funds.

“OSUMA funds internal audit/legal is having problems in chart 9,” the agenda read. “Is this an issue from your point of view?”

Shrum’s final weeks

On Jan. 17, Pollard sent an email to Jennifer Callahan, a McAfee & Taft attorney based in Oklahoma City and an OSU regent who chairs the board’s Governance Review Task Force, including the FY24 Letter of Agreement. Callahan, after three-and-a-half days, shared that she found problems.

“I’ve had an opportunity to review and have concerns that I would like to discuss/see addressed,” Callahan wrote Jan. 20.

Callahan observed that there were transfers not accounted for in the attached agreement when compared to “materials” from an Aug. 27 IF Board of Directors meeting. Those “materials” reflected funding provided by OSU for presumably one year, which Callahan wrote was “much different” than the

amounts reflected on the schedules attached to the Service Agreement.

On Jan. 21, Niehenke responded to the email and addressed Callahan’s concerns, but that wasn’t enough for Callahan, who asked Polak to get confirmation from Finley that the proposed FY24 agreement was aligned with the university’s fiscal findings. She also wanted a flow diagram of funds to and from OSU and IF, along with any subsidiary entities, which Polak asked Niehenke and Associate Vice President for Administration & Finance Tammy Eck to handle.

After Finley received and reviewed images from the IF regarding its balances and entries, she wrote in a Jan. 28 email that her office had “several observations and a couple of questions,” ranging from asking if expenditures were reviewed “to ensure they were directly related to the restricted purposes of OAIRE” before writing toward the end of the email “to be responsive to the external audit recommendation and honor the restrictions of the Cooperative Agreement, these funds need to be accounted for in distinct separate restricted funds that are not co-mingled with other funds.”

That same day, OSU/A&M Board Assistant General Counsel Erika Artinger emailed Polak, Finley, Eck, Pollard and Niehenke, writing that Polak’s description of the FY agreement wasn’t consistent with her team’s analysis.

“As we have explained in the past, the FY25 Cooperative Agreement’s reference to Institutes ‘at Innovation Foundation’ does not mean the funds can be transferred from OSUMA to IF,” Artinger wrote. “The FY25 Agreement clearly says ‘OSUMA shall transfer the following amounts to OSU.’ If OSU wishes to transfer those funds (or any funds) to the Innovation Foundation in the future, there must be a written agreement approved by the Board of Regents for documented adequate payment or reimbursement in compliance with state law.”

The following day, she wrote in an email to Polak, Eck and Pollard with several others copied, a reminder of something her office had “advised previously” in bold and underlined lettering: “OSU funds cannot be recorded in IF’s general ledger in Chart 9 without a services agreement approved in advance by the Board of Regents with adequate payment or reimbursement to OSU pursuant to state law.”

On Jan. 30 — 18 days after Smith

emailed Wingo trying to coordinate a meeting — the ARMCM Committee met. Present from OSU were: Polak, Eck and Director of Institutional Research & Analysis Christine Hawkins. Unlike other universities present, OSU’s top leadership — including Shrum — did not attend.

On Jan. 31 at 10 a.m., the BOR held a regular meeting. In that meeting, Callahan motioned to discontinue any transfers of funds from OSU to the IF, absent a written contract approved by the BOR; discontinue the expenditure or transfer of any and all legislatively appropriated funds transferred from OSUMA to OSU; institute a hiring freeze for employees who would provide services to the IF, unless approved by the BOR; and retain a financial consultant to review OSU and its entities’ systems to ensure compliance with the expenditure of legislatively appropriated funds. The motion was carried.

At 4:40 p.m., Finley sent Shrum an email with the externally audited statements again, writing that she was “asked to.”

The BOR accepted Shrum’s resignation, effective Feb. 3. That announcement from the university came Feb. 5.

“We extend our deepest gratitude to Dr. Shrum for her dedicated leadership, unwavering commitment to students, and significant contributions to the OSU System,” the BOR’s statement read. Since her resignation, Shrum has publicly defended her tenure, citing no money being taken, the transfer of funds being approved by the BOR and no laws being broken. She called any suggestion that she did any wrongdoing “simply not accurate.”

OSU named Jim Hess interim president Feb. 7. He later told The O’Colly he had not spoken to Shrum since assuming the role. Hess was named the university’s 20th president last Friday.

Although Hess has replaced Shrum at the top, her time with OSU might not be done.

“Following this academic year, I will return to the tenured faculty at the OSU Center for Health Sciences per my contract, effective July 1, 2025,” Shrum wrote in her resignation letter, obtained by The Oklahoman. “It has been an honor and a privilege to serve as the President of Oklahoma State University. I believe during my tenure I have set the university on a course to a bright future.”

Payton Little

Since her resignation, former OSU President Dr. Kayse Shrum has publicaly defended her tenure, saying any suggestion that she did any wrongdoing is “simply not true.”

Gajewski doesn’t think Boone Pickens Stadium could hold OSU softball game in future

ASHTON SLAUGHTER

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

@ASHTON_SLOT

Oklahoma State and Oklahoma

softball’s Bedlam matchup April 9 at Devon Park set a regular-season attendance record. Nine thousand two hundred and fifty-nine fans came.

The record stood for 10 days. In theory, breaking that record at a stadium outside of Oklahoma City — the softball capital of the world — would be difficult. But California and Stanford’s April 19 game, which ended in a 10-8 Bears win, wasn’t in a normal softball

stadium.

It was at Stanford Stadium, where the Cardinal football team plays. Although the stadium holds 50,424, a crowd of 13,207 softball fans was present for the recordsetting game. Not only did it break the regular-season record but also the overall attendance record, which was set at the Women’s College World Series on May 30, 2024, for Session 2 — Texas 4, Stanford 0; Florida 1, OSU 0.

After the Sooners’ series finale against Texas last weekend, OU coach Patty Gasso and UT coach Mike White spoke about the idea of the Red River Rivalry playing out in the Cotton Bowl, where the universities’ football teams play.

See GAJEWSKI on page 2B

How a stat keeper helped save Ventura’s 58-game hitting streak

DANIEL ALLEN STAFF REPORTER

@DANIELALLEN1738

On a 1987 Saturday afternoon in Lawrence, Kansas, Gary Ward grabbed a pencil in the visitor’s dugout at Hoglund Ballpark.

In the fifth inning of his Oklahoma State baseball team’s first game of a doubleheader against Kansas, the Cowboys’ coach began toying with his lineup card. One by one, the starters had thick lead lines drawn through their names as bench players were etched in their place. AllAmerican hitter Robin Ventura, who was 0 for 3 to that point, was among the names crossed out.

Ward, the Cowboys’ 10thyear coach, often did this when his team built a sub -

stantial lead — as it had that afternoon during an eventual 12-1 win against the Jayhawks — opting to rest star players in favor of younger and developing ones once games got out of reach.

“It felt like a normal day to me,” Ward said in a phone interview with The O’Colly. “There wasn’t any indication that something substantial was at stake or anything like that.”

Little did he know history was in fact on the line.

The spectacle of Ventura’s 58-game hitting streak, a standing college baseball record, has evolved into one of the most renowned accomplishments in the sport’s history.

Some call it an anomaly.

Surely luck has to be involved to some extent, right?

“Wrong,” Ward said. “That was done out of pure talent.”

Ward coached a plethora of college and professional stars — Pete Incaviglia, Doug Dascenzo and Mickey Tettleton to list a handful— and few, Ward said, were of Ventura’s caliber.

But don’t credit Ward’s coaching prowess for salvaging Ventura’s hitting streak.

On that afternoon in Lawrence, where Ventura’s streak sat at 29 games, Cowboys stat keeper Jack Carnifex emerged as an unsung hero in one of college baseball’s most historic feats. And oddly enough…

“I don’t even remember doing it that well,” Carnifex, now the operations manager at the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in Stillwater, told The O’Colly. “I remember bits and pieces of it. But you would think with something like that, I’d remember it quite well. And I don’t.”

See VENTURA on page 2B

Cowboy hoops should hire former star player as program’s

assistant GM

PARKER GERL SPORTS EDITOR @PARKER_GERL

Column

Oklahoma State athletics consistently shows itself to be looking for creative ways to capitalize in the name, image, and likeness era.

Last month OSU hosted “The Boys From Oklahoma,” a four-day Red Dirt music festival at Boone Pickens Stadium, with proceeds benefiting its NIL fund. And during the 2024 football season, the Cowboys were prepared to place QR codes on the back of their helmets, allowing fans to scan them and access a link to donate NIL money. The NCAA blocked OSU from doing so, but it was a good, firstof-its-kind idea.

Now, though, OSU has another opportunity.

It should follow the latest trend in college hoops of hiring a former player in an “assistant general manager” role. The Cowboys have several alumni who could help their recruiting and NIL efforts and could continue to help Steve

Lutz bring back a strong basketball identity to Stillwater.

Stephen Curry is currently an assistant GM for his alma mater, Davidson. Oklahoma brought in Trae Young for the same position, and he donated $1 million to the Sooners’ program. On Monday, it was reported that Shaquille O’Neal will be the GM at Sacramento State, where his son, Shaqir, plays. Mikey Williams, a former UCF guard who was a high school star, committed to O’Neal and Sac State on Tuesday.

If the Cowboys are interested, they should look to do the same with a Cade Cunningham, Marcus Smart or Tony Allen. Bringing in a big-time name to help be a recruiter, fundraiser and negotiator, among other things, in this wild new landscape of college sports would only be beneficial, especially for a program that isn’t swimming in blue-blood resources.

In a statement to The O’Colly, athletic director Chad Weiberg said OSU is continuing to discuss the best ways to be creative in the NIL era.

Chance

Marick

Softball coach Kenny Gajewski doesn’t think OSU could play in a football stadium despite other schools doing so.

Courtesy OSU Athletics

Robin Ventura’s hitting streak nearly came to an end against Kansas before a stat keeper told coach Gary Ward to keep Ventura in.

See HIRING on page 6B

Ventura

Continued from 1

As Ward neared the end of his lineup changes in between the top and bottom half of the fifth inning, he heard Carnifex’s voice call out from atop the dugout: “Coach, you know that Ventura has a hitting streak, right?”

“I didn’t pay much attention to numbers back then,” Ward said. “I don’t know people’s batting averages. I coach every day. My job was to manage a game.”

That, however, wasn’t Ward’s precise reply. Instead, he responded bluntly: “Jack, what the hell are you doing here? I’m in the middle of managing a game.”

Carnifex pointed to his wad of papers in his hand. “Hitting streak.” Ward confirmed to his assistants he wouldn’t take Ventura out of the lineup, then wrote Ventura’s name back in and hoped for the best.

“Coach Ward took a leap of faith keeping Robin’s name in the lineup that day,” Carnifex said. “He didn’t have to do it. But for the sake of everything, he did, and it paid off.” Shortly after, Ventura prolonged the streak.

On his final at-bat of the game, Ventura hit a jam-shot flare single to right-center field. The visitor’s dugout erupted as Ventura’s teammates chanted “Thirty, thirty, thirty!” Reality slowly seeped into Ward’s mind as he began to realize the magnitude of the situation. Ward found Carnifex once the second game of the doubleheader

had concluded and expressed his gratitude.

“Thank God you did that, Jack,” Ward told him. “Thank God you did that.”

“It was an odd but fairly unique deal,” Ward said. “I was taken aback by the fact that Robin even had a hitting streak in the first place.

“From that point on, obviously, we all became very aware of it. If it hadn’t been for Jack, I don’t know if that would have been the case.”

The rest is history. Ventura recorded his 58-game streak and cemented his name into the college baseball and eventually MLB record books.

But his notorious hitting streak almost never was.

“I’m very happy that Robin handled the hitting streak in the very best way that he could,” Ward said. “Robin was so cool and levelheaded in everything that he did. He had his own voice. He made his own choices. He was mature beyond his years. And it obviously brought (OSU) and Robin alone great publicity, which was by no means a bad thing.

“At the end of the day, people will see the hitting streak in the record books. But I’m very glad Jack Carnifex was there with us that day. He saved the day.”

Even if Carnifex barely recalls any of it.

“I guess I did,” Carnifex said with a laugh. “It’s pretty cool to be able to say that.

sports.ed@ocolly.com

• 58-game hitting streak

• .428 career batting average

• 68 career home runs

• Three-time First Team AllAmerican

Gajewski

from 1

“I love it,” Gasso said of the idea.

“It’s a possibility,” White said. “Obviously, the growth of the game is big right now, and we want to showcase it.”

With the growth of softball White mentioned, the thought of splitting 92,100 softball fans half and half at the stadium that’s become synonymous with the two schools’ hatred for each other would be a sight.

Softball isn’t the first women’s collegiate sport to make it to a stadium.

Powerhouse volleyball program Nebraska hosted Omaha at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska, for a world record for women’s sporting event attendance, 92,003, on Aug. 30, 2023. Iowa women’s basketball, led by phenom Caitlin Clark, had the sport’s first football stadium game Oct. 15, 2023, in an exhibition against DePaul at Kinnick Stadium in front of 55,646 fans.

So, after OSU softball’s 6-1 victory over North Texas on Wednesday, The O’Colly asked coach Kenny Gajewski the question: What about a game at Boone Pickens Stadium?

“I don’t think we could do it there,” Gajewski said. “The field is not set up — it’s got a crown; it’s all turf; I don’t wanna play on all turf. I don’t mind playing on this turf here, but I wouldn’t wanna do that. … Would it be awesome to do something like that? Yeah, but I don’t think our stadium here would be a good setup.”

A bummer, sure. But Gajewski didn’t close off the idea of playing OU at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.

“I think if they wanted to try it, I would do it,” he said. “It would be kinda cool to be a part of that. If they would want it there, yeah, if they wanna do something like that. It’s a big deal, though; it’s a major money thing. I think OU’s one of those schools that could fill that. Very few of those schools (could).”

The biggest undertaking in Gajewski’s mind is the field maintenance. He said if a university was looking to tear out its football field and redo it, then great. But OSU had a new artificial turf installed in summer 2022, so that doesn’t make too much sense.

Stanford is in a unique situation. The softball program has played its home games at Cardinal Stadium because it has a $50 million stadium set to be completed in December.

Because of that, the field is unique, too.

Down the right-field line, the fence is 192 feet, two feet more than the NCAA’s required distance. The shallower distance is paying off for Stanford, which has hit 86 home runs in 46 games, good enough for seventh best in the country as of Thursday.

Although OSU football isn’t looking to replace its turf, OSU softball — eventually — is set to get a new stadium,

which was one of the many items in OSU athletics’ $325 million vision plan unveiled Feb. 27, 2023. The Cowgirls are still looking for a donor to attach their name to the project. Since a new stadium is on the horizon, OSU could be without a stadium for a substantial amount of time due to construction, which, as laid out in the plan, would span from where Cowgirl Stadium is to where Allie P. Reynolds Stadium — baseball’s old stomping grounds — is now. With the new turf in BPS, the Cowgirls might not play there, but much like Stanford, some plan for softball would need to be in place.

Although the Cowgirls haven’t brought in a crowd of more than 9,259, Gajewski isn’t too worried about setting attendance records. He knows the caliber of crowds his team helps bring to Devon Park. “But we’re doing that at OKC, where we can get nine or 10,000 fans,” Gajewski said.

sports.ed@ocolly.com

Chance Marick

Kenny Gajewski said Boone Pickens Stadium has issues that prevent it from hosting softball.

Courtesy OSU Athletics

Robin Ventura kept his 29-game hitting streak alive in his last at-bat against Kansas in 1987.

SPORTS

Should OSU baseball focus on development or short-term?

win over Dallas Baptist. Third base has been a place of struggle for OSU at times this season. Jayson Jones has shown flashes of the top-40 recruit that he was a few seasons ago, but he’s been inconsistent. The player that Thompson was against DBU could become a consistent contributor for the Cowboys.

How a gifted gold chain has helped Youngerman through his college career

DANIEL ALLEN STAFF REPORTER

Every time Sean Youngerman takes the mound, he can be seen rubbing his neck.

Not for the sake of superstition. Not merely from force of habit. But rather as an homage to a loved one, commemorated by one of the Oklahoma State pitcher’s most prized possessions.

A gold chain.

Dangling from the chain he rubs is a No. 64 pendant adorned with bijou diamonds scattered across, with the diamond from his mother Eileen Youngerman’s wedding ring ingrained at its central point.

The digits signify Eileen’s birth year. The gem of her ring denotes her constant presence in her son’s life.

“You could say I do it for good luck,” Youngerman said. “It’s just something I try to keep with me at all times. So, I guess I kind of do consider it a good luck charm.”

Youngerman began the year as Oklahoma State’s closer before being inserted into the starting pitching rotation near the season’s midway point. So far, he’s provided immense stability to a fluctuating trio of arms.

Youngerman said he had “full intention” to return to Westmont in 2025. But a coaching change within the program resulted in him exploring his options.

Shortly after, OSU came calling and offered him, and the rest is history.

The thought of being halfway across the country from Eileen, Youngerman said, worried him. But the support he swiftly gathered in Stillwater helped ease him of his anxieties, he said.

“I think as a team and a group, we’re all very close,” pitcher Harrison Bodendorf said. “...We’re always hanging out, watching TV or just sitting on the couch and hanging out. And I think just for him, especially with it being his first time being away from home, he needs something like that.”

Which has allowed him to be efficient on the mound.

Youngerman has been a bright spot for the Cowboys in a disappointing year. His teammates have praised his efforts.

Last weekend, Oklahoma State baseball had a prime opportunity.

With their postseason hopes fading, the Cowboys hit the road to take on a beatable Cincinnati team that came in losing five of its past six games. It wouldn’t be a signature win by any stretch, but it would’ve been a road series win in Big 12 Conference play. Instead of capitalizing, OSU fumbled the opportunity, losing two of three games and dropping a series that was crucial to its chances of reaching the regional round.

That result begs the question: When is the best time to shift out of the present and focus on the future? Could it be now?

As of today, OSU sits at No. 61 in the RPI rankings. Of the 64 teams that make the NCAA Tournament, 33 are at-large and 31 are automatic bids given to conference champions.

With some of the losses on its resume, OSU is likely eliminated from securing an at-large bid. It has a tough road to securing one of the 12 spots that earn admittance to the Big 12 Tournament, which it would then have to win just to get into the NCAA Tournament.

If the Cowboys believe internally that their best path forward is to push for the conference tournament and play their best win-now players, then they should, by all means. But if they have even a sliver of doubt, they should consider inserting some of their underclassman into the lineup and prioritizing next season.

Some freshmen have already made their way into the lineup.

Third baseman Brock Thompson hit his third career home run in OSU’s

“He has a chance to be really good, he’s just, sometimes, unsure of himself,” OSU coach Josh Holliday said. “He was more sure of himself on that at-bat. He looked more certain.”

Thompson was just one of the underclassmen who made his mark against DBU. Sophomore Drew Culbertson had an RBI. Sophomore pitcher Hunter Watkins got the win. Alex Conover recorded a hit.

Culbertson has been up and down during his season and a half in Stillwater, but Holliday has remained bullish on his upside. From April 11-20, Culbertson recorded a hit in four of six games. Culbertson’s potential is promising for a team that has been inconsistent in getting on base.

“He’s working hard for it, and that’s all you can ever ask for your players is to keep working at it, even if some of the early returns on certain parts of the game aren’t coming back to you as quick as you’d like,” Holliday said.

“You just gotta keep working on the fundamentals.

“... For guys like (Culbertson), his bunt game can be valuable. Line-drive, hitting the ball hard on the ground, getting out of the air. So, yeah, that’s a really good thing to see.”

Young players are already contributing up and down the lineup, so should OSU lean in?

Freshman Garrett Shull has been impressive when he’s been on the field, and multiple sophomores have emerged as future standouts.

Time will tell if OSU changes its focus to development as much as winning games in the moment. Maybe it shouldn’t, even if it can. But something isn’t working this season, and changing some things is worth thinking about.

Through 16 appearances and three starts, Youngerman boasts a 2.02 ERA, with 42 strikeouts through 28 ⅔ innings pitched. Most recently, he tossed a scoreless seven innings with seven strikeouts in the Cowboys’ 8-1 series finale win at Cincinnati on Sunday.

The road from underrecruited pitcher to Power Four starter wasn’t easy for Youngerman. The lingering conern of whether a program would come calling. The stress of worrying whether he’d ever get his coveted shot at college baseball stardom.

Eventually, Westmont College — a small Division II school located in Santa Barbara, California, a little more than an hour’s drive from Youngerman’s hometown Valencia — offered him. Youngerman didn’t hesitate to commit and sign his national letter of intent.

But things became more difficult when Eileen was diagnosed with stage four cancer two months prior to the start of his sophomore season.

Eileen is still alive, still a presence in Youngerman’s life. But at the time, she was given a six-month prognosis.

“Obviously that was hard on us all,” Youngerman said. “I can’t remember a worse feeling in my life.”

So Youngerman vowed one thing in his mother’s honor.

“Freakin’ grind,” he said. “No excuses.”

Then came the necklace.

Eileen gifted it to him during his sophomore season, weeks prior to his first start at Westmont. The Youngermans worked with a jeweler close to the family, sorting out its shape and architecture.

Soon after, Youngerman attained his prized possession, and he hasn’t taken it off since.

After his sophomore season ended,

“He’s definitely provided a lot of stability for us from a pitching standpoint,” Bodendorf said. “It’s also for me just like the aspect of when Sean came in a game to close for us, the whole team was kind of like, ‘OK, this game is over.’ Now, as a starter, we all feel the exact same way.

“That’s just who Sean is. He’s gonna attack. We know he’s gonna go beat the hitters and just give him all he’s got. He’s that guy.”

His four-seam fastball sticks out. His moxie and stone-cold demeanor on the mound can energize those sharing the same uniform.

Youngerman’s flare and tenacity after a clutch strikeout display the fierce competitor his teammates and Holliday boast about. His love for the game, tenacious work ethic and competitive nature makes him a daunting foe for batters.

But above all else, Youngerman said he credits his “good luck token” largely for his productive first season at OSU.

Eileen is “doing better,” Youngerman said. She’s not able to attend games as often as when Sean was pitching at Westmont, but she watches the Cowboys on television any time they compete. And after every game, or when he’s not practicing, the two talk for hours on the phone.

“I like to think things happen for a reason,” Youngerman said. “But just having my family, friends and teammates with me this whole time has helped me through everything. Basically when I step onto the field, it’s like everything else goes away for me. So, it’s just a good opportunity for me to be able to be out there and focus on baseball. And my mom, she’s with me the whole time — in-person or in my heart.

“It all helps me realize I’m competing for something more than just myself. I’m playing for something bigger than myself. And for me, that’s what’s most important.”

sports.ed@ocolly.com

GOD’S VIEW OF US!

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. (I Peter 2:9-10 NIV)

It is good to stop and see who and where we are. This is what the apostle says of all believers. Those who have turned to Christ and received him as their Lord and saviour. By God’s grace, we have received a new relationship with God. It is quite a step up from where we were before. We have received mercy and are God’s people. We belong to him! However, there is a purpose in all of this.

We are to realize all that God has done for us and praise him who has called us out of spiritual darkness into his wonderful light. He has not only forgiven our many sins, never to be remembered any more, but has brought into a new relationship. We are children of God! We are to live with him forever in his Heaven. The wonderful truth is that all can come to Christ and receive this wonderful relationship with the God of love!. No matter about your past. All are welcome to come. Christ died for all that they might receive this great and eternal blessing.. Wow!

As Christians we can and should share this message with all. I remember first sharing this with two fellow air force men As I begin to share, there was a great joy.that filled my being. No wonder it is called the “Gospel”. It is the “Good News” that is for you and all people.

Payton Little

Josh Holliday’s Cowboys are 19-21 and have only won one Big 12 Conference series.

ChatGPT predicts former OSU players’ NFL careers

ASHTON SLAUGHTER EDITOR-IN-CHIEF @ASHTON_SLOT

Anyone can predict how a player’s career will pan out. But instead of asking someone, The O’Colly asked something

We asked ChatGPT to predict how the careers of the four former Oklahoma State football players selected in the 2025 NFL Draft last week — Ollie Gordon II, Nick Martin, Collin Oliver and Korie Black — will play out.

Here’s how artificial intelligence thinks the former Cowboys will fare in the league:

Ollie Gordon II, RB, Miami Dolphins Miami selected Gordon with the 179th pick, and the value they’ll get from him, according to ChatGPT’s predictions, is well worth the sixthround pick.

In his rookie season, Gordon will have about 400 yards and four touchdowns, according to ChatGPT, sitting behind Jaylen Wright and De’Von Achane, and will show flashes later in the season. Those flashes will set him up for a second season in which he gets more looks in the red zone and has 700-ish total yards and six touchdowns.

Then in 2027 and 2028, he shines. He’s the lead back in 2027 with 1,050 yards and 10 touchdowns and a fulltime starter in 2028 with 1,200 yards and 12+ scores.

But injuries creep in, even for the well-built Gordon in 2029, when ChatGPT projects he finishes with about 850 total yards and six touchdowns after missing a couple of games. After a role reduction in 2030, he enters a journeyman phase in 2031 and beyond. ChatGPT’s career comparison was James Conner and/ or Damien Harris — “powerful, productive in his prime, but not a superstar.”

Nick Martin, LB, San Francisco 49ers

Martin went to the City by the Bay in the third round, and his career projects well, too. The 75th pick’s rookie season will

Breaking down OSU draftees’ potential NFL roles; where they stand

PARKER GERL SPORTS EDITOR @PARKER_GERL

Four former Oklahoma State football players were selected in the 2025 NFL Draft last week. Three Cowboys are also getting a shot as undrafted free agents.

Although earning prominent roles as a rookie is tough, the former Cowboys have paths to becoming contributors during their NFL careers. Here’s where former Cowboys are headed.

Nick Martin, linebacker

The San Francisco 49ers drafted Martin with the 75th overall pick, making Martin the first Cowboy selected in this year’s draft. He has all the talent to become a big-time contributor in the pros.

In a press conference after Day 2 of the draft, Niners GM John Lynch said Martin “fits our style of physicality” and “swarms to the football.” Those two traits led Martin to be a star at OSU and are what could allow him to have a quick impact on San Francisco’s defense — which is all about attacking under new defensive coordinator Robert Saleh.

Martin, who put up a 140-tackle season at OSU in 2023, will play with star linebacker Fred Warner and could be key to the Niners replacing production from Dre Greenlaw, who signed with the Broncos in free agency.

Collin Oliver, linebacker/edge

shifted to linebacker, Oliver recorded a career-best 73 tackles with six sacks.

Ollie Gordon II, running back Gordon is taking his talents to South Beach.

The Miami Dolphins drafted Gordon in the sixth round to add to their already-talented running back room. Gordon won the Doak Walker Award — given to the nation’s best tailback — and led the country with 1,723 rushing yards in 2023. In 2024, he played through injuries and still managed to run for 880 yards.

Now, he’s joining De’Von Achane and Jaylen Wright in the backfield but could still find a good rookie workload. Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel is known for using several running backs, and with Gordon’s size and battering-ram running style, he could be used in the red zone and short-yardage situations.

Achane and Wright’s games are predicated on speed. Gordon, a much bigger back, fills Miami’s physical void. McDaniel won’t be shy in giving Gordon carries if he sparks a change of pace.

have 35 tackles, one sack and some memorable special teams moments, according to ChatGPT. In 2026, his role on defense increases, and he finishes with 70 total tackles and two sacks.

He becomes a starter in 2027, finishing in the triple digits in tackles and a defensive leader the following year, which gets him into Pro Bowl consideration.

Martin projects to play in 2030 and beyond, with his “professionalism and work ethic” ultimately leading to his longevity, according to ChatGPT.

Collin Oliver, LB/EDGE, Green Bay Packers

Oliver, who went to the Packers with the 159th pick in the fifth round, was the first of OSU’s Day 3 draftees.

Oliver projects to have approximately 20 total tackles and three sacks coming off his foot injury to end his Cowboy career, and contributes on special teams and at times as a pass rusher, according to ChatGPT.

In 2026, he becomes a rotational edge rusher with increased snaps, finishing with around 35 tackles and five sacks. In 2027, he becomes a starter, finishing with 50 tackles, seven sacks and two forced fumbles. He peaks in 2028 with around 60 tackles, nine sacks and three forced fumbles.

Once 2030 hits, ChatGPT predicts that “whether continuing with the Packers or contributing to another team, his foundational skills and experience,” can lead to more seasons, even in a lesser role.

Korie Black, CB, New York Giants

To finish this off, the 246th pick, Black.

The seventh-rounder starts off on special teams as a rookie and begins to crack the cornerback rotation in his second season, ChatGPT predicts. In 2027, he begins competing for a starting role and becomes a key special-teams player for the Giants.

In 2028, he’s an established starter, and in 2029, he enters a veteran role for the rest of his career.

ChatGPT thinks four to six years sounds right for Black, unless he finds a specific niche.

Oliver became the second OSU player drafted when the Green Bay Packers used the 159th pick to select the former Cowboy defender who spent time as a linebacker and an edge rusher.

As an NFL prospect, Oliver is an interesting player. His size and length aren’t great for a full-time edge rusher, but he’s a gifted athlete with good fluidity. It’ll be up to Green Bay to figure out where the versatile Oliver fits best.

During his four-year OSU career, Oliver spent the first two primarily as an edge rusher. He totaled 11.5 sacks as a freshman before making five more in 2022. In 2023, when he

Others Former OSU defensive back Korie Black was the last Cowboy drafted, going to the New York Giants in the seventh round. Black shines in zone coverage and has good speed at 6-feet, 192 pounds. The Giants ran a lot of zone last season — good for Black’s path to seeing action. The Cowboys also had two former receivers — Brennan Presley and Rashod Owens — land in the NFL as undrafted free agents. Presley signed with the Los Angeles Rams, while Owens landed with the Cincinnati Bengals. Presley, 5-8, is a short, shifty wideout. He is OSU’s all-time leading receiver and did damage in the quick game — a key part of Coach Sean McVay’s offense in Los Angeles. Owens, on the other hand, is a big-framed receiver who moved back and forth between tight end at OSU and projects as a deep ball threat with his contested-catch skills, should he see playing time.

sports.ed@ocolly.com

Jonathan Jackson

Former OSU linebacker Nick Martin’s speed and physicality

Payton Little

The Miami Dolphins picked former OSU running back Ollie Gordon II in the NFL Draft.

How does OSU stack up in our Big 12 spring football power rankings?

PARKER GERL SPORTS EDITOR @PARKER_GERL

The spring transfer portal is officially closed. Some college football teams are feeling good about where they are. Some may feel like they could have done more.

Nonetheless, the Big 12 has been a parity-driven conference in the past handful of seasons. Oklahoma State is looking to take advantage of that coming off a disastrous 3-9 season in 2024. Can the Cowboys do so? We’ll find out in August.

Here are O’Colly Sports Editor Parker Gerl’s spring Big 12 football power rankings:

1. Arizona State

The Sun Devils won the Big 12 Championship game last season and lost in an overtime battle to Texas, 39-31, in the College Football Playoff. Their quarterback, Sam Leavitt, was Big 12 Freshman of the Year and is poised for another big season.

With ASU’s defense returning a good amount of production, too, coach Kenny Dillingham’s team has plenty in place to return to the conference title game.

2. Texas Tech

TTU backed up the Brinks truck in the transfer portal, compiling the nation’s best transfer portal class, according to On3. Expectations are high in Lubbock.

Can quarterback Behren Morton build on his 3,335-yard season in 2024? If so, the Red Raiders have as high a ceiling as anyone in the conference with the talent they have on both sides of the ball.

3. BYU

The Cougars’ transfer portal class ranks last in the Big 12, according to 247Sports. Still, they project as a top-tier team in the conference.

Jake Retzlaff quarterbacked BYU to an 11-2 season in 2024 and has room to improve in 2025. And with some of its contributors back from a defense that gave up the fewest points per game in the conference, Kalani Sitake’s team is no longer a Cinderella story.

4. Iowa State

Like BYU, the Cyclones sit low in 247’s Big 12 portal rankings at 15th. They went to the Big 12 title game in 2024, though, and have Rocco Becht back at quarterback. Becht threw for more than 3,500 yards and tossed 25 touchdowns, and could take a leap in his third season as a starter.

Defensively, John Heacock always puts together a good group. Expect ISU to be one of the conference’s best in 2025.

5. Utah

The Utes made an upgrade at quarterback, bringing in former New Mexico arm Devon Dampier, who will do damage as a runner and passer. Along with 12 passing touchdowns last season, Dampier ran for 1,166 yards and 19 touchdowns.

Combine Dampier’s with coach Kyle Wittingham’s track record, and the Utes should be competing as one of the Big 12’s best in 2025.

6. Kansas State If quarterback Avery Johnson — KSU’s highest ranked recruit ever — can hit the throws he’s shown flashes of being able to make and limit his turnovers, the Wildcats can make a real run at the Big 12 championship.

7. Oklahoma State

After the top six, it’s a sludge in the Big 12.

Mike Gundy brought in an almost entirely new staff and will have one of Hauss Hejny or Zane Flores behind center, two quarterbacks who have never thrown a collegiate pass. However, the Cowboys boast 247’s fifth-best portal class in the conference and with an offensive line expected to be much improved, they could bounce back after a 3-9 season.

8. Houston The Cougars put together the third-best Big 12 portal class. And while their quarterback play has been poor the past couple of seasons, the addition of former five-star Texas A&M quarterback Conner Weigman gives UH a good shot to take a step forward in coach Willie Fritz’s second season.

9. Baylor The Bears have a tough open to the season: back-to-back games against Auburn and SMU.

But Baylor got hot down the stretch of 2024, winning six of its final seven games. It’ll be up to Dave Aranda to put together another winning season after entering last with a scorching seat.

10. Kansas

The Jayhawks closed 2024 strong, beating Iowa State, BYU and Colorado and losing a close contest to Kansas State.

But quarterback Jalon Daniels threw 12 interceptions and had seven games with fewer than 200 passing yards. He’ll need to be much better for KU to bounce back from its 5-7 season.

11. Colorado

Deion Sanders won’t have his two best players from 2024: his son, star quarterback Shedeur Sanders, and Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter, a star at both receiver and defensive back.

The Buffaloes did pick up the league’s second-best portal class, but Sanders’ and Hunter’s production is a lot to replace in itself.

12. TCU

Sonny Dykes’ squad is coming off a 9-4 season, but it’ll have to stand on that showing.

Five of the Horned Frogs’ conference wins were against bottom-seven teams; they also lost to Houston and UCF, which finished 12th and 14th in the conference, respectively.

13. Cincinnati

The Bearcats’ 2025 season heavily leans on the production that quarterback Brendan Sorsby provides. He threw interceptions in three of Cincy’s last five games — it lost all five — but didn’t throw any in the first four. Which version will the Bearcats get?

14. Arizona

Arizona is coming off a 4-8 season and lost star wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan to the NFL. Its quarterback, Noah Fifita, will look to decrease his turnovers after throwing 12 interceptions in 2024. With several starters gone, the Wildcats have a climb to make in 2025.

15. West Virginia WVU underwent several changes after firing coach Neal Brown and hiring Rich Rodriguez, who guided the Mountaineers to winning seasons from 2005-07. WVU will need him to have a similar effect in 2025.

16. UCF

The Knights have won five Big 12 games since joining the conference two seasons ago. They hired Scott Frost, who coached them from 2016-17, and are in need of a good showing this season.

Did OSU football do enough in the spring to bounce back

in 2025?

with all the changes made, I just want to see it on the field. A “good” finish in Stillwater is usually close to 10 wins at least; now the bar has dropped to… what? A bowl game?

Oklahoma State football badly needs to bounce back from its 3-9 season in 2024, and it’s made a lot of moves to put itself in position to do so.

The Cowboys have the fifth-best transfer portal class in the Big 12 Conference, according to 247Sports. OSU brought in quarterback Hauss Hejny, added to its offensive line, receivers and nearly every position group, and has an almost entirely new coaching staff under Mike Gundy.

The O’Colly football writers Parker Gerl, Daniel Allen, Calif Poncy and Ashton Slaughter discuss: Did OSU do enough in the spring portal to compete for a good finish in 2025?

Gerl: Yes. Although I don’t think the Cowboys will wind up being one of the two or three best teams in the Big 12, I think they’ll compete — something they didn’t do when they went 3-9 in 2024.

The biggest question mark surrounding OSU is its quarterback play. Well, I’m going to give the Cowboys the nod because they’ve brought in good offensive linemen and wide receivers, the two most important positions for the quarterback. OSU landed Terrill Davis, who put up 1,609 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns at Central Oklahoma, and Markell Samuel from Appalachian State, who was an All-Sun Belt honorable mention this past season.

I expect the Cowboys’ quarterback play to be better than it was last season with either Hejny or Zane Flores. I also expect their Oline to be much better. If those expectations come to fruition, I think OSU has a good shot at getting back to a bowl game and having a winning season.

Slaughter: Call me the Debbie Downer of our group, but even with seeing OSU’s additions, I’m just not sold yet.

After last season, I just want to see it. What I have seen this spring is an uptick in transfer portal usage and some talented players coming to Stillwater, which is a great sign for the program and where it stands regarding NIL.

But on the field, neither Hejny nor Flores has thrown a pass in college; OSU’s O-line, despite the additions, still has question marks;

Poncy: Yes. A good finish doesn’t necessarily mean they will have a chance to win the conference, but I believe with new coordinators and a slew of new players, OSU will almost certainly be better. Quarterback play can’t get much worse than it was last season, and OSU has loaded up with key defensive players at important positions. After Collin Oliver went out in Week 2 of this past season, OSU couldn’t generate much of a pass rush, so an already underwhelming secondary was picked apart often. With guys like Taje McCoy on defense and a completely new cast on offense, I believe OSU will finish somewhere in the top half of the Big 12.

Allen: It can be difficult to gauge where a team will be by season’s end with a new-look roster like Oklahoma State’s, especially after a 3-9 season that featured no wins in conference play. But the Cowboys seem to have brought in enough talent via the transfer portal (36 prospects and counting) to not only return to a bowl game but perhaps surpass preseason expectations.

Quarterback play will be the lingering question heading into the 2025 season. However, if coaches and pundits are right about Flores’ upside, OSU will be fine at that position for the next two to three years. And if not, the Cowboys have the speedy redshirt freshman Hejny, who transferred in from TCU, to fall back on.

Look for incoming transfers such as running backs Kalib Hicks (Oklahoma) and Freddie Brock (Georgia State), wide receiver Sam Jackson V (Auburn) and returners Gavin Freeman, Tre Griffiths, Rodney Fields and Josh Ford to complement that talent.

Gundy had the formula for success pre-NIL and transfer portal. National experts often questioned whether OSU could be a Tier 1 program should Gundy invest in NIL, the portal and cash in on top100 and five-star recruits. Well, the 2024 season was a wake-up call. Gundy has invested, and the Cowboys are winning on the recruiting trail. Opponents beware.

Bryson Thadhani

Mike Gundy is looking to rebound after his worst season as OSU football coach.

O’COLLY STAFF

Hiring

Continued from 1

“As college athletics moves into revenue sharing for NIL, it is important for us to be creative and I think we have been,” Weiberg said in the statement. “From being among the first to add a field naming partner in Bank of Oklahoma, to the four days of Boys from Oklahoma concerts, to the addition of field suites, we are exploring and acting on a lot of creative ideas. We are fortunate to have many great former players in all sports and many have told us they are willing to help. We’re grateful for that and continue to discuss the best ways they can do so.”

Cunningham (2021), Smart (2013) and Allen (2004) each won Big 12 Conference Player of the Year honors at OSU. Cunningham was picked No. 1 by the Detroit Pistons in the 2021 NBA Draft and is a young star. Smart has won a Defensive Player of the Year award. Allen was a pest on defense, too, and his No. 9 jersey number is retired by the Memphis Grizzlies.

If OSU had a player who’s still active like Cunningham or Smart,

their roles might be smaller, but it would still be a good resource. They could join Lutz on remote recruiting visits, help players handle NIL or endorsements or just be a mentor. A retired player like Allen could do all those things in a more hands-on fashion, depending on their role.

Someone in that role could also assist the Cowboys with one of the most significant aspects of modern college sports: retention.

Having someone who — along with Lutz and his coaching staff — builds good relationships could help keep a player once they have pledged their commitment or are considering the transfer portal.

Lutz has done well recruiting this offseason. He’s brought in seven transfers and has the No. 9-ranked portal class in the country, according to On3, as of Thursday night. But having a Cunningham, Smart or Allen in on occasional recruiting visits to talk about their experience in Stillwater, and then in the NBA, among other duties, would give OSU an extra boost it’d have no reason not to want.

sports.ed@ocolly.com

OSU basketball adds two transfers, improves its scoring

25%, with more than 80 attempts in each season.

Oklahoma State men’s basketball is continuing to work in the transfer portal.

On Wednesday, the Cowboys landed their seventh portal pickup, their second in the past five days. Former UMass guard Jaylen Curry announced on X he’s headed to Stillwater, giving coach Steve Lutz another double-digit scorer.

As of Thursday night, On3 ranks Lutz’s portal class as the ninth-best in the country. The Cowboys, with all the upgrades they’ve made, are putting themselves in position to return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2020-21 season.

Curry averaged 13.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.2 steals as a sophomore this past season and fits Lutz’s fast-paced offense and active defense. The 6-foot, 168-pound guard is expected to have two seasons of eligibility left and is OSU’s sixth portal get who averaged 10 or more points last season.

In 2024-25, Curry scored in double figures 22 times and drastically improved his 3-point shot, hitting 35% compared to his freshman mark of

The Cowboys’ second portal addition of the week was former UAB guard/ forward Christian Coleman. OSU officially announced the signing on Tuesday with a statement from Lutz. “(Coleman is) a tough, versatile competitor who knows how to win, and he’s just now starting to scratch the surface of what he can become,” Lutz said. “We’re excited to help him take his game to the next level.”

Coleman gives the Cowboys another good scoring boost and good size at 6-8, 205 pounds.

In two seasons with the Blazers, Coleman’s production helped UAB reach the 2024 NCAA Tournament and the 2025 NIT quarterfinals. He averaged 11.6 points and 7.1 rebounds this season. He’s an efficient scorer who shot 53%, eighth-best in the American Conference.

Coleman will have one season of eligibility left. He played his freshman season at NAIA LSU of Alexandria and his sophomore season at South Plains junior college and will use an NCAA waiver that grants an extra year to players who competed at non-NCAA schools.

sports.ed@ocolly.com

OSU’s portal class

• Ranked No. 9 in the country

• Six double-digit scorers

• Five guards, two forwards

• Four four-stars

Payton Little

Steve Lutz has used the transfer portal to shift OSU’s roster toward his up-tempo style.

File photo

Cade Cunningham could step into a GM role for OSU like Trae Young did at Oklahoma.

that’s unlikely to change at OSU.

As a sophomore in 2024-25, Whiting averaged 10.3 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.8 assists, demonstrating her valuable versatility for a Cougars team that underperformed.

After a disappointing 2023-24 season, Coach Jacie Hoyt led Oklahoma State women’s basketball back to the NCAA Tournament this past season, winning 25 games and finishing third in the Big 12 conference.

Despite their strong record, the Cowgirls were a No. 7 seed in the NCAA Tournament, where they fell to 10th-seeded South Dakota State.

The heartbreaking loss in the Round of 64 was the final college game for several key players, including Anna Gret Asi, Tenin Magassa and Alexia Smith. Because of these losses, Hoyt is once again doing something she’s quite familiar with: retooling through the transfer portal.

OSU’s final roster is still coming together, but here are the additions it has made so far.

Amari Whiting, G, BYU

Playing under her mom, Amber, at BYU in each of the past two seasons, Whiting started every game, and

She provides a good boost for OSU on offense, but gives the most value on defense. Whiting averaged two steals during her sophomore season after 1.5 as a freshman. Her presence as an on-ball pest will be critical for an OSU team looking to replace its best perimeter defender in Smith.

Haleigh Timmer, G, South Dakota State If you can’t beat ‘em… get ‘em in the portal?

As a key contributor for the SDSU team that knocked OSU out of the NCAA Tournament, Timmer did enough to garner the interest of Hoyt and her staff when the portal opened a few weeks later. Shortly after, she decided to spend her final college season in Stillwater.

She’s a perfect fit for the Cowgirls. Like Asi, Timmer is a tall guard who can grab rebounds, as shown in her four per game. Timmer also shot 41% from 3-point range this past season,

displaying the most valuable skill a guard can have in OSU’s offense.

Timmer was a multi-year contributor for SDSU who improved every season. OSU has to hope that trend can continue at the Big 12 level as it brings her into the team tasked with getting Hoyt’s first NCAA Tournament win.

Achol Akot, F, UCF

During the 2023-24 season, OSU learned a valuable lesson: You can never have enough size. The 6-foot-1 Akot brings it and still has two seasons of eligibility.

Akot averaged 6.8 rebounds for UCF in 2024-25, and while she didn’t bring much of a scoring punch, she upped her scoring from 5.2 points her freshman season to 6.6 as a sophomore. Akot also led the Knights in blocks with 20 on the season.

Akot isn’t as flashy on the defensive end as Whiting, and she doesn’t bring elite outside shooting like Timmer, but on both of Hoyt’s NCAA Tournament teams at OSU, the coach has had a forward/center to do the dirty work. Whether that was Taylen Collins in her first season or Praise Egharevba this past season, someone

has had to fill that role for Hoyt to find success.

With Egharevba coming back, the Cowgirls seem to be doubling down on hustle-play bigs.

Tyla Heard, G, Oral Roberts

The Heards have officially taken over Stillwater.

With Stailee Heard emerging as one of the best guards in the country, OSU is showing her family the love, bringing in former ORU guard Tyla Heard, Stailee’s sister. As a freshman with the Golden Eagles, Heard emerged as a bench option, playing 14.4 minutes per game.

In those 14 minutes, Heard was inefficient, shooting 30% from the field, but she made a well-rounded impact on the game, averaging 2.3 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.5 assists.

With the guards OSU is retaining and bringing in through the portal, it’ll be tough for Tyla Heard to crack the rotation in 2025. But with three years of eligibility left, she has plenty of time to develop into a quality contributor.

sports.ed@ocolly.com

Connor Fuxa

2025 big 12 men’s golf championship

Oklahoma State men’s golf won the Big 12 Men’s Golf Championship last week. Here are Davis Hicks’ best photos: TOP LEFT: Ethan Fang watches a putt on the green.

TOP RIGHT: Preston Stout follows a shot that’s about to get him on the green.

MIDDLE LEFT: The 2025 Big 12 Conference men’s golf championship trophy.

MIDDLE: The course at Southern Hills Country Club.

MIDDLE RIGHT: OSU being moved into first place during the third round.

BOTTOM LEFT: OSU golfer Preston Stout (middle left) and coach Alan Bratton (middle right) on the 14th hole.

BOTTOM RIGHT: Eric Lee squats on the green.