Oklahoma

Republican lawmakers aim to modify Oklahoma's bank blacklist law

Published

2 years ago

January 17, 2024

Republican lawmakers aim to modify Oklahoma's bank blacklist law

Two Republican senators want to amend a new law that bars state agencies and pension systems from working with banks that an Oklahoma official deemed hostile to fossil fuel energy companies.

Amid uncertainty about the law’s implementation and a lawsuit challenging the measure’s constitutionality, senators Dave Rader, R-Tulsa and Chuck Hall, R-Perry, filed bills to tweak Oklahoma’s Energy Discrimination Elimination Act.

Hall filed Senate Bill 1510 to clarify that the law, which targets financial institutions that are limiting their oil and natural gas investments and adopting environmentally friendly policies, doesn’t apply to municipalities.

This comes after Stillwater officials had to rethink a series of energy efficiency projects across their city because State Treasurer Todd Russ blacklisted the bank from which they intended to borrow millions in funding.

Under the act, Russ’ office was tasked with compiling and maintaining a list of financial institutions that boycott fossil fuel companies. The list includes Bank of America, which offered Stillwater the lowest interest rate to fund more than $13 million in lighting and infrastructure projects.

Hall, a former two-term city mayor whose district includes Stillwater, said he believes the law was never intended to apply to municipalities, but they were inadvertently included.

“We’re excluding these municipalities because, in my opinion, we should do everything we can not to preempt the decisions that are made on a local level,” he said.

Stillwater officials explored all their options, including considering borrowing funds from other banks and seeking legal guidance from Attorney General Gentner Drummond’s Office. Although Drummond’s office advised Stillwater officials that pursuing funding through Bank of America was still an option, city officials felt the move could leave them open to possible legal challenges, said Deputy City Manager Brady Moore.

He’s hopeful the proposed legislation gives municipalities clarity by exempting them.

“Municipalities are already up against a funding challenge just on all the services and amenities that we oversee, so it’d be nice to have the most competitive options for financing and not be at a disadvantage,” Moore said.

In the meantime, Stillwater plans to tackle its energy efficiency projects over the upcoming years without taking out a bank loan.

“We still have a really positive path forward,” Moore said.

During an interim study in October to discuss the law’s implementation, Rader said some legislative tweaks were necessary.

Rader recently filed Senate Bill 1536, which would give the state treasurer the ability to seek an attorney general’s opinion if he disagrees with how an agency or pension system is responding to the law. The attorney general’s opinion would determine if the governmental entity is in compliance with the Energy Discrimination Elimination Act.

Russ has criticized the Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement System for taking an exemption under the law that prevents it from having to divest from the blacklisted companies on the grounds that doing so would be a breach of the pension system’s fiduciary responsibility.

Rader said his bill is likely to change over the course of the legislative session that begins Feb. 5.

“I think this is a door opener for some other issues that were in the bill,” he said. “I do not expect the bill that I submitted will be the bill in its finality.”

A state retiree filed a lawsuit in November to challenge the law he alleges is unconstitutional because pensioners could be forced to cover the costs if pension systems drop certain fund managers.

Oklahoma’s Energy Discrimination Elimination Act is similar to laws implemented in other conservative-led states.

Oklahoma Voice is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oklahoma Voice maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Janelle Stecklein for questions: info@oklahomavoice.com. Follow Oklahoma Voice on Facebook and Twitter.

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Oklahoma Sooners 2026 Football Schedule Revealed

Published

4 hours ago

December 11, 2025

Press Room

Oklahoma Sooners 2026 Football Schedule Revealed

The Oklahoma Sooners are trying to finish the 2025 college football season with a championship run that begins with a first-round playoff matchup with the Alabama Crimson Tide on Dec. 19 in Norman. After a 10-2 season, the Sooners found out during the SEC schedule reveal when they’ll play their 2026 opponents.

New to the SEC schedule this year is a nine-game conference slate. Also, Oklahoma will begin at least a four-year stretch with permanent rivals Texas, Missouri, and Ole Miss.

The Sooners open the season with nonconference matchups against UTEP, Michigan, and New Mexico. Michigan will be breaking in a new head coach after the surprising dismissal of Sherrone Moore.

Oklahoma will go on the road for their first conference game, taking on the defending SEC champion Georgia Bulldogs on Sept. 26. That marks the first time the Sooners will play in Athens for the first time in the history of the program. The Bulldogs own the only win in the series, which came in the infamous 2017 Rose Bowl. If the Sooners were to play the Dawgs in the 2025 College Football Playoff, it would come in the national championship game.

After the trip to Georgia, Oklahoma will have its only bye week of the season before facing the Texas Longhorns in the Red River Showdown on Oct. 10 in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas. The Sooners will return home to play the Kentucky Wildcats on Oct. 17. Kentucky will have a first-time head coach in Will Stein, leading the Wildcats to Norman for the first time since 1980.

Then, Oklahoma will go to Starkville to take on former offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby and the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Oct. 24 before closing the month welcoming another former assistant in Shane Beamer and the South Carolina Gamecocks on Oct. 31.

Then begins the month that will decide the Sooners’ College Football Playoff fates. They’ll open November with a road trip to the Swamp to take on the Florida Gators on Nov. 7. The last time the Sooners took on the Gators, Oklahoma earned a 55-20 win in the 2020 Alamo Bowl.

The Sooners will then return home on Nov. 14 to take on the Ole Miss Rebels in Norman for the second year in a row. Oklahoma lost a heartbreaker to the Rebels at the end of October, but that gave way to a magical November run that catapulted the Sooners into the College Football Playoff.

After the Rebels come to town, the Sooners will welcome the Texas A&M Aggies on Nov. 21. Texas A&M hasn’t been to Norman since a 41-25 win by Oklahoma. Landry Jones threw for 255 yards and two touchdowns, and Blake Bell ran for two scores out of the Belldozer package.

The Sooners will then close the season on the road against the Missouri Tigers. The former Big 8 and Big 12 foes have split their two contests as members of the SEC, each team winning at home. Oklahoma owns a decisive 68-25-5 record over the Tigers dating back to 1902.

There will be big expectations for the Sooners coming off of a 10-2 season and a College Football Playoff berth. They’ll bring back a lot of talent from this year’s roster, but 2026 will provide new challenges.

Oklahoma Sooners 2026 Schedule

Sept. 5 vs. UT-El Paso Miners in Norman, Okla.
Sept. 12 at Michigan Wolverines in Ann Arbor, Michigan
Sept. 19 vs. New Mexico Lobos in Norman, Okla.
Sept. 26 at Georgia Bulldogs in Athens, Georgia
Oct. 3 BYE WEEK
Oct. 10 vs. Texas Longhorns in Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas
Oct. 17 vs. Kentucky Wildcats in Norman, Okla.
Oct. 24 at Mississippi State Bulldogs in Starkville, Miss.
Oct. 31 vs. South Carolina Gamecocks in Norman, Okla.
Nov. 7 at Florida Gators in Gainesville, Fla.
Nov. 14 vs. Ole Miss Rebels in Norman, Okla.
Nov. 21 vs. Texas A&M Aggies in Norman, Okla.
Nov. 28 at Missouri Tigers in Columbia, Missouri

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow John on X @john9williams.

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Oklahoma’s Tate Sandell on CFP, Groza Award: ‘This Is What Eighth-Grade Me Dreamed Of’

Published

16 hours ago

December 11, 2025

Press Room

Oklahoma’s Tate Sandell on CFP, Groza Award: ‘This Is What Eighth-Grade Me Dreamed Of’

NORMAN — To say that Oklahoma’s Tate Sandell has become a legitimate weapon for the College Football Playoff-bound Sooners would be putting it lightly.

The Sooners’ dynamite placekicker has already wrapped up First Team All-SEC honors and Special Teams Player of the Year in the conference.

Now, Sandell hopes to check a few more boxes off his wish list as early as Friday.

“It’s what me in eighth grade dreamed of in high school,” Sandell said on Wednesday when asked about the season he’s had. “These are all things you think about when you’re lying in bed, like, this is really happening. This is something that you work for, and it’s just such a blessing.”

Sandell is 23-of-24 on field goals this season — hitting 23 in a row since he missed his first kick of the season against Michigan. Not only is this consistency a school record at OU, but it’s a single-season record in the SEC as well.

Sandell has had a busy week already. He’s been jetting around the country doing community events for the Lou Groza Award — the coveted trophy that goes the the nation’s best kicker every season. He will find out Friday night if he will take the award home during the Home Depot College Football Awards show (ESPN, 6 p.m.).

Should Sandell win, he will become the first Sooner kicker to win the award.

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“That’d be great, but it’s not in my hands,” Sandell said. “That’s not what I set out to win this season; it’s just to win games and make kicks, and that’s just a byproduct of our work. If that happens, that’s great.”

Sandell is up for the award against Hawaii kicker Kansei Matsuzawa and Georgia Tech’s Aidan Birr. Each kicker has their résumé that demands respect, yet it appears that Sandell is the favorite to win.

The University of Texas-San Antonio transfer did it in big moments in ballyhooed environments. Sandell’s four field goals, where he made three 50-plus yarders — 55, 51 and 55 — was a Neyland Stadium record So was the distance. Oklahoma’s “Red November” run, in large part, was aided by Sandell’s big leg.

“My swing is my swing,” Sandell said. “I’m not going to try to be somebody I’m not or swing like I’m not. I’m not going to swing out of my shoes. I’m going to give myself the best opportunity to make the kick as possible, and if it goes in, great. If it’s not, then it is what it is.”

“Another guy that’s a team guy, hasn’t flinched,” said head coach Brent Venables. “He’s been Boomer Sooner since the moment he signed his contract. And then he’s been just a stud when it comes to leading and just being a really good teammate.”

Oklahoma kicker Tate Sandell | Carson Field, Sooners On SI

Humble he may be, but the Groza Award would be a cherry on top for any college kicker. Still, Sandell’s main focus is on Oklahoma’s rematch with Alabama on Dec. 19.

And yet, Oklahoma’s placekicker is not short on confidence — in himself, or his team.

“For us, it’s not about who we play,” Sandell said. “If we play our brand of football, we can compete with anybody in the country.”

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6 Oklahoma Sooners earn AP All-SEC Honors

Published

1 day ago

December 10, 2025

Press Room

6 Oklahoma Sooners earn AP All-SEC Honors

The Oklahoma Sooners are readying themselves for the most crucial game of the season, and perhaps the Brent Venables era, when they host the Alabama Crimson Tide next Friday in the first round of the College Football Playoff. After a 10-2 season, which included a 6-2 mark in SEC play, six Sooners were named to the AP All-SEC teams.

That comes after 10 Sooners earned 11 All-SEC Honors as voted on by the coaches, and kicker Tate Sandell was named SEC Special Teams Player of the Year.

Selected to the first team were Sandell, punter Grayson Miller, and wide receiver Isaiah Sategna.

Sandell has the highest field goal percentage in the conference and has made all seven field goal attempts of 50 yards or more.

Miller is fourth in the nation, and first in the SEC, in punts downed inside the 20-yard line. Like Sandell, he’s been a special teams weapon for Brent Venables, helping Oklahoma win the field position battle in a number of their wins this season.

Sategna is tied for second in the SEC receptions with 65, yards with 948, and tied for fourth in the conference touchdowns. He’s been a big-play threat for the Sooners, especially in recent weeks. Sategna closed the season with back-to-back 100-yard days, giving him four on the season. He had more than 60 yards receiving in nine of Oklahoma’s last 10 games.

Earning second team honors for the Sooners were linebacker Owen Heinecke, defensive end R Mason Thomas, and defensive tackle Gracen Halton.

Thomas leads the Sooners with 6.5 sacks despite missing the final three games of the regular season, three and a half quarters vs. Tennessee (injury), and a half vs. Auburn (targeting suspension). He’s been a force each of the last two seasons, earning All-SEC second-team honors in 2024, and was a first-team selection as voted on by the league’s coaches this season.

Halton, like Thomas, was a member of Brent Venables first recruiting class in the 2022 cycle. He’s been awesome again this year, recording 3.5 sacks, seven tackles for loss, and 31 total tackles. He’s been a force in the middle, making life difficult in the running game and providing an interior pass rush for the Sooners.

Heinecke has been one of a number of breakout stars for Oklahoma as part of a great linebacker rotation. Heinecke is second on the team in total tackles and tackle for loss, behind only Kip Lewis, and has two sacks to his ledger as well. He’s come up big in key moments for Oklahoma, including the sack and forced fumble against Tennessee, which led to R Mason Thomas’ long touchdown return that changed the momentum of the game, and perhaps the season.

The Oklahoma Sooners have a talented roster and a number of players like Peyton Bowen, Kip Lewis, Eli Bowen, Courtland Guillory, Jaren Kanak, Febechi Nwaiwu, Taylor Wein, and David Stone who deserved inclusion on the All-SEC teams. Even still, six players and a host of players worthy of mention is a great thing for the Sooners as they get set to take on an Alabama Crimson Tide team that earned just three selections to the AP All-SEC teams.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow John on X @john9williams.

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