Oklahoma
Oklahoma State HC Mike Gundy Not Concerned About Early Kickoffs
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Oklahoma State’s schedule will look different next season, particularly with start times.
OSU will kick off its season on Aug. 31 at 1 p.m. against South Dakota State. Not only is that earlier than any of OSU’s regular season games in 2023, it will follow that with back-to-back 11 a.m. kickoffs.
Last season, OSU’s earliest start time in the regular season was 2:30. OSU’s first and only 11 a.m. kickoff came in the Big 12 Championship against Texas. Although 2023 was a somewhat outlier example of OSU’s lack of early start times, it was a continuation of a years-long trend.
Throughout the past three seasons, OSU has played only three regular-season games with an early kickoff. While OSU is not necessarily accustomed to playing so many early kickoffs, coach Mike Gundy is not concerned about his team’s preparation, despite the early season heat.
READ MORE: Four Cowboys Named to Lombardi Award Watch List
“There will be afternoon kickoffs across the country and that’s a part of it during this time of year,” Gundy said. “I just talked to the team yesterday; you’re going to get about six games that are going to be like this. Used to be two or three, but we play games that are extremely warm all the way up to October now, so guys have to get used to it and be prepared to play in the heat.”
Part of OSU’s transition to earlier start times next season could be attributed to Texas and Oklahoma’s departure to the SEC. As OSU becomes one of the faces of the new Big 12, it also transitions into that time slot.
Last season, OU had seven 11 a.m. kickoffs, a continuation of the scheduling Sooners’ fans have criticized for years. OU has had at least six games kick off at noon or earlier in five of the past six seasons, with the shortened 2020 season being the lone exception.
While OSU has enjoyed the mid-afternoon and evening time slots throughout the past several seasons, a shift to morning kickoffs could become the new normal for the Cowboys.
READ MORE: Cowgirl Soccer Uses Strong Second Half to Upset No. 6 Nebraska
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Oklahoma
Vote for Oklahoma high school football’s top senior heading into 2024 season
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The 2024 Oklahoma high school football season is almost upon us, but until teams kick off in late August, we’re asking readers to vote on the top teams and players in the state.
Each summer The Oklahoman ranks the top college football 30 recruits in the state for the upcoming recruiting class. We rank our Super 30 series based on recruiting value, but which player would be the best on the field in 2024?
For this exercise we take our Super 30 selections and give the power to the people to vote.
(NOTE: This poll does not include the fifth-ranked player in the Super 30 rankings, Jaden Nickens. The former Douglass and Millwood standout recently transferred out of state to Sierra Canyon in California.)
Voting will remain open until noon Friday, Aug. 30.
More: Oklahoma high school football 2024 season preview: The top players, teams and more
Oklahoma high school football top players
Top-10 player rankings in Oklahoma high school football: Quarterbacks | Running backs | Wide receivers | Tight ends | Offensive linemen | Defensive linemen | Linebackers | Defensive backs | Special teams
Oklahoma
Video shows the arrest of Rachel Morin’s suspected killer in Oklahoma
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Oklahoma
Opinion | Even Republicans are getting fed up with OK's crusading school superintendent
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If ever there was a time to cue up “Ya Got Trouble” from “The Music Man,” it’s now. You might remember the slick con artist who duped a whole town into buying band instruments while scheming to run off with their money. But Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters isn’t a swindler peddling trombones — he’s a self-serving politician on a Christian nationalist crusade to dismantle public education. If the Republican supermajority in the Oklahoma Legislature doesn’t rein him in, he’ll destroy the entire public education system.
Walters has consistently put his own political ambitions and divisive cultural wars ahead of the needs of students and teachers.
Walters has consistently put his own political ambitions and divisive cultural wars ahead of the needs of students and teachers. His tenure has been defined by unconstitutional initiatives, reckless mismanagement of taxpayer dollars and a relentless focus on self-promotion.
One of Walters’ more alarming moves, his push to mandate Bible instruction in every 5th through 12th grade public school classroom, went into effect with the start of school this week. That move isn’t about education but about using public schools to advance his ideological agenda. Thankfully, most large school districts have refused to implement Walters’ mandated Bible instruction citing doubts about its constitutionality. Indeed, Walters has shown little regard for the Constitution, ignoring the separation of church and state in his quest to reshape Oklahoma’s education system in his own image.
His handling of taxpayer dollars has been equally troubling. Take, for example, the funds allocated for emergency asthma inhalers in schools. Walters has let those funds sit unused for over a year. In a letter to the state’s attorney general, he said he wants clarity on how to distribute the money, but he also questioned whether the money allocated to the foundation to provide the inhalers — named for a 16-year-old who died of an asthma attack — would mean the state is showing preferential treatment to a single vendor. In short, he’s choosing to play politics instead of protecting Oklahoma’s students. That’s not just irresponsible; it’s potentially life-threatening.
Democrats aren’t the only ones who are fed up. Recently, 26 Republican state representatives, almost a third of those in the state House, signed a letter demanding an investigation into Walters’ conduct. Written by Rep. Mark McBride, the letter highlights bipartisan concern over the chaos he’s caused. It also expresses unease “about the budget performance, spending priorities, and transparency” of Walters’ office and describes his treatment of state lawmakers from both parties as “unprofessional, beneath the dignity of a statewide elected official, and … contrary to the best interests of the taxpayers and students of Oklahoma.”
The Republicans’ letter says Walters has failed to “comply with legislative budgetary directives,” failed to “turn over complete information surrounding the expenditure of state funds for travel,” failed to meet the requirements of the Open Records Act — “which resulted in the Attorney General threatening civil and criminal action” — and defied the “Legislature’s appropriations authority by refusing to execute required funding for critical asthma inhalers.”
They say those complaints are “a non-exhaustive list of recent actions” from Walters.
That significant percentage of Republicans demanding an investigation might not be enough. House Speaker Charles McCall has said he’ll only consider such a request if 51 of the 81 Republicans in the chamber sign onto the letter.
Walters has dismissed his Republican critics as “moderate Republicans.” In a post on X, he wrote, “Ending porn in schools. Driving woke indoctrination out of the classroom. Demanding accountability. The left and union lackeys call for an investigation and impeachment. I will never stop standing for parents!”
In a news release in which he accuses Walters of “gaslighting,” Oklahoma Republican state Rep. Nick Archer says “multiple elected officials have made reasonable requests regarding [Walter’s] use of taxpayer funds and asked that he address critical education issues. Instead, he deflects accountability by referring to Republican legislators as ‘moderate’ individuals who are promoting ‘porn in schools.’”
After pointing out that the Oklahoma Legislature is “widely considered one of the most conservative in the country,” Archer writes, “Let me be clear: neither porn nor Ryan Walters belong in Oklahoma schools.”
Following his push for Bible instruction in public schools, Walters championed the establishment of St. Isadora, which would have become the nation’s first publicly funded religious school if the Oklahoma Supreme Court hadn’t ruled against it. A year ago, when I first called for Walters’ impeachment, some dismissed it as partisan politics. But now, as the letter from Republican lawmakers illustrates, even members of his own party are beginning to see the damage he’s done and are calling for the same. Walters has consistently put his political ambitions above the needs of Oklahoma’s students, and the consequences have been disastrous.
Walters championed St. Isadora, which would have become the nation’s first publicly funded religious school if the Oklahoma Supreme Court hadn’t ruled against it.
Much attention has been given to Project 2025 agenda, a far-right blueprint designed to reshape American government. But, under Walters’ supervision, Oklahoma is already serving as a testing ground for policies that aim to weaken public institutions and impose ideological agendas. What’s happening here could happen nationwide if we don’t take action.
Among the many lawsuits naming Walters as a defendant, one stands out because, in that case, a judge granted a student a protection order preventing Walters from disclosing their identity. The student’s lawyers say Walters and his administration had previously done just that at a public meeting. The student is challenging the state’s discriminatory policy against altering gender designations in school records, and Walters publicly identifying them highlights how his aggressive stance on “radical gender theory” not only contradicts legal protections but also jeopardizes the safety of students. In addition to all the above, under Walters’ leadership, Oklahoma’s student performance metrics have declined, and one study ranked our state’s education system the second-worst in the country.
Meanwhile, monthly State Board of Education meetings have turned into battlegrounds, with parents, teachers and concerned citizens showing up in protest.
Walters has prioritized his ambitions over the well-being of the people he’s supposed to serve, weaponized religion, mismanaged public funds, and disrespected teachers and administrators across the state. The governor had to issue an executive order to force Walters to stop using taxpayer dollars to pay a PR firm tasked with making Walters look good.
Oklahoma is a test case for a far-right agenda that could rapidly spread to other states, turning public education systems across the country into battlegrounds for ideological wars. His mandate that students read the Bible shouldn’t be viewed in a vacuum. It’s a part of a much more comprehensive plan to erode the separation of church and state all over.
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