NORMAN —When Oklahoma headed into the SEC two years ago, the Sooners’ softball team appeared to be in the best position to compete immediately in the conference.

Patty Gasso’s team has certainly acquitted themselves well during its first two seasons in the league — winning back-to-back regular-season championships.

But the Sooners came into the league having won four consecutive Women’s College World Series titles and Texas has now won back-to-back WCWS championships.

While softball won’t be the most affected by Oklahoma’s athletic department receiving a full SEC revenue distribution share in this fiscal year, there certainly will be an impact.

The department received just $12.5 million in conference payouts, while fully vested members in the conference received approximately $72.4 million each.

The $1.03 billion total conference distribution figures to grow in the coming years.

In the fifth in our series on how Sooners’ programs will be affected by the department receiving such a share, we take a look at the OU softball program:

NIL, Roster Building

Softball was one of six Sooners’ athletics programs to be included in the direct revenue-sharing payments made possible by the House vs. NCAA settlement.

While football takes up the great majority of that money, with the basketball programs using much of the remaining balance, softball players at OU do get direct revenue-sharing payments.

In an environment where not every softball program is part of that division of a set total, that gives the Sooners an advantage.

And while NIL money isn’t extremely plentiful — outside of Texas Tech — small changes can lead the big results.

But Gasso has been much more focused on high school recruiting than added big-time talent in the transfer portal in recent years.

Last season, the Sooners did add pitchers Sydney Berzon and Miali Guachino but the most impactful additions to the roster were a group of freshmen headlined by Kendall Wells and Kai Minor.

This offseason, it appears if Gasso is taking a similar approach.

Oklahoma added outfielders Macie Harter of Middle Tennessee State and Adi Hansen from Southern Idaho to compete for a spot — with incoming freshman Payton Westra — to play alongside Minor and Ella Parker.

With Isabela Emerling’s eligibility done with and Riley Zache transferring, the Sooners needed to add a backup catcher to play behind Wells.

Finding a serviceable backup who is willing to transfer without the guarantee of much playing time — especially with several other options at first base — proved to be difficult.

Oklahoma ultimately added Loyola Chicago catcher Abbie Gregus. Gregus hit just .195 last year as a redshirt junior.

The Sooners would’ve liked to have added an arm in the portal, but not only was there not a pitcher like NiJaree Canady available this time around, there wasn’t much in the way of options that would’ve been improvements over what Oklahoma already had on the roster.

Plus the Sooners signed pitchers Keegan Baker, Malaya Majam-Finch and EK Smith in the 2026 class.

The freeing up of additional money, though, figures to give the program a chance to compete for top-line talent when it is available, and will provide considerable help in retaining vital roster pieces.

Oklahoma has generally done well in keeping players who were expected to play significant roles moving forward, though Kasidi Pickering did transfer over this offseason — to Texas Tech.

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Facilities

With Love’s Field just wrapping up its third season, and maintaining its presence as the crown jewel of college softball, there aren’t much in the way of major upgrades to make.

But there can always be small tweaks to the facilities — especially when it comes to the team spaces. From updated technology to improved training and workout facilities, there are ways to keep the facility moving forward as other programs race to emulate OU.

Then there’s the area just south of the stadium, which has been filled with plenty of dirt and some grass, that could stand to be upgraded to give the walk up to that park a much grander feel.

Martha Lillard had just turned 5 when she was diagnosed with polio and depended on an iron lung to live. She died June 26 in Oklahoma, the last U.S. polio patient who used the machine, her sister said. She was 78.

“They told her she wasn’t supposed to live past 20 years old,” Lillard’s younger sister, Cindy McVey, told The Associated Press on Friday. “She had the enthusiasm and the drive to continue living and make the best of her life.”

McVey attributes her sister’s death to the effects of long-haul COVID-19. A death certificate lists causes as chronic pulmonary failure and post-polio syndrome, McVey said.

Lillard slept in the iron lung cylinder that encased her body as the air pressure in the chamber forced air in and out of her lungs. As a child, she went to grade school for two hours a day and was tutored the rest of the time. She attended Shawnee High School by using a phone system that allowed her to interact with her teachers and classmates through an intercom in her classrooms.

Her family went on road trips to Missouri thanks to a custom trailer and her father calling hotels to find out if they had doors wide enough to accommodate the machine Lillard slept in. Lillard was even able to drive for a time.

“To me, it was just normal,” recalled McVey, 75.

Polio was once one of the nation’s most feared diseases, with annual outbreaks causing thousands of cases of paralysis. The disease primarily affects children.

Vaccines became available starting in 1955. According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a national vaccination campaign cut the annual number of U.S. cases to fewer than 100 in the 1960s and fewer than 10 in the 1970s. In 1979, polio was declared eliminated in the U.S., meaning it was no longer routinely spread.

Later the internet would help Lillard stay informed and learn about all sorts of topics, including her disease, which paralyzed her from the neck down.

With therapy she was able to regain partial use of her left arm and use of her legs. But she could only move her left arm side to side at her waist. Even though she couldn’t reach up, she spent many years living alone and preparing her own meals.

The internet also allowed Lillard to meet her future husband. After the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Lillard wanted to understand more about what happened. In a chat room, she met a man in Egypt and communicated with him online for more than 20 years, McVey said.

Lillard married Baha Salh in February after he was finally able to obtain a visa to travel to Oklahoma.

“They were really soulmates,” McVey said. “He’s extremely brokenhearted.”

During the coronavirus pandemic, Lillard got COVID-19 twice. Before getting COVID-19, she had less than 25% lung capacity. The last five years of her life, she wasn’t able to leave home as it became harder to breathe. For the past two years, she was in the iron lung nearly 24 hours a day, McVey said.

McVey described her sister as artistic and creative. She wrote poems and composed songs. She wrote her own obituary, which is now posted online by a funeral home. She described being a Humane Society volunteer. “She was an avid Beagle lover and assisted in animal rescue as a cross poster on Facebook,” Lillard wrote.

She later updated her obituary to say she “died of long-haul Covid 19,” but McVey added the date of her death.

In recent years, McVey and Lillard were desperate to find someone who could fix the iron lung, one of several she had over her lifetime.

“But since she’s the last one, we don’t need that anymore,” McVey said through tears.

PRYOR, Okla. — Through tiny brushstrokes, Traci Rabbit is honoring her hometown, her heritage, and her father.

The professional artist and Cherokee National Treasure is restoring a landmark mural on the Mayes County Courthouse in Pryor — and she’s doing it for free.

“I’m not only doing this for my community — I’m doing this for my family,” Rabbit said.

The mural is the largest work Traci completed alongside her father, famed artist and Cherokee National Treasure Bill Rabbit. The two spent a year hand-painting it in 1999. It stands on a wall between shade trees in front of the Mayes County courthouse.

Traci’s love of art traces back to childhood, watching her father work.

“He was internationally known, but he was so proud to be from Pryor and his art was viewed internationally. You know, from the White House to the Vatican and just all over,” Rabbit said.
Bill Rabbit passed away in 2012. Traci described him as more than a celebrated artist.

“He was an exceptional human being as well as an exceptional parent,” Rabbit said.

Former Pryor Mayor Jimmy Tramel said the mural has been a gathering place for the community for decades.

“This is a landmark for the city of Pryor, there’s no doubt,” Tramel said.

While the mural’s paint has faded over time, Tramel said the mural’s meaning is still vibrant.

“It’s God and Country! It’s Native American! This is the spirit of Oklahoma,” Tramel said.

Traci began the mural restoration in May, working on it in her spare time alongside running Rabbit Gallery and preparing for major national art shows. She even skipped one show to get started. Oklahoma’s wet June has pushed back her timeline, and she is now about 75% finished. She plans to touch up both sides of the mural.

“The hardest part honestly was recreating the people because they were gone, they were gone, so I was working from reference photos. And there were times I would be working down here, and sit under the shade tree and say, ‘OK, Dad, what’s the next step? You’re going to have to help me because it’s gone,’ and without a doubt, I’d take a break and come back and know where to start — so I know he was spiritually helping me out on the other side. I have no doubt,” Rabbit said.

The last element Traci will restore is the original signature that reads — “Bill and Traci 1999.”

Tramel said Bill Rabbit would have been proud to see his daughter carry on their shared work.

“He’d be tickled. That’s the best way to put it — he’d be tickled looking down, saying ‘that’s my daughter,’” Tramel said.

Traci said she feels her father’s presence every time she picks up a brush.

“I just… know he’s proud,” Rabbit said.

Traci’s art is featured in numerous national parks, and she is also honored as a Cherokee National Treasure. She hopes to have the mural complete by spring. You can find the mural at 1 Court Place in Pryor.

Here’s a link to Rabbit Gallery and Studios to learn more about the Rabbit’s story and their work: https://billandtracirabbit.com/.

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