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Can Oklahoma State football emerge from haunting Bedlam shadow with OU off to SEC?

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Can Oklahoma State football emerge from haunting Bedlam shadow with OU off to SEC?


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STILLWATER — The new Big 12 has arrived, and the old guard has departed.

In building his program from conference also-ran to a consistent contender for league titles, Oklahoma State’s Mike Gundy overcame nearly every obstacle his Cowboys confronted.

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Rung by rung, they climbed the ladder. 

In 2021, they made their first appearance in the Big 12 Championship Game. Last year, they returned again. The Cowboys beat Texas nine times in the last 14 meetings after downing the Longhorns just twice in the previous 24.

On the Cowboys’ climb toward conference supremacy, one major goal remained irritatingly unattainable. Though the balance of power in the Bedlam rivalry had been leaning OSU’s way with two wins in the last three years, OU’s overall dominance dulled the recent orange tint of the series.  

But the tectonic plates of college football have shifted. OU is off to the Southeastern Conference, and the Cowboys are in position to emerge from the Sooners’ long shadow in a new Big 12 that lacks blueblood power at the top. 

More: Which Oklahoma State football game is most important this season?

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When the 18th-ranked Cowboys open the season against South Dakota State at 1 p.m. on Aug. 31 at Boone Pickens Stadium, they embark on a season that will not include Bedlam.

The haunting feeling of a potential loss to OU ruining an otherwise great season no longer sits in the pit of OSU fans’ stomachs.

Bedlam is a tale of bygone days, and the sun shines a little brighter at Boone Pickens Stadium. 

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“If you look at what this program has done under Coach Gundy’s leadership, certainly going back to 2010, we’re winning like a blueblood,” OSU athletic director Chad Weiberg said. “We’re top 10 in the number of wins, and if you look at the list of who the other nine are, it’s everybody you would think. 

“Then there we are. So our goal is to keep winning at that level.”

The Big 12 looks like a league built for wide-ranging competitiveness thanks to an evenly balanced collection of programs. Yet the Cowboys have shown a consistency over the past 14 years that few teams can match.

More: Which Oklahoma State football freshmen to watch in 2024 preseason camp

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“I think that we’ve got a number of teams in this league that have an opportunity to make a move national,” Gundy said at Big 12 Media Days last month. “Whether anybody can take over and dominate for an extended period of time would be hard to tell at this point.”

Perhaps new rivals await OSU in the latest version of the Big 12, like newcomers Utah or Arizona. Maybe familiar faces like Kansas State or Texas Tech. 

Or could this simply be the time for OSU to forget about rivalries and focus on trophies?

OSU has just one Big 12 title in the league’s 28-year history, but the landscape feels ripe for a program to establish itself as a standard-bearer of the conference. And OSU’s recent trend is heading in the right direction.

“Our goal is being in the championship game every single year,” Weiberg said. “We came out of the previous version of the Big 12 Conference, as we knew it then, by reaching that game two of the last three years. So we want to continue that kind of success. 

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“We want to carry the momentum we have coming out of that version of the Big 12 into the new version of the Big 12 and keep rolling with that kind of success.”

More: What are Oklahoma State football’s pressing questions as Cowboys open 2024 preseason camp?



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Most Oklahoma voters didn’t cast a ballot during June’s primary election

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Most Oklahoma voters didn’t cast a ballot during June’s primary election


Just 26%, or about one in four registered Oklahoma voters, cast a ballot in the race, according to an analysis of the results.

In total, 630,085 people weighed in on a state question to gradually increase the minimum wage. It was the only race open to Democrats, Republicans and independents, who weren’t eligible to vote in partisan races.

Democrats have typically opened their closed primaries to include independents, but failed to submit the paperwork for this year’s primaries on time. Some voters expressed frustration with the system on election day.

This year’s polls drew fewer voters than in 2018, the last time there was a similar gubernatorial race without incumbents. The election included a state question to approve medical marijuana, and 44% of registered voters cast ballots.

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There are almost 1.3 million registered Republicans in Oklahoma, but the GOP race for governor only garnered about 400,000 ballots. Out of more than 613,000 registered Democrats, only about 172,000 voted in Tuesday’s election.

Even though general elections are usually better attended, Oklahoma’s numbers were also low during the 2024 presidential election. One report from the University of Florida rated Oklahoma’s turnout at the time as the lowest in the nation.





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Oklahoma Adds OF Adi Hansen From Southern Idaho

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Oklahoma Adds OF Adi Hansen From Southern Idaho


NORMAN — Oklahoma softball’s transfer portal activity may have been fairly slow developing.

But now, as the portal window nears its end, the Sooners have started having success.

Oklahoma added outfielder Adi Hansen, a standout at the College of Southern Idaho for the last two seasons on Thursday.

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Hansen’s announcement, made on Instagram, followed shortly after Middle Tennessee outfielder Macie Harter announced her commitment to the Sooners.

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Hansen led the Golden Eagles with a .457 batting average in 186 at bats in 2026, with an eye-popping 82 runs scored and a school-record 62 stolen bases on 67 attempts.

Hansen had 17 games with two or more stolen bases this season and twice had four stolen bases in a game.

Hansen had four triples and 21 RBIs, drawing 23 walks.

She earned NJCAA first-team All-America honors, helping her team finish 43-13 with a NJCAA Division I Juco World Series appearance.

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In 2025, as a freshman, Hansen hit .401 with 36 stolen bases and 62 ruyns scored.

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Hansen is a Logan, Utah, product.

Hansen and Harter join a group of outfielders that includes Kai Minor in centerfield and Ella Parker in right field.

The Sooners lost Abby Dayton to graduation and Kasidi Pickering to transfer after the season. Pickering will reportedly transfer to Texas Tech.

Oklahoma finished 52-10 last season, missing the Women’s College World Series for the first time since 2015 after falling to Mississippi State in three games in the Norman Super Regional.

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The Sooners have a strong incoming recruiting class and return a trio of pitchers — Audrey Lowry, Miali Guachino and Allyssa Parker — as well as experienced hitters Kendall Wells, Gabbie Garcia, Nelly McEnroe-Marinas plus Minor and Ella Parker.

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In addition to the departures of Dayton and Pickering, the Sooners also lost pitchers Sydney Berzon and Kierston Deal, first baseman Isabela Emerling, and second baseman Ailana Agbayani to graduation. Outfielder Tia Milloy, pitcher Berkley Zache and utility player Riley Zache also entered the transfer portal.

Oklahoma’s incoming class includes Edmond Santa Fe pitcher Keegan Baker, Lakewood, Calif., infielder Ki’ele Ho-Ching, Mililani, Hawaii, infielder Ori Mailo, Fullerton, Calif., pitcher Malaya Majam-Finch, Katy, Texas, pitcher EK Smith, and Mesa, Ariz., outfilder Payton Westra.

Mailo was with the Sooners this season, redshirting after joining the program a year early.

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Oklahoma City police investigating early morning shooting

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Oklahoma City police investigating early morning shooting


Oklahoma City police are investigating an early morning shooting that left one man injured in northeast Oklahoma City.

Around 3 a.m. on Thursday, emergency crews were called to a reported shooting near Kelley and Wilshire Blvd.

Investigators say the shooting occurred between a couple inside the home, adding that the woman shot the man.

However, police say they are trying to determine if the shooting was accidental.

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The victim was rushed to the hospital for treatment.

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The woman has been taken into custody for questioning, but it is unknown if she will face charges just yet.



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