Oklahoma

Mayor David Holt installed as president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors

Published

3 months ago

July 12, 2025

Press Room

Mayor David Holt installed as president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors

Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt began his term as president of the United States Conference of Mayors.
Holt is believed to be the first Native American to serve in this role.
The Conference of Mayors allows city leaders to share ideas and learn from each other’s successes and failures.

In addition to serving as mayor of Oklahoma City and as the dean of Oklahoma City University School of Law, David Holt added another hat to his wardrobe, now serving as the president of the United States Conference of Mayors.

His tenure as the organization’s 83^rd president began the same day the Oklahoma City Thunder won its first NBA championship. He’s the second OKC mayor to serve in that capacity.

Holt’s term runs until June 2026, and he is believed to be the first Native American to serve in the role, according to a city news release. Former Mayor Mick Cornett served as the organization’s president in 2016-17 and hosted the annual meeting in Oklahoma City in 2010 when Holt served as Cornett’s chief of staff.

Beyond the logistics of running a nearly century old organization, it’s an opportunity to learn from other cities and have other cities learn from OKC, Holt told The Oklahoman. He said he has found a lot of value in the organization. Another benefit is friendship and camaraderie with other mayors.

“I think part of our story in the last 30 years has been mayors who are willing to market the city and represent the city and that ultimately is just part of the strategy,” he told The Oklahoman. “I often say that people don’t visit, live in or invest in cities they’ve never heard of, so there’s a lot of ways that we as a community get our name out there.”

MAPS projects have been an inspiration for other cities

Holt said cities are able to learn from each other and cited Oklahoma City’s MAPS projects. It’s now one of the most well-known initiatives in urban circles, Holt said.

He said cities have been inspired by different aspects of MAPS — Little Rock, Arkansas, and Louisville, Kentucky, have attempted to implement the program or something similar, but both efforts have failed. Holt said they didn’t really have the opportunity to try to implement it.

“The best ideas that work around the country are certainly those that we will try to emulate in Oklahoma City and it’s a perfect example of the old phrase that the cities and states are the laboratories of democracy,” Holt said. “Sometimes we’ll let others do the experimentation first, and then we’ll pick it up.”

Holt said an example of that is watching Indianapolis’ sports strategy. The city carved out a space for themselves as the amateur sports capital of the world and eventually they became home to the NCAA, Holt said.

“Just that idea that you could sort of define yourself around a certain category of sports and that that would elevate your whole city, I think was intriguing,” he said. “Obviously as it’s turned out with us, we’re sort of all over the place. We have used the NBA and used softball and now use paddle sports to elevate ourselves in so many different ways.”

Another benefit of watching other cities try something for the first time is not making the same mistakes as they did, Holt added. Between Cornett’s involvement with the Conference of Mayors and now Holt, that’s almost a quarter of a century of high-level engagement.

As president, Holt is responsible for several duties including weighing in on timely topics, such as releasing a statement about the floods in Texas. Other duties include convening and presiding over meetings, weighing in on local issues, attending meetings on a variety of topics such as housing and homelessness and other administrative responsibilities.

Formed in 1932, the conference is the official nonpartisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more, according to a city news release.

Tom Cochran, CEO and executive director, said the conference is fortunate to lean on Holt’s leadership in a time of opportunity and need for America’s cities.

“He champions the value of local leadership, and he embraces the power this conference has to unite so many voices to improve the lives of the people of America’s cities. I know his colleagues are grateful to have him steering the ship,” Cochran said.

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Oklahoma

Beers, Verhulst Named to Preseason All-SEC Coaches Team – University of Oklahoma

Published

8 hours ago

October 23, 2025

Press Room

Beers, Verhulst Named to Preseason All-SEC Coaches Team – University of Oklahoma

NORMAN – The SEC released its preseason poll and All-SEC teams Wednesday, as voted on by the league’s coaches, who could not vote for their own teams. Oklahoma’s Raegan Beers earned a spot on the first team, Payton Verhulst was named to the second team and the Sooners were picked to finish fourth.

On Oct. 13, a panel of media that cover the league picked Oklahoma to finish fifth and named Beers a first-team honoree.

Beers, a senior from Littleton, Colo., was named an All-SEC First Team selection last season after averaging 17.3 points, 9.4 rebounds, 1.2 blocks and 1.1 assists per game last season. A finalist for the 2025 Lisa Leslie Center of the Year Award, she led the SEC in player efficiency rating (35.9) and was the only player in the nation to average at least 31.0 points and 16.0 rebounds per 40 minutes. She was also a preseason All-SEC first-team selection by the league’s media and an AP All-America honorable mention.

Verhulst, a redshirt senior from De Soto, Kan., was an All-SEC Second Team selection last season when she averaged a career-high 14.9 points per game, shooting 42% from the field and 35% from deep. She was one of only two players nationally to average at least 14.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.9 assists in under 30 minutes per game.

Oklahoma was picked fourth by the coaches, trailing Texas, South Carolina and LSU, and ahead of Tennessee, who was picked fifth.

Led by fifth-year head coach Jennie Baranczyk, Oklahoma returns the second-highest percentage of scoring (60.3%) in the SEC, led by Beers (17.3 PPG), Verhulst (14.9) and Sahara Williams (10.6). The Sooners enter the season ranked sixth in the Associated Press preseason poll, their highest ranking to open a season since 2009-10. Baranczyk also added the nation’s No. 8 recruiting class, highlighted by the country’s No. 1 freshman, Aaliyah Chavez.

Fans can get an early look at the Sooners in an Oct. 29 exhibition vs. Oklahoma Christian set for 6 p.m. in Norman. Admission to the exhibition is free as no television broadcast is scheduled. Fans can listen to a radio broadcast on the Sooner Sports Radio Network and Varsity App.

Oklahoma opens the regular season Nov. 3 against Belmont at Lloyd Noble Center at 4:30 p.m. CT.

Season tickets are on sale now starting at just $99 for general admission. Single-game tickets and mini plans are also available. For more information, contact the OU Athletics Ticket Office at 405-325-2424, email outickets@ou.edu or visit SoonerSports.com/Tickets.

Courtside seats for the 2025–26 season are now available on the west sideline and south baseline near the Oklahoma bench. Fans interested in more information should contact the Sooner Club at (405) 325-8000 or soonerclub@ou.edu.

Stay connected with Oklahoma Women’s Basketball by following the Sooners on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Want to make an impact? Join the 3-Point Club and help power the program’s continued success.

MEDIA POLL

Texas

South Carolina

Oklahoma

Tennessee

Ole Miss

Kentucky

Vanderbilt

Alabama

Florida

Georgia

Mississippi State

Texas A&M

Missouri

Auburn

Arkansas

PRESEASON ALL-SEC (COACHES)

First Team All-SEC
Flau’jae Johnson, LSU
Mikaylah Williams, LSU
Raegan Beers, Oklahoma
Joyce Edwards, South Carolina
Ta’Niya Latson, South Carolina
Talaysia Cooper, Tennessee
Madison Booker, Texas*
Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt

* SEC Preseason Player of the Year

Second Team All-SEC

Essence Cody, Alabama

Liv McGill, Florida

Teonni Key, Kentucky

Clara Strack, Kentucky

Cotie McMahon, Ole Miss

Payton Verhulst, Oklahoma

MiLaysia Fulwiley, South Carolina

Rori Harmon, Texas

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Oklahoma

Oklahoma State on Verge of Elimination from Bowl Contention

Published

1 day ago

October 22, 2025

Press Room

Oklahoma State on Verge of Elimination from Bowl Contention

Oklahoma State is set for more Big 12 action this weekend, but it could make the inevitable official.

On Saturday, OSU will head to Lubbock to face No. 14 Texas Tech. The Red Raiders are coming off their first loss of the season but still have arguably the best team in the Big 12. As one of the frontrunners for the conference’s spot in the College Football Playoff, they shouldn’t have many issues taking care of business against an OSU team that hasn’t won a Big 12 game since 2023.

Along with being on a years-long drought in conference play, the Cowboys haven’t beaten an FBS team since September 2024. With this being the eighth game of the season, that also means OSU is down to its final hopes of making a bowl game.

Of course, the Cowboys have effectively been out of bowl contention since losing to Tulsa. While at that point there were still plenty of games left to play, that loss showed that OSU might not be ready to compete with anyone of note.

That assumption turned out to be entirely correct, as OSU hasn’t had another game within one possession since that loss to its in-state rival, which also led to the firing of Mike Gundy. While falling out of bowl contention seemed inevitable for the Pokes for much of the season, this weekend could be when it officially becomes reality.

Sitting at 1-6, the Cowboys would need to rattle off five straight wins to get to bowl eligibility. Considering they will start that journey as nearly 40-point underdogs in Lubbock this weekend, it’s safe to say that won’t happen.

While this is the reality OSU football is in at this point, it’s still a stark reminder of how quickly things can change in college football. Just two years ago, OSU won 10 games, made the Big 12 title game, which led to an appearance in the Texas Bowl, marking the Pokes’ 18th straight bowl appearance.

The last time OSU missed bowl games in consecutive seasons was 2000-01, when Bob Simmons’ final season and Les Miles’ first season at the helm both ended with losing records. Of course, Gundy missed a bowl game only twice in his 20 full seasons as the Cowboys’ head coach, but this year likely would have been his third had he gotten the opportunity to see it through.

While nothing about OSU’s outlook will change on Saturday when the Cowboys are likely eliminated from bowl contention, it is still a reminder of how far the program has fallen.

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Oklahoma

Thunder receive NBA championship rings, raise title banner: Check it out

Published

2 days ago

October 21, 2025

Press Room

Thunder receive NBA championship rings, raise title banner: Check it out

The 2025-26 NBA season started Tuesday night in Oklahoma City as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder hosted Kevin Durant and the Houston Rockets.

Before tip-off, the Thunder celebrated their 2024-25 NBA championship season and raised their first title banner since the organization moved to Oklahoma City.

OKC players were greeted by NBA commissioner Adam Silver as they were introduced to the home crowd and received their championship rings.

Here’s how the players reacted to the championship rings and banner being raised: