POSSE Magazine - Spring 2022

THE LADY IS A CHAMP TAYLOR ROE TAKES 3K TITLE

GREINER FAMILY XC KENNY GAJEWSKI OSU MAX THE NEW BIG 12

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WANT TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE? ORANGE IS THE ANSWER. YOU CAN CHANGE A LIFE AT OSU. Whether you give to scholarships, research, a new building project, or help create something entirely new, your philanthropy is a game changer. No matter what you’re passionate about at Oklahoma State University, there’s a way you can help make it happen.

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BEST OF THE BEST Oklahoma State will relaunch a tradition this fall when the Hall of Honor, the Hall of Fame for Oklahoma State Athletics, inducts its first class since 2011. It is an opportunity to celebrate legendary Oklahoma State Cowboys and Cowgirls (and Oklahoma A&M Aggies) who left an indelible mark and lasting legacy on their alma mater.

Plans are also underway for a permanent display of the inductees on the concourse level of Gallagher-Iba Arena.

All in all, it is a great time to be a former overachieving Cowboy or Cowgirl.

And it is also a time for hand-wringing.

To be inducted into the Hall of Honor, one must survive a selection process that includes two committee votes, one internal and one external. Inductees must be plucked from a crowded list of former student-athletes whose accomplishments can hardly be comprehended. The handwringing isn’t the new pastime of those former athletes waiting for the call to join OSU’s elite. The hand ringing is by the committee members who are faced with impossible choices.

There is some good news for the panelists.

No Hall of Honor or Hall of Fame is ever

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BY KEVIN KLINTWORTH Senior Associate Athletic Director

complete. There never comes a time when any athletic department, high school, club, or professional franchise declares that everyone who is deserving is now in the Hall of Honor and there will be no more inductions. The process is always ongoing.

There is always next year for Hall of Honor hopefuls. But it doesn’t make the decisions this year any easier for those casting the votes. The committee members, who must become amateur historians of Oklahoma State Athletics, must find a way to prioritize achievements by athletes from different sports, from different eras and from different levels of competition and achievement. Success at the highest levels can have different definitions across the NCAA landscape.

The committee conundrums can be traced back to one simple truth: we’re good at lots of stuff. Because of the across-the-board success of OSU Athletics, spanning decades, deciding who gets into OSU’s Hall of Honor can be a gut-wrenching process.

Pick your sport and do your own research. Try to find an OSU program that doesn’t have a history of trophies, awards and titles. Aside from the 52 national team championships, aside from the equestrian and football titles that don’t count toward that team total because the NCAA doesn’t sponsor championships for their sports, there are a bazillion individual accomplishments that are Hall of Honor worthy.

Entering this academic year, Oklahoma State could boast of 188 individual national champions and almost 1,300 AllAmericans. Those numbers are likely to climb this year and already have on the All-America side. That’s another hurdle for the committees. The list of Hall of

Honor applicants never stops growing. It’s reminiscent of the “Seinfeld” villain called Newman. He was the ill-tempered mailman who once complained, “The mail never stops!”

Newman was once rated by TV.com as television’s most annoying neighbor. But I digress.

A solution to the numbers problem would be to induct every eligible candidate into the Hall of Honor at one time. Then the committee could just knock off early. But that scenario is not realistic on many, many levels and the banquet would last well into the next round of conference realignment.

Obviously the committees need to stay on the clock.

The OSU Hall of Honor has had several stops and starts. The first class was inducted in 1996 and it was a doozie with names like Fenimore, Gallagher, Iba, Bob Kurland, Barry Sanders, John Smith and Labron Harris. But since 1996, only seven more classes have been enshrined. Because of the intermittent nature of the event, the back log of worthy candidates has become even more loaded with star power.

So the committees must answer hard questions. Who should go first? A national player of the year, or a threetime All-American? An Olympian or an NFL superstar? Someone who turned a program around or one who kept a program going? And what about coaches who are candidates? It’s easy to have a quick opinion. But it’s like looking at the sun. It gets blurrier the longer you stare.

The good news is that all of the athletes referenced above will make it into the OSU Hall of Honor.

But it’s sure no fun deciding who goes first.

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GREINER FAMILY OSU CROSS COUNTRY COURSE

What’s in a Name

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KENNY GAJEWSKI

California Love

The 150 The Honor Roll WRAYVINGS

renewal

PHOTO BY MAX MOODY | COVER PHOTO BY BRUCE WATERFIELD

OSU MAX

Limitless IN THE SAME LEAGUE

OSU and the New Big 12 POSSE 3

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POSSE Magazine Staff KYLE WRAY

SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF EXECUTIVE AFFAIRS EDITOR-IN-CHIEF / SENIOR ASSOCIATE ATHLETIC DIRECTOR

KEVIN KLINTWORTH JESSE MARTIN

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BRUCE WATERFIELD CLAY BILLMAN

ASSISTANT EDITOR

GARY LAWSON, PHIL SHOCKLEY CLAY BILLMAN, MARY ELIZABETH CORDIA, KIRBY LEE MAX MOODY, LIZ PARKE, CAULEN SPENCER

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Donations received may be transferred to Cowboy Athletics, Inc. in accordance with the Joint Resolution among Oklahoma State University, the Oklahoma State University Foundation, and Cowboy Athletics, Inc. POSSE magazine is published four times a year by Oklahoma State University Athletic Department and the POSSE, and is mailed to current members of the POSSE. Magazine subscriptions available by membership in the POSSE only. Membership is $150 annually. Postage paid at Stillwater, OK, and additional mailing offices. Oklahoma State University, in compliance with Title VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Executive Order 11246 as amended, and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Higher Education Act), the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and other federal and state laws and regulations, does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, disability, or status as a veteran, in any of its policies, practices or procedures. This provision includes, but is not limited to admissions, employment, financial aid, and educational services. The following have been designated to handle inquiries regarding non-discrimination policies: Director of Equal Opportunity, 408 Whitehurst, OSU, Stillwater, OK 74078-1035; Phone 405-744-9154; email: eeo@okstate.edu.

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This publication, issued by Oklahoma State University as authorized by the Senior Associate Athletic Director. May 2021.

POSSE magazine is published four times a year by Oklahoma State University, 307 Whitehurst Stillwater, OK 74078. The magazine is produced by OSU Athletics and University Marketing, and is mailed to current members of the POSSE Association. Membership starts at $150/year and includes benefits such as the POSSE Magazine and member auto decals. POSSE annual funds contribute to student-athlete scholarships and operating expenses, which are critical to helping our teams stay competitive. Gifts of all sizes impact all areas of athletics. Postage paid at Stillwater, OK, and additional mailing offices.

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ncaa champion!

Cowgirl Taylor Roe captured the 3000 meter title at the 2022 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships. The junior from Lake Stevens, Wash., took command of the race with 700 meters to go and never looked back, holding off a pair of challengers at the finish line in a time of 8:58.95.

Roe capped off an impressive indoor season that included Big 12 Conference titles in the mile, 3000m and distance medley relay.

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born to coach Jacie Hoyt was introduced as the new head coach of Cowgirl Basketball by Athletic Director Chad Weiberg at a press conference on March 20. A native of Hoxie, Kan., Hoyt played point guard and was a team captain at Wichita State before embarking on a coaching career. As the daughter of legendary Kansas high school coach Shelly Hoyt, basketball is in her blood.

Hoyt previously served as head coach at Kansas City where she orchestrated a program turnaround, winning the 2020 Western Athletic Conference championship before transitioning to the Summit League, Her 2022 squad finished third, with the Kangaroos earning their first postseason appearance in a decade.

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sunday best Senior Malcolm Rodriguez is put through the paces at OSU's "Pro Day" workout. The senior from Wagoner, Okla., was one of 12 Cowboys performing in front of representatives from nearly every NFL team. Rodriguez impressed scouts by bench pressing 250 pounds 36 times—the best mark by any 2022 draft prospect. Fellow linebacker Devin Harper showed off his 40.5" vertical jump, while cornerback Christian Holmes landed a 10'6" broad jump.

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Commemorating Love and Loss, Triumph and Tragedy STORY BY CLAY BILLMAN | PHOTOS BY BRUCE WATERFIELD

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Don and Shellie Greiner

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The Course On the outskirts of the Oklahoma State University campus, several blocks north and west of the hustle and bustle, resides a true world-class facility.

This hidden gem is an emerald oasis (at least in warmer months before it turns citrine), with a five-kilometer carpet of hybrid bermudagrass snaking its way through 140 acres of cottonwoods, eastern redcedar and native grasses. Whitetail deer, hawks, owls and the occasional bobcat are seen among various fauna that make their home in this prairie greenbelt.

On several Saturdays in the fall, hundreds of runners anxiously toe the line and await the crack of a starter’s pistol.

At the sound, competitors sprint northward in a stampeding rainbow of Spandex before settling into a more manageable pace. Smart racers know not to go out too fast too early. The hard part—where gently rolling hills turn into a steep climb— is still a mile away.

Welcome to the recently renovated and newly named Greiner Family OSU Cross Country Course.

Home to the varsity cross country squad, this course has tested and trained scores of bright orange-clad Cowboys and Cowgirls, forging All-Americans and national champions in its crucible of lactic acid.

Dave Smith, OSU’s director of Track and Field and Cross Country, recently oversaw $4 million in upgrades to the venue.

The massive undertaking took an already challenging and renowned course and turned it into a showplace for the sport.

“I've been to courses all over the world,” Smith says, “and from my perspective, there's not a better course anywhere. It’s the best course I've ever seen. Every course I've been to has some major issue that they need to change to make it better. I don't think that's true of ours.”

In 2019, the original starting area was moved to accommodate a wide, 850-meter straightaway, giving runners plenty of latitude before making their first turn. A minimum of 10 meters wide at its narrowest, the roomy running surface resembles a well-groomed golf fairway. More than 20 acres of sod were installed by ONCORE, a construction management firm that specializes in outdoor sports venues. The well-manicured turf is entirely irrigated—complete with 1,800 sprinkler heads and a drainage system.

“It's a great surface to run on,” Smith says.

Smith says the OSU course was designed with runners in mind, first and foremost.

“I think, from an athlete’s perspective, our course is the best in the world. It’s a great experience. It was built to be athletefriendly. That was really important to me.”

By “friendly,” Smith doesn’t mean “easy.” In fact, the course may be as brutal as it is beautiful, but much thought went into designing a competitive venue that is second to none.

“It’s interesting. It’s nuanced. There’s a strategy to running it. It’s a challenging course—physically and mentally—to figure out the best way to run it. It’s not a track. Tracks are kind of boring.”

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The flow of the course has a role in determining race strategy, he adds.

“There are corners to hide in. There are trees to get around and get behind and put between you and your competitors to try and get out of sight/out of mind. There are all kinds of games you can play on that course. Uphills, downhills, turns … there's so much going on.”

The course is also more fan-friendly than most, with a large berm separating the starting area from the finish, allowing a vantage point of both. More ambitious spectators can take to the walking paths to try and catch runners at various checkpoints during the race.

“I think a good cross country course is where the terrain changes and the scenery changes," Smith says. “At one point, they're running out past the tall grass, another point they're running through the trees, and another point they're out in the open. You can make loops of any distance you want on it, from 2K to 10K.” As part of the recent upgrades, perimeter fencing was added to protect the investment in the running surface, but also allow for community use during available daylight hours.

The area is bordered by equine pastures to the north, OSU

“I think, from an athlete’s perspective, our course is the best in the world.”

student housing to the south, a residential neighborhood to the east, and nondescript university property and engineering labs to the west.

“Not only is it an incredible course, but it's right on campus, and I think that’s something that it is way underappreciated.

Some of the other courses we go to are a 30-minute drive from their campuses, so do the athletes use them very often? No, they don't. Access to them is prohibitive most days. Ours is a twominute jog from the freshman dorms. It’s 600 meters from the track we practice on every day. It’s literally 300 meters from where a lot of our student-athletes live.”

For now, the area feels wide open, but Smith envisions a time when campus growth and urban sprawl will encroach on the course.

“I think as the community and the university grow, and there's development around that area, at some point we’ll look back at this beautiful Central Park we have and think, ‘Man, that was brilliant, marking that territory off and staking it out and giving someplace for people to go run, walk and kind of get away from it all.’ One of our alumni came back and was out there walking the course and got back in the woods and thought, ‘This isn't even Stillwater. Where am I?’”

PHOTO BY CLAY BILLMAN

DAV E S M I T H

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PHOTOS BY CLAY BILLMAN

Ken (KD) Greiner

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The Connection OSU’s cross country course has served as a Stillwater sporting venue for more than 85 years. The annual Cowboy Jamboree began in 1937, hosting countless college and high school athletes over the decades.

Stillwater native Ken (KD) Greiner says the site doubled as a golf course before Labron Harris built Lakeside Memorial on the north end of town. He also recalls attending 4th of July fireworks shows there in the ’40s.

Greiner trained and competed on the course from 1953 to 1955, captaining—and even coaching—Stillwater’s high school squad. He placed in the top 10 at the state meet all three years.

“When we ran cross country, it was a two-mile race,” he says. “Growing up in Stillwater, and maybe because Moe Iba was a schoolmate, we pretty well had the run of Gallagher Hall. I remember getting prized hand-me-down shoes from the OSU equipment manager. In high school we worked out in the Gallagher basement when the weather was bad, and (JH) ‘Doc’ Johnston—the sole trainer—took care of injuries for both us high school kids and the college kids.”

In 1954, those “college kids” won the school’s first NCAA running title under Ralph Higgins. (Coach Smith’s Cowboys claimed the top prize in 2009, 2010 and 2012.)

Greiner didn’t run competitively after high school, instead opting to attend his hometown university.

“I got out of high school in ’56. I got a letter from the coach at OU, but I didn’t want to run in college.”

His post-secondary education began at what was then Oklahoma A&M College, a member of the Missouri Valley Conference. A year later, OAMC became OSU and joined the Big 8. An active student on campus, Greiner graduated with an economics degree in 1960. Ken (along with his wife, the late Leitner Jarrell) has been a longtime supporter of academic, athletic, and other philanthropic endeavors at Oklahoma State.

One of eight siblings, Ken says the Greiner name was once well established in Payne County. His father, Kenneth Sr., served as district attorney for many years.

Don Greiner, one of Ken’s four children, grew up in northwest Oklahoma City and attended Putnam City North High School.

He perpetuated the Greiner legacy as an economics and finance major at OSU. “I had been a runner all the way through junior high and high school, and then you get to college and are looking for ways to stay active. I wasn’t near good enough to run for OSU—those guys are ridiculous.

“I ran some on my own in college, mostly to prepare for intramurals, running on the track over on Hall of Fame and over at Gallagher in the basement. They had that little track down there.”

By his senior year, Don admits he got a little distracted from his studies.

Enter Shellie Smith, a former classmate who was also studying at OSU. A University of Oklahoma legacy, Shellie broke rank and came north to college.

“My parents both went to OU, and my step-parents went to OU, but they did not brainwash me very well,” she explains.

“I ended up having a good friend in high school who took me to Stillwater for a weekend, and I decided to go to OSU. And I’m so glad I did.

She and Don started dating in the fall of their senior year.

“Don was very involved on campus and very academic,” Shellie says. “He still was after we started dating, but we started having a bit more fun.”

“I hung on for dear life with my grades my senior year,” he admits.

Upon graduation, Don took a job with a bank in Atlanta.

“We dated for a year apart, and then I decided to go out to Atlanta to see if it made sense for us to be together,” Shellie explains. “I got a job at a middle school teaching science. It was a great experience.

“We got engaged that December and were married the following August. Everything worked out.”

Unlike her husband, Shellie does not have a running background.

“None whatsoever,” she says, shaking her head. “I was fast in elementary school. Does that count?”

“You’re looking at the Parmelee Elementary third-grade 50-meter dash runner-up right here,” her husband quips.

Don went on to earn an MBA from Harvard before joining Procter and Gamble’s advertising department in Cincinnati.

The couple moved back to Oklahoma in 1995 to be closer to family, which also entailed a career move.

“I got involved in the family business,” he explains. “They were considering starting a hospice, so that was my opportunity to come back. It was really a great blessing, and the timing was right.”

Don and Shellie raised three children in Edmond. Joe and Mary Jesse (MJ) are OSU alumni.

“Joe was a FarmHouse guy and met his wife Caroline (Cotton) at OSU, while MJ was a Kappa Delta,” their mother says. “They all just loved their experience at Oklahoma State.”

Simon, the middle child, was a runner. And he excelled in the sport.

At Edmond Memorial High School, he anchored the 6A state champion 4x800 relay team and also won individual titles in the 800m and 1600m.

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“He was winning everything, but his times weren’t among the nation’s best because there wasn’t anybody fast enough to push him.”

Until the 2012 state meet, that is, when Don says Simon “did a Babe Ruth thing” and called his shot.

“He was running the 800 at 1:55, 1:54, but at state he said, ‘I’m going to run a 1:52.’”

With a confident, steady stride, Simon took command of the race from the start. As he predicted, Simon finished the two laps in 1:52—20 meters ahead of the second-place runner.

“A couple years ago, I saw Dr. J. Dan Metcalf (a former Cowboy cross country All-American whose son Joe also earned All-America honors at OSU). He’s still involved at Edmond Memorial and goes to the meets. He told me Simon’s race at State was the best 800 meters he’d ever seen. His splits were :28/:28/:28/:28 … At that point coaches were like, ‘Okay, he’s got more potential.’”

Simon was on OSU’s radar, but chose to sign with the Tulsa Golden Hurricane, along with Bulldog teammates Bryce Robinson (a future TU All-American) and John Teeters (who eventually transferred to OSU where he became an AllAmerican sprinter and set school records in the 60m and 100m dash).

“Honestly, if we had known how good Simon was going to be in college, we would have recruited him full tilt,” Coach Smith admits. “It's hard to tell with these Oklahoma kids, because they don't get a lot of competition. Sometimes you think this kid might be good, but it's hard to tell.

“He went to Tulsa and was a real pain in the ass for us. He was an NCAA qualifier, All-American and a conference champion.”

As a junior at TU, Simon ran a personal best 1:48.78 at the NCAA West Regionals in Austin, Texas.

“That race is the perfect snapshot of what he was like as an athlete,” Don says. “He wasn’t expecting to qualify for the NCAA Championships. He was just happy to be at Regionals.

The last 300 meters—WHAM! He puts the hammer down and qualifies for the NCAAs. His TU coach said Simon was the best tactical racer he ever coached.”

Despite his talents on the track, Simon wasn’t obsessed with winning or individual accolades.

“He never made the sport his idol or the altar that he worshipped on,” Don says. “He was like, ‘I'm gonna race the NCAAs, but it’s not a big deal.’ To be as good as he was and be unaffected by that, that’s how I would characterize him.”

“He was very much a free spirit,” Shellie says. “I love the fact that I asked him how he thought he was going to do at the NCAAs, and he said, ‘I just don’t want to come in last.’

It wasn’t like, ‘I hope I come in first.’ He just wanted to do his best.”

Simon was a people person, Don adds, as a peacemaker among teammates and going out of his way to make friends with competitors during meets.

“In the race, it was game on, but he was very much interested in people. Didn’t matter where you came from. He was that way in every aspect of his life.”

In his last collegiate race, Simon won the 1500 at the 2016 Arkansas Invitational in typical Simon fashion—taking the lead with 200 meters to go and never looking back.

An injury cut his collegiate running career short that spring, so Simon looked ahead to graduating and pursuing a Master’s in education.

He was passionate about running, Don says, but in teaching and coaching he found his purpose.

Shellie, Simon and Don Greiner PHOTOS PROVIDED

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The Catalyst The Greiners never wanted their name in capital letters on a grand entrance to a sports facility. Imbued by a fervent faith, their generosity was mostly kept behind-the-scenes.

Humble. Low-key.

But a fateful decision in the spring of 2016 pushed Don and Shellie to be more open about their philanthropy and how it might impact a greater number of people.

On the night of his graduation from the University of Tulsa, Simon and two friends experimented with a natural hallucinogenic.

“He was a great kid,” Shellie says, “but from that point on he was never the same—unlike the two boys that were with him that also took the drug. They’re fine. So it's just a matter of brain chemistry. That event triggered what’s called substanceinduced psychosis."

“He just made a mistake at a party,” Don says. “Simon took a substance that turned out to be extremely dangerous.

“We lost him four months later.”

Simon took his own life on October 3, 2016.

According to the National Institute for Mental Health, suicide is the second leading cause of death among individuals between the ages of 10 and 34.

It’s hard to talk about, Don says. But it has to be talked about.

“It’s a little outside our comfort zone to see our name up on an arch,” Don says. “But we were encouraged by the athletic department that having a name on it does draw attention and makes the mental health issue more of a conversation by connecting it to real people.

“If you look at the statistics from athletic counseling, it’s highly disproportionate, the number of runners that are seeking counseling.”

A portion of the Greiners’ gift (a joint donation from Don and Shellie, along with Ken) will be dedicated to counseling for student-athletes.

“We talked to a lot of Simon’s classmates and teammates,” Shellie adds, “and we heard a lot of people saying, ‘It would be great to have a mental health component to this.’ OSU tells us the same story. A lot of young people in this sport are struggling, girls in particular. Body image. Weight loss.”

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“This gift to OSU is about supporting student-athletes' mental health, but it’s also honoring the legacy of our family in this community and our involvement in running.”

DON GREINER

“I think kids in this generation—early teens to late teen years, even their early 20s—have grown up in a totally different world than we grew up in,” Coach Smith says. “The way people interact and communicate and react to each other is entirely different. I don't know if we were wired to actually interact the way we do now … I've seen mental health issues in the kids I work with kind of skyrocket from when I first started 20-25 years ago. To me, it's one of the most critical areas and probably one of the least funded or resourced areas in our sport."

“Simon’s death did prompt us to get more involved," Don admits. “It was such a privilege to be his parents. He lived a life of curiosity, kindness and interior freedom, and was a model of authentic friendship and accepting people for who they were, no matter how different. Before Simon’s death, we might have supported some of these efforts, but not at this level. It’s kind of a way for the things that were important to him to continue to flourish and to touch people in the world, through him, even though he’s not with us."

“We wanted a tragedy to somehow turn into something meaningful, important and a source of life-giving energy,” Shellie adds. “We’ve been thinking about that almost since day one. Would we be talking about supporting mental health for athletes had Simon not passed? There’s no way.

“We had a young lady, a teammate of Simon’s at TU, who came to talk to us about a year ago. Listening to some of the things she told us, I thought, gosh, she needed this so badly. I wish there had been someone before us who had done something for her. She really needed help, and she still suffers.”

Having the word “Family” in the facility name was important to Don. “When we first started this discussion, it was trying to find a way to honor Simon,” he says. “We’re also working with Tulsa on something for Simon, so yes, this gift to OSU is about supporting student-athletes' mental health, but it’s also honoring the legacy of our family in this community and our involvement in running. My dad, my late uncle Dick Powell, my boys and I all raced on that course.” (Powell married Ken’s sister Carol Ann in 1961.)

Coach Smith and OSU Athletics have also pledged to partner with the Simon Greiner Track and Field Program, supporting

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running clinics and efforts to get more young people involved in running sports.

“Shellie had the idea to have donations in Simon’s name sent to Fields & Futures, a local nonprofit whose mission was to replace—and later endow the maintenance of—all the playing surfaces in OKC public high schools and junior highs,” Don says. “Track and cross country are a great way kids can participate in sports and be a part of something active and healthy. Simon would’ve loved that.”

“When we started these conversations about what this might mean, it was certainly not just to put our name on something,” Shellie adds. “But how can we enrich running in Oklahoma, in Oklahoma City public schools, in mental health for the sport?”

The Culmination Smith sees the Greiner Family OSU Cross Country Course hosting state, regional and national cross country events in the future, from youth on up to the professional level.

“We want to host the state meet here, and we're talking to the OSSAA (Oklahoma Secondary Schools Activities Association).

They're very excited.

“This course could have an enormous economic impact on the city of Stillwater,” he adds. “If we start hosting USA Championships, Junior Olympics, USA Trials, some of these big meets that bring people in for two or three days and they fill up hotels, eat food, rent cars and fly in to the Stillwater airport and all that kind of stuff … I think it's going to be really good for our community.”

Smith cites Florida State University’s new cross country course as an example.

“They did an economic impact study on the course they built, and it was mind boggling.”

The Leon County (Fla.) Division of Tourism reported a $4.5 million economic impact from a single invitational meet that brought 5,000 competitors and nearly 10,000 spectators to Tallahassee last fall.

“I think our course could do the same thing for Stillwater.

It could be huge.”

Several facility enhancements are in the works, Smith says.

“We’re doing an entryway and a permanent finish archway to run under. We're going to put in some interior fencing for crowd control to help keep overeager moms and dads and coaches off the course during the race. I think that's really important. We've put in some electricity that we needed out there so we don't have to run cables all over the course. We’ve put in fiber out there for enhancing the production, so we can have live broadcasts in the future.

“Maintaining the running surface is the most important thing, and our course superintendent, Tracy Schneweis, does a great job. We’ve already got the best course in the country, and we want to keep moving forward with it. There’s plenty more to do.”

The cross country course is a modular facility, the coach explains, with upgrades planned as additional resources allow.

“We want to build a permanent awards pavilion that fits into the landscape and celebrates Oklahoma State and the Cowboy tradition. We also want some kind of building where you could do meet management, or if we get inclement weather, you have a warm, dry place where coaches can go over things.

“Those are down-the-line, dream-type items that we can do as we raise funds … there's always improvements that can be made year by year.”

The Greiners couldn’t be prouder to have their name on such a facility, Don says.

“No one ever could have dreamt that a cross country team could have a course like that. Imagine Karsten Creek dedicated to runners. The whole thing irrigated. The whole thing sodded.

Really, who does that? Well, we do that at Oklahoma State.

“It’s pretty cool that the school provides that kind of environment and resources for the kids who don’t get all the hype and the attention. It’s happened across all the nonrevenue sports, starting with Karsten, but it’s also the soccer facilities, the tennis facilities, O’Brate Stadium … It’s absolutely world class.”

In March of 2021, OSU hosted the NCAA Championships, which had been postponed from its traditional November date due to COVID-19 precautions. The Cowboys earned a podium spot with a third-place team score, while Cowgirl Taylor Roe nearly captured the individual crown, finishing as the runner-up on her home course.

The NCAA Cross Country Championships return to Stillwater this fall, as OSU looks to put its best foot forward once again.

Same place. New name.

POSSE 21

CALI FORNIA LOVE Nurturing Cowgirl Softball Back to National Prominence

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STORY BY TERRY TUSH | PHOTOS BY BRUCE WATERFIELD

K

enny Gajewski didn’t know it at the time—most of us don’t until much later in life—but growing up in southern California in the 1970s and ’80s was about as perfect of a childhood as one could imagine. The main street through Los Alamitos, Calif., was the gateway to the world as the young Gajewski and the other boys in the neighborhood found plenty of adventures.

If they weren’t making their way across town about 10 miles to Disneyland, they were riding their bikes across Katella Avenue to the Los Alamitos Race Track, where they would sneak in to go fishing in the pond in the middle of the Quarter Horse track on off race days. Fifty years ago, Katella Avenue was lined with strawberry fields one after another owned by major food companies, and Gajewski has fond memories of riding his bike into the fields and the many dirt clod fights with his buddies.

“There weren’t many rules. The rule was when the streetlights came on each night, you came home,” he said. “If my dad or mom needed me, they would walk outside and yell my name, and it felt like you could hear them wherever you were in the neighborhood.”

And, of course, there were many baseball, basketball and football games played in the Orange County neighborhood.

“We had a basketball goal on the front of our garage,” he said. “We also used my garage door as a backstop while playing baseball with a tennis ball. We used to play games all day. That’s how I grew up, and looking back now, it was a great place to grow up.”

Gajewski never envisioned leaving California or finding a new home in Stillwater as head coach of the Oklahoma State University Cowgirl softball team. He was a diehard fan of anything and everything Los Angeles. His boyhood idol was Dodgers pitcher Orel Hershiser. He loved rooting for the hometown Lakers, Earvin “Magic” Johnson and “Showtime" and despised the rival Boston Celtics and Larry Bird. His college team of choice was USC. Because his dad’s auto dealership provided cars for the Trojans football coaches, he had an opportunity to meet some of the players, including Heisman Trophywinning running back Charles White, and at times traveled with the team to away games.

POSSE 23

‘You’re nuts, I’ll never coach a girl in my life.’

Growing up in southern California, his dream was to play for the Dodgers or Lakers. After a standout high school baseball career, Gajewski played at Cerritos College in California, one of the nation’s best junior college programs at the time. After redshirting his first year, he earned second team All-South Coast Conference honors in 1991 with a 5-1 pitching record with two saves and a 2.06 earned-run average. That led to a scholarship at Cal State Dominguez Hills, an NCAA Division II school where he spent a season. But he and best friend Greg Bergeron, who also played at both Cerritos and Dominguez Hills, wanted to play Division I baseball and decided to transfer for final year of eligibility. Bergeron had already signed with Loyola Marymount, and Gajewski was planning to do so until a conversation in Elkhart, Kan., changed his mind.

Chip Glass, an outfielder at the University of Oklahoma, and Gajewski were playing on the same team in the Kansas Jayhawk summer league, and Glass saw a pitcher in Gajewski the Sooners could use. The OU pitching coach was former major league pitcher Vern Ruhle, who Gajewski had taken lessons from while in high school, and the lure of playing for him was too good to pass up. The Californian decided without even visiting OU to sign with the Sooners.

That decision to come to Oklahoma changed the course of Gajewski’s life. He helped pitch the Sooners to the 1994 College World Series, where they won the national championship,

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and he began his coaching career as a graduate assistant the next season. Gajewski eventually spent 10 years at OU (19972007) as the turf and maintenance director for all Oklahoma athletic fields.

But he couldn’t see himself fertilizing and watering fields for the rest of his life; he wanted to eventually coach.

“Well, about year seven or eight I began thinking this is not what I want to do,” he said. “This wasn’t the path that I needed to be on. I wanted to be around young people. So, you kind of get discouraged because you’re so far out of the circle that you’re afraid you’re not getting back in. How can somebody justify hiring the grounds guy at OU?” Gajewski admits the time in Norman was invaluable, and says he wouldn’t be leading the Cowgirl softball program if not for that experience.

“I learned so much in those 10 years,” he said. “I think I was being groomed as a head coach at that moment, and I didn’t even know it. It is where I started to notice leadership qualities, and the impact I could have on people’s lives.

“I also got to be around really good people, and a really good softball coach (Patty Gasso) who took me under her wing and showed me a lot of things. She reached out to me about coaching at one point, and I told her, ‘You’re nuts, I’ll never coach a girl in my life.’ And here I am. I’d never change it now.”

And here I am. I’d never change it now. ke n ny ga j e ws ki

Leading the Cowgirls to Prominence

Gajewski’s accomplishments since taking over the Cowgirls softball program is impressive: a 221-107 record entering the spring season, six consecutive NCAA postseason appearances, trips to the Women’s College World Series the last two years the event was played (2019 and 2021) and 11 All-Americans.

But just a few years earlier he was wondering if his dream of coaching would ever materialize. In 2011, Gajewski was hired as the director of operations for the University of Tennessee baseball team, joining longtime friends Bergeron and Bill Mosiello, a former coach from Cerritos College. But he was still yearning to coach, and he leaped at the opportunity a year later when offered a position as an assistant by University of Florida softball coach Tim Walton (another former teammate at Cerritos and OU). However, he had never coached softball before and admitted there was a learning curve.

“I wasn’t reluctant at all because I had spent a lot of time around Patty, and she used to take me to games. I didn’t understand softball, but I knew what it was about,” he said. “I used to go visit Tim a lot in Florida and sit in the dugout with his staff. I was like, ‘Woo, this is different. This is not what I thought.’ So, I wasn’t reluctant, but what I’ll tell you is that when I got to Florida, it took me some time to catch up with the speed and nuances (of the game).”

Gajewski says being an assistant at Florida was great and he wasn’t looking to leave one of college softball’s best programs.

In his three years (2013-15), the Gators were 173-28 and won back-to-back Women’s College World Series titles (2014-15). But then the OSU job came open, and Gajewski saw an opportunity.

Former OSU Athletic Director Mike Holder was in charge of the search for the next Cowgirls softball coach. He received some advice from former Cowboys golfer Grier Jones, whose granddaughter, Julia Cottrill, was being recruited by Gajewski to play at Florida. “When Grier Jones talks, you should listen.

He’s a good judge of character and people, and he told me to hire him,” Holder said.

It took more than that for Holder to make the offer, but Jones’ endorsement certainly helped. Gajewski flew to Stillwater to interview for the job and felt like he made a favorable impression on Holder.

“When I interviewed here, I didn’t want to leave. I said, ‘This is my job. I want this job,’” he said. “I was severely disappointed when Coach Holder didn’t offer me the job when we were driving back to the (Oklahoma City) airport. In my gut, I just knew he was going to give me the job.”

POSSE 25

I’ll never be surprised at the success he

because he’s got winner w

Holder had several other interviews scheduled and had to complete the process, but he knew that Gajewski was the right person to lead the softball program. It was a few days later, while recruiting at a softball tournament in Tennessee for the Gators, that Gajewski received the phone call with the job offer from Holder. He immediately returned to his hotel and began calling the Cowgirls who would be returning for the 2016 season.

“I made all those calls, and it was awesome,” he said. “My message was, ‘I know that you didn’t choose me, but I’m choosing you, my family is choosing you, and please give us a shot to get things turned around here. I think you’ll see that from day one.’”

Truer words couldn’t have been spoken. Gajewski’s first Cowgirl team earned an NCAA postseason berth, pushing an outstanding Georgia team to the elimination game on its home field at the NCAA Regional before seeing the season come to an end. By the time the 2016 season ended, Gajewski felt like the program was turning the corner, even though there were some bumps along the way. Seven years later, he tears up when talking about his first Cowgirl team.

“We’re forever indebted to that team because it truly turned this program around,” he said. “They changed the standard

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and changed the narrative of this place, that we weren’t going to be a pushover anymore.”

“I think that to me was probably the highlight of my first six years. Taking Georgia to that ‘if-necessary’ game of that regional. I mean, come on, we had no business being there. We were terrible in our league but won enough to get a regional bid, and getting to watch them run around like a bunch of 8-yearold kids was a thrill. That’s one thing we talk about here, is play the game like you’re 8, play the game like you’re on the playground or in your front yard, play like you don’t care what’s going to happen. That’s one of the things we’ve always talked about here, and they did that the whole year.”

Bergeron, his longtime friend who is now an assistant softball coach at Cal State Northridge, remembers a conversation with Gajewski after that season. “I know it may sound crazy, but he saw things heading in the right direction his first year. They went through some struggles, but he said, ‘I really like the direction we’re going. I like the recruits we’re getting in here.

The girls are buying in.’”

Gajewski credits players like Vanessa Shippy, Madi Sue Montgomery and Taylor Lynch for changing the culture of the program over those first few years. But he deserves more credit than he lets on, says those who know him best.

e has

written all over him.

Bill Mosiello

Building a Program

Gajewski and the Cowgirls staff—assistant coach Jeff Cottrill and director of operations Stacy Pestrak were among his first hires in 2016 and are still with him—immediately saw things that needed changing. Many players did not know the storied history of Cowgirl Softball (eight World Series appearances from 1980-98) and the program’s success under longtime coach Sandy Fischer was not promoted throughout the facility. He began talking about the program’s history and put Fischer’s photo in the softball clubhouse so that players had to walk past it every day (and still do today).

He was irritated because the pride in which they did things wasn’t at a championship level, from keeping their locker room clean to taking pride in how the field looked.

“We did field jobs, cleaned the wall pads, got down on our hands and knees and cleaned all the baseboards inside the building. We spent money recarpeting this whole place, painted the walls, redid the team room,” Gajewski said.

But he says the turning point—not only for that 2016 first team but also for the future of the program—was when he made the entire team go camping together in Broken Bow in southeastern Oklahoma. “I remember telling our staff, this team is not together, and we have to do something about it, so I decided we were going to go camping,” Gajewski said. “They were ticked off, didn’t want to go.”

The players were asked to turn over their cell phones for the weekend. They stayed in tents. The entire group shared one toilet and one shower. They cooked their own food. They went hiking together. And, something happened (and Gajewski isn’t talking about the bear that he says some players claim to have heard one night).

“We got down there, and they had a blast,” he said. “Something changed on that camping trip, and I felt like that was a great turning point for this program.”

The words “family” and “culture” are words that Gajewski does not like to use, which is ironic because they were used by nearly every other person interviewed for this story.

Whether it’s taking that first team on a camping retreat, teaching them about the history of the program or showing them how to take pride in their facility, Gajewski has accomplished his goal—creating a bond that leads to a winning atmosphere and is attracting some of the nation’s top talent to Stillwater.

Two of the people who know Gajewski best—Bergeron, who has known him since both began playing on a soccer team as 5-year-olds, and Mosiello, who recruited him out of high school more than 30 years ago—says there is one characteristic about Gajewski that stands out.

POSSE 27

“I think relationships with your players are the most important thing there is,” said Mosiello, an associate head baseball coach at TCU who recruited Gajewski in 1990 and remains one of his best friends. “He has an innate ability to make every single person that comes in contact with him feel special, and they think he’s their best friend. So, every person leaves him thinking that he treated me special, but the truth is he just treats everybody like that. That’s just what he does.”

Part of that is showing vulnerability, and what you see is what you get with Gajewski, says Cowgirls Kiley Naomi and Sydney Pennington. He’s not afraid to chew out his team after a bad performance, but he also has an emotional side and isn’t afraid to cry in front of his team.

“We need to see that part of him, and he needs to see that from us too,” Naomi said. “We need to see the real him and how emotional it is. He’s so passionate, and he cares so much about us, that he doesn’t care who sees him crying. He’s real with you and is going to show his emotions. I think it shows how passionate he is about us, and as a female we need that from our coach. We need to know that we’re loved and that we’re cared for, especially being away from home and not necessarily getting that all the time, so you kind of look for that in your coaches, and he’s definitely going to give that to us.”

Pennington agrees.

“I think my biggest thing is he’s very involved in our personal life outside of the field. I think that’s really cool. He just cares about you as a person, and I think that’s the biggest thing that, when I leave here, I know that he’s always going to care about me. I don’t think he’s just focused on you as a softball player, he wants to have a friend for a lifetime. He treats you as a person rather than just a softball player.”

The Cowgirls head coach prefers to use the term “health” when talking about the softball program. If the success on the field—and the joy you see in the faces of Naomi, Pennington and other players over the past seven years—is any evidence of the health of the program (and it definitely is), than Gajewski may have found the prescription for success.

“We try not to use the words family and culture because they’re thrown around so easy,” Gajewski said, “but we just want to show what it’s like. We’re constantly in contact with our kids, and it has nothing to do with softball. I think that’s how you show people that you care, and so we just took that approach from day one.

“Now, these kids are into this program and pretty much take care of it. They care about what people think, they care about what people see, they care about their teammates, they care about this program and have taken ownership in it.”

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Pennington says that’s one reason that players want to play at Oklahoma State.

“Everything around here is just very natural, and we keep it fun, he keeps it fun,” said the fifth-year senior. “He’s a very light-hearted coach, jokes around a lot.

He makes coming to the facility very fun, and I find myself excited to come to practice. It’s just a really good atmosphere that he’s created here, and the culture for me is unbeatable.

I’ve never experienced it at another place, but from what I’ve heard from transfers, this is the best place to be, and I think he’s the one who created it.”

The Cowgirls don’t have many rules, but one that Gajewski says is strictly enforced is that players must enter the softball facility through the front door each day, passing by the head coach and assistant coaches to get to the locker room.

“When you come through the front door, we as coaches are looking out these windows and we see who is coming, and I can tell by their body language or their faces whether it’s a good day or bad day. If it’s not a very good day, it’s really easy to say, ‘Hey, what’s up Sydney Pennington?’ We try to put a smile on their face,” he said. “If it’s not a good day, come in here and let’s talk and let us help you get through it. We have had some crazy talks about families, relationships and school, but we’re here to help them, we’re just not here to coach softball. Coaching softball is the least important thing that we do here. We take care of other things, and that’s what it’s all about. That’s truly what I think coaching is and mentoring is, and I hope they know that and understand that.”

Gajewski will never forget his days growing up in southern California, and the lessons he learned in the neighborhood off Katella Avenue. But the memories of leading the Cowgirls to the Women’s College World Series in 2019 and 2021 are not enough. He’s ready to hang a national championship flag at the southwest corner of Duck Street and McElroy Avenue in Stillwater, the site of Cowgirl Stadium.

Don’t bet against him.

“I’ll never be surprised at the success he has because he’s got winner written all over him,” Mosiello said. “It’s not surprising that he’s had great success, and the best is yet to come, I can promise you that.”

Making Bedlam Better Kenny Gajewski won a national championship while playing baseball at the University of Oklahoma and then spent 10 years in Norman as the person in charge of maintenance and grooming of all athletic fields. He considers Joe Castiglione, Bob Stoops and Brent Venables as friends and mentors.

But that didn’t prevent then-athletic director Mike Holder from hiring the former OU athlete and employee in 2015 to lead the Cowgirls struggling softball program.

“We were looking for the best coach we could find, and if he’s a Sooner, so be it. He’s not now,” said Holder. “He works for Oklahoma State, and he’s all in for OSU Softball, but he’ll always be a Sooner. He played on a national championship baseball team there, and that’s a big deal. That’s his school, and he should be proud of it.”

Gajewski impressed Holder in the first 10 minutes of meeting him after the then OSU athletic director picked the Florida assistant coach up at the Oklahoma City airport prior to interviewing for the Cowgirl coaching job.

“Coach Holder said, ‘There’s only one thing I found that I really don’t like about you.’ I said, ‘What’s that?’” Gajewski said. “My mind is racing, like what did he find? He said, ‘You’re a Sooner,’ and just laughed. I said, ‘You know coach, I am and I can’t change that. But if you’ll hire me, I’ll be the best Cowboy that you’ve ever had.’”

The seventh-year Cowgirls head coach is not intimidated that one of the nation’s most successful college softball programs is just 80 miles south of Stillwater. Gajewski relishes the idea that his team gets the chance to play Oklahoma at least three times each season, and uses the rivalry to his advantage, whether he’s motivating his team to get better each day in practice or recruiting some of the best players across the nation.

“I welcome them being 80 miles down the road, and I have zero issues with it,” Gajewski said. “If you’re trying to be the very best, it’s a lot easier if they are close. You get to watch it and see it, and it’s a constant reminder to you every day that there is still work to be done.”

The Cowgirls broke through last season, defeating No. 1-ranked OU 6-4 in Cowgirl Stadium last May for their first win over their Bedlam rivals since 2011, and the OSU victory sent shockwaves through the college softball world.

“I think we have their attention,” Gajewski said. “I don’t know that they respect us completely, but I know that every year it’s more and more competitive. I just keep telling our kids, just keep kicking their shins and eventually we’re going to break them. I don’t know when, I don’t know how yet. I mean, I’m learning as a head coach, but we’re getting there.

“I don’t particularly care for them, but I respect them as a competitor, for the way they do things, and the way they constantly push to make our game better. I tell our kids, ‘If you want to beat the best just look right down this road, it’s right here. It’s right in front of you. So, when you start feeling good about yourself, you’d better pay attention to what’s going on.’ Again, we’re not intimidated by them, we’re not in awe of them, but it’s really cool to have them close, so you keep your mind fresh.”

Holder is impressed with what Gajewski has done since taking over in 2016, including trips to the Women’s College World Series in 2019 and 2021, and is excited to see what the future holds.

“I just like the fact, and I told him this, that he made softball fun again,” Holder said. “He’s put the joy back in Oklahoma State Softball. The players are having fun and can’t wait to get to practice or play the games. That’s contagious and bleeds over into the fanbase, and those two go together and leads to winning a lot of softball games.”

POSSE 29

all-american cowboy OSU sophomore Dustin Plott finished sixth in the 174-pound bracket at the 2022 NCAA Wrestling Championships, earning All-America honors. The Tuttle, Okla., native's path to the podium began with two wins in the championship bracket before dropping a quarterfinal decision to the No. 3 seed. He responded with a gutsy, come-from-behind win over the No. 7 seed in sudden victory, followed by a major decision over the No. 10 ranked wrestler.

Plott finished the season with a 21-6 overall record that included 13 wins over ranked opponents and six bonus-point wins.

PHO TO B

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fiesta photo op The Cowboys pulled off an historic comeback to win the 2022 PlayStation Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Ariz., on New Year's Day. OSU trailed Notre Dame 28-7 in the second quarter, but scored the next 30 points. The 21-point comeback against the Fighting Irish was the largest in the bowl game's history. The Pokes were paced by MVP Spencer Sanders, who threw for 371 yards and 4 touchdowns to go along with 125 rushing yards.

Coach Gundy's Cowboys are now 11-5 in bowl games.

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TOP 150 DONORS

(ALL-TIME, BASED ON PRIORITY POINTS)

AS OF APRIL 1, 2022

1 Boone Pickens – 6,116,025 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

36

Malone & Amy Mitchell Sherman Smith Family Patterson Family Dennis & Cindy Reilley John A. Clerico W & W Steel LLC Michael & Anne Greenwood Robert A. Funk Anonymous #18 Karsten Manufacturing Ross & Billie McKnight Vicki & Bob Howard A.J. & Susan Jacques Harold Courson Helmrich Family Cecil & Frances O'Brate Jim & Mary Barnes Ken & Jimi Davidson ONEOK, Inc. Chesapeake Energy, Inc. Mike & Robbie Holder Simmons Bank Mike Gundy Joe & Connie Mitchell OSU Foundation Jack & Carol Corgan Chad Clay Kent Dunbar Baloo & Maribeth Subramaniam

SPRING 2022

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OSU ATHLETICS POSSE POINT SYSTEM The Priority Point System provides a fair, consistent and transparent method of providing benefits to donors in exchange for their financial investments in OSU athletics.

Donors gain points three ways: Contributions All current and lifetime contributions (cash or stock) are worth 3 points per $100 donation. Planned (deferred) gifts in the new Leave a Legacy Endowment Campaign will receive 1 point per $100.

Commitment Donors will earn one point each year for purchasing season tickets (one point per sport annually), as well as one point for each year of POSSE donations.

PHOTO CAULEN SPENCER

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Points never diminish and will carry over to subsequent years. Donors retain all previously earned Priority Points in their giving history. For questions about the POSSE Priority Point System, email posse@ okstate.edu or call us at 405-744-7301.

HOW DO MY POINTS RANK? as of APRIL 1, 2022 Points

Rank

6,116,025 240,566 80,534 51,183 38,537 33,082 22,462 13,020 6,825 3,185 1,145 415 220 170

1 5 25 50 75 100 150 250 500 1000 2500 5000 7500 8500

37

OSU Max is the Future of Storytelling in College Athletics

Dressed casually in an Oklahoma State wrestling jacket and cap, John Smith reclined slightly in the wooden chair and recounted a powerful memory of Gallagher Hall.

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STORY BY HALLIE HART | PHOTOS BY BRUCE WATERFIELD

A videographer captured his every word, gesture and facial expression, but Smith appeared at ease, his voice ebbing and flowing as if he were chatting with an old friend. Smith shared this riveting anecdote: before he started coaching the Cowboys, long before he rose to his status as a living legend in the wrestling world, he was a 12-year-old towel boy on the mat when OSU won the 1978 Big Eight Championship. That night, Smith remembered, the crowd noise escalated to the point that light bulbs popped and shattered, causing fragments to rain on the mat. Smith was tasked with hitting the official on the back as a way to notify him when time expired—it was far too loud to hear the buzzer in the arena.

It is a legendary moment in the history of OSU Athletics.

POSSE 39

“The possibilities, I think, are very exciting. And they are limitless.”

Chad Weiberg

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Because of OSU’s new subscription-based streaming service, that narrative is now preserved in Smith’s words, housed among numerous videos that offer rare insight into the lives of OSU student-athletes and coaches. This is the brilliance of OSU Max, the direct-to-consumer network designed for Cowboy fans.

When the athletic department unveiled OSU Max in December, it featured 150 pieces of creative content, and that number is rapidly ballooning. Stephen Howard, the Assistant Athletic Director for Digital Strategy, said the goal is for fans to never run out of videos.

“OSU Max is the behind-the-scenes, unfettered access into Oklahoma State Athletics that you can’t get anywhere else,” Howard said. “It’s following our teams, our people, diving inside locker rooms, going inside film study sessions, historical deep dives into our teams and even the Bedlam rivalry, as well as a house of massive amounts of historical content.

“It’s a must-have for anybody who is just a die-hard Oklahoma State Athletics fan, and what I love about it is, you’re going to hear some stories that you’ve never heard before.”

For those who pay the subscription fee of $8.99 per month, OSU Max offers a multitude of features. Bo Mattingly, co-founder of Sport & Story—the organization partnering with the athletic department in this endeavor—likened OSU Max to a “mini Netflix” geared toward Cowboy fans. The videos are carefully categorized, much like the comedies and dramas on familiar streaming services, but these documentary-style pieces appeal to different sectors of the OSU community. Analytical minds can rejoice in the detailed dissection of games in the “Cowboy Film Room” videos, while history buffs might prefer to bask in the nostalgia of “Cowboy Rewind.”

At its core, OSU Max is a channel for storytelling, using all types of videos to connect fans with the individuals who have built and enhanced the university’s rich athletic tradition. Whether a subscriber watches members of the Cowboy basketball team gather at coach Mike Boynton’s house for dinner or hears Cowgirl softball players discuss the importance of enjoying their sport, the universal human emotions are palpable. Those authentic, peoplecentric stories create the unique appeal of OSU Max. “There’s a lot of content being produced by schools,” Mattingly said. “But there’s very little longform storytelling where you can really humanize people, really get to know who they are and what they’re about.”

After identifying this need in college athletics, Mattingly had to implement his idea with programs that offered treasure troves of compelling stories.

This is how OSU Max was born.

Bo Knows

It started with “Our Time: Oklahoma State Football.”

As Mattingly consulted with coach Mike Gundy and others involved with OSU Athletics, the plan took shape: Sport & Story could document the behind-the-scenes operations of the Cowboy football program for a series that would air on ESPN+ throughout the 2020 football season.

Mattingly, whose work is based in Arkansas, saw value in highlighting OSU. Gundy’s name is familiar to people across the nation, Mattingly pointed out, so “Our Time” could attract viewers far beyond Stillwater. For years, Gundy’s program had exemplified consistency, Mattingly said. With running back Chuba Hubbard and wide receiver Tylan Wallace returning instead of declaring for the NFL Draft, 2020 looked like an intriguing year to feature the Cowboys.

When Mattingly immersed himself in OSU Athletics, he realized the football series could be a launchpad for something greater. The evidence surrounded him: banners for 52 team national championships across multiple sports, an All-American list expansive enough to cover a wall in Heritage Hall, and prestigious trophies and Olympic medals for OSU alumni.

“This is a storied athletic program,” Mattingly said. “And sometimes, I think Cowboy fans need to be reminded of that.

Sometimes, we’re too close to our own backyard, and someone else comes in, and they go, ‘Wow, this is a really nice backyard.’”

Mattingly was that observant visitor who noticed something extraordinary.

This outside-looking-in perspective provided fresh, innovative angles for “Our Time,” but it also meant he had to foster mutual trust with the athletic department. This was a Cowboy football program that operated with smooth efficiency: running through drills at practice, assembling coaches for meetings, taking “The Walk” along Hester Street to Boone Pickens Stadium on game days. Would a camera crew be an obtrusive presence disrupting the flow of it all?

Initially, everyone had to adjust to the change, but it didn’t take long for doubts to subside. Coaches and players carried on as if the cameras had always been there. Camera crews blended in with the program, even when unavoidable circumstances added a complex layer to the Cowboys’ season.

No one could ignore the uncertainty looming over college football because of the COVID-19 pandemic, so Sport & Story weaved that element into the narrative, featuring footage of players and coaches taking COVID tests. The camera operators adhered to those protocols, too.

As Sport & Story collaborated with OSU Athletics and welcomed feedback from the communications staff, Athletic Director Chad Weiberg—then the Deputy Athletic Director reporting to Mike Holder—noticed how well the process worked.

“They came in here, and they just became part of the team, really, and weren’t a distraction at all, and did a good job of telling the story and highlighting the program,” Weiberg said.

“I think that was a big part in just building the relationship with them, knowing the quality and the kind of people that they were, and just being comfortable working with them.”

Because of those bonds, leaders in the athletic department had faith in Sport & Story to provide creative direction for OSU Max. “Our Time” was one of several reasons this trust proliferated.

Kevin Klintworth, OSU’s Senior Associate Athletic Director for Communications, said he enjoyed Mattingly’s podcasts, one of Sport & Story’s earliest ventures. In September, the University of Arkansas partnered with Sport & Story to debut Hogs+, the streaming network for Arkansas fans.

Mattingly also worked with documentarian Christopher Hunt, the director of the “Eddie” documentary that delves into the triumphs and tribulations of Eddie Sutton’s historic coaching career. OSU Max would be in the hands of established professionals.

“One of the things that we’re really fortunate with is to have somebody like Christopher Hunt, to have somebody like Bo Mattingly,” Howard said. “Not only are they a part of the dayto-day operation for what Sport & Story does, but also, they know Oklahoma State. They know what’s going on.”

The idea for OSU Max sprouted as Sport & Story continued to collaborate with the athletic department. Mattingly recognized large portions of college fanbases can’t regularly attend games, so a streaming network would give those people a new way to connect with their beloved school. Klintworth realized Orange Power Studios, OSU’s in-house production agency, couldn’t devote much time to longform storytelling because staff and resources were concentrated toward producing video board footage, third-tier TV broadcasts and creative content.

OSU Max could offer solutions. The key was making sure all of OSU’s athletic programs would buy in.

POSSE 41

“you want people to see the onion peeled back a little bit and see more of the personal side and how we operate when the lights aren’t necessarily on in the arena.”

Mike Boynton

42

SPRING 2022

Behind the Scenes

Boynton sat behind the steering wheel and drove along Sixth Avenue as his young son, Ace, peered out the back driver’s side window.

Boynton’s daughter, Zoe, was in the other back seat, joining her brother and dad on the trip to elementary school. Boynton walked his two kids up to the school building, exchanging hugs and fist bumps before returning to his vehicle. Next, Boynton headed to OSU’s campus and started his workout routine on a stationary bike, sweat collecting on his forehead as he spoke to the camera while wearing his wireless earbuds.

These ordinary moments in Boynton’s morning routine are recorded, arranged and paired with his voiceover to create a heartwarming narrative, providing fans with snapshots of his daily life outside coaching.

“I appreciate our administration for being a little bit forwardthinking and doing something like this,” Boynton said. “I don’t know how many programs provide that kind of behind-thescenes access for their fans. It’s awesome, obviously, to get that type of exposure, for recruits, because you want people to see the onion peeled back a little bit and see more of the personal side and how we operate when the lights aren’t necessarily on in the arena.”

For all of this to happen, Sport & Story and OSU Athletics depend on a fusion of different perspectives, a conglomerate of creative forces.

Leaders such as Boynton and softball coach Kenny Gajewski—two individuals who have been especially receptive to the idea, Howard said—have to welcome the camera crews into their programs, allowing videographers to seek and follow storylines. Weiberg’s focus on a bold, cutting-edge presence for OSU Athletics has shaped the vision for OSU Max. Klintworth and Howard, along with sports information directors, provide extensive knowledge of the athletic programs, and OSU media personalities such as Jessica Morrey, Deion Imade and Dave Hunziker also contribute to the content.

Of course, the other major piece of the puzzle is Sport & Story’s legwork. With Mattingly’s direction, content creators discover, record and edit stories that present familiar teams in new ways. Mattingly said often, three to five staff members are on campus to capture videos and collaborate with Howard and Klintworth.

“The thing that makes it work is that none of us duplicate our skills,” Klintworth said. “Everyone has their own niche that’s their specialty, and OSU Max kind of marries those things into a final product.”

Although the heart of OSU Max lies in Stillwater, the behindthe-scenes work branches across the nation. One producer is based in the Northeast. Mattingly lives in Arkansas. Thanks to file-sharing technologies, a single piece of content can easily float from person to person, undergoing tweaks and edits along the way until it morphs into a polished final cut.

Story ideas germinate in a variety of ways. Sometimes, SIDs might help videographers identify important topics, but often, the camera crews delve into programs and let stories arise naturally.

Sydney Pennington, a fifth-year third baseman on the Cowgirl softball team, said she recently participated in an OSU Max interview with Gajewski and shortstop Kiley Naomi.

Instead of pigeonholing the softball team into a storyline, the videographers presented open-ended questions, simply asking Pennington and Naomi to tell them about the program.

Athletes and coaches are empowered to define their narratives.

“That was pretty cool,” Pennington said. “We kind of just gave our story and how the program’s grown so much in the last four or five years. I think it shows on the field how much fun we have, but now, we’re going to be able to show them all the time.”

The human element of OSU Max shines because studentathletes and coaches are featured in their natural environments.

Pennington, Naomi and Gajewski spoke in front of the Cowgirls’ wooden lockers illuminated with orange lights. In a different video, as Cowboy wrestler Daton Fix reflected on the time he did 100,000 push-ups in one year, the Christmas tree in his apartment glimmered in the background. Another video captured basketball players filling their plates in Boynton’s kitchen and laughing while seated around his dining table.

These mini-documentaries are slices of OSU athletes’ lives, not staged scenes.

“We’re just gonna act like ourselves and just go about our daily lives,” Pennington said. “And that’s who we are.”

This authenticity is making an impact on longtime fans.

POSSE 43

Only the Beginning

Doug Shivers subscribed to OSU Max as quickly as he could.

After learning about it on Twitter, Shivers, an OSU graduate and memorabilia collector, was immediately interested in the idea of a Cowboy-centric streaming platform. He also decided to recommend it to a fellow OSU fan, a friend who lives in St. Louis.

For a few days, Shivers wondered what his friend thought of OSU Max. Then Shivers received a text message that explained his buddy’s delayed response.

“He’s like, ‘I’ve been watching that football highlight reel (on OSU Max) for like three days now,’” Shivers said. “So he was impressed. He was a believer after he subscribed.”

OSU Max is reaching numerous alumni and devoted fans, and the network is still in its infancy with plenty of room to grow. Eventually, OSU Max will be available on an over-thetop (OTT) app, which means subscribers will have a way to access it via services such as Roku and Apple TV, and a fulltime staff will work in Stillwater.

Currently, fans can receive additional content from the free Oklahoma State Cowboy Brew newsletter, which includes promotional information about OSU Max videos, along with features such as OSU trivia and weekly sports schedules.

Cowboy Brew and OSU Max subscriptions are available at osumax.com.

“The possibilities, I think, are very exciting,” Weiberg said.

“And they are limitless.”

As the library of videos expands, OSU Max will encompass every Cowgirl and Cowboy athletic program. Shivers said he appreciates the videos dedicated to teams that don’t typically receive the same level of national attention as football, though he enjoys the football content, too.

He also pointed out how OSU Max can have longevity, referring to its exclusive footage as “priceless.”

“In the future, there’s going to be people that want to go back and see what happened,” Shivers said. “When somebody comes to college 10 years from now and somebody talks about, ‘Well, I remember when they beat Notre Dame,’ well, then it’s going to be easy to go back and look at the film room things.”

OSU Max preserves the voices of the past, amplifies the stories of the present and carves a cutting-edge path into the future. No matter where a video fits into OSU’s rich timeline, it supports one of Weiberg’s major goals: showing fans the personalities of OSU Athletics.

“I’ve often said, I wish they could see a lot of the things that we get to see off of the field because it’s incredible,” Weiberg said. “We have incredible young people that are doing amazing things.”

44

SPRING 2022

This human element is greater than sports, and it’s also a reason people love sports. Klintworth said he has a friend who didn’t follow the NBA, but when she learned about LeBron James’ philanthropic work in schools, she became an instant fan.

OSU Max revolves around this concept. Dedicated Cowboys can always deepen their connections to OSU, and new fans can emerge when they find inspiration in the story of an athlete or a coach.

“You just don’t know what chord it’s going to strike with someone,” Klintworth said. “Or what action or what memory or what event will basically have them say, ‘I’m a Cowboy for life.’”

Regardless of someone’s level of familiarity with the university, OSU Max offers constant opportunities to learn something. Although Weiberg described Klintworth as a “walking encyclopedia” of Cowboy knowledge, OSU Max is delving into stories that even Klintworth hasn’t heard.

Klintworth said he always wanted to meet someone who could provide a firsthand account of the wrestling action that caused the Gallagher Hall light bulbs to shatter.

As he watched a video on OSU Max, he realized he already knew a famous witness.

To Klintworth’s surprise, it was John Smith.

POSSE 45

O

S

U

A

N

NEW B

THE NEW YEAR COULD NOT HAVE STARTED

STATE FOOTBALL PROGRAM, FOR THE UN THE UNIVERSITY. ON JAN. 1, THERE WAS

DEFICIT AND A VICTORY OVER NO. 5 NOTRE

46

SPRING 2022

N

D

T

H

E

BIG 12

D IN A BETTER MANNER FOR THE OKLAHOMA

NIVERSITY AND FOR ANYONE INVESTED IN A COWBOY COMEBACK FROM A 21-POINT

E DAME IN THE PLAYSTATION FIESTA BOWL.

POSSE 47

F “WE WANT EVERYBODY IN THE COUNTRY TO KNOW: WITH ALL DUE RESPECT (TO NOTRE DAME),

WE’VE GOT A LOGO, TOO.”

48

SPRING 2022

or 62 years, the Cowboys and Sooners have been conference partners (in the Big Eight in 1960-95, and in the Big 12 since 1996). They have played annually since 1906.

From a sales standpoint, Bedlam and Texas games always are important pieces in OSU’s annual attempt to sell season tickets. The Longhorns are on the 2022 Boone Pickens Stadium schedule.

It’s impossible to know when the Sooners might once again play on OSU’s turf. After OU becomes an SEC member, it seems, Bedlam football would no longer continue — at least as an annual exercise.

It’s safe to presume that neither the Cowboy program nor the Sooner program would want an annual nonconference game of that magnitude and incredible level of emotional taxation.

“I don't think it's a realistic thing,” Mike Gundy said of an every-year Bedlam football game after OU has left the conference. As a quarterback, an assistant coach, an offensive coordinator and the head coach since 2005, Gundy has been involved in 30 percent of all games played in the 121-year history of the Oklahoma State program.

His opinion on anything related to Cowboy football would have substance, but here’s the difference between a big bowl victory and a Bedlam victory: When the Cowboys defeat Notre Dame or Stanford in the Fiesta Bowl, or Alabama in the Independence Bowl, OSU fans rejoice. When the Cowboys beat OU, OSU fans might cry tears of joy.

A football win over OU is celebrated by OSU fans more than any other victory over any other opponent in any sport. Nothing satisfies the fan base like a football conquest of the Sooners.

However, in regard to the unforgettable comeback against Notre Dame, Gundy’s “biggest win in the history of the school” statement does have some validity in that it resonated nationally and made a statement about the Cowboys’ potential in the New Big 12.

Within a couple of years, OU and Texas make their move to the SEC while the Big 12 welcomes new members Houston, the University of Central Florida and Cincinnati from the American Athletic Conference, along with BYU. Since 2011, BYU has competed in football as an FBS independent.

As OSU, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Texas Tech, Baylor, TCU and West Virginia are expected to sustain their Big 12 membership, the addition of four schools would push the conference back to its original model of 12 schools split into two six-team divisions for football.

Combining the essentials—coaching stability, winning, facilities and television appeal—Oklahoma State football appears to be at or very near the top of the New Big 12.

Everyone remembers two Mike Gundy quotes from the aftermath of that Saturday classic.

“This is clearly the biggest win in the history of the school.”

“We want everybody in the country to know: With all due respect (to Notre Dame), we’ve got a logo, too.”

The Fiesta Bowl was played five-and-a-half months after the staggering first reports that the universities of Oklahoma and Texas intend to transfer from the Big 12 Conference to the Southeastern Conference.

That land mine surfaced only three weeks after highestlevel leadership changes at OSU, with Dr. Kayse Shrum having succeeded Burns Hargis in the president’s office and Chad Weiberg having succeeded the tremendously impactful Mike Holder as the athletic director.

For Oklahoma State, there were—and still are—two primary considerations: An overall conference future without OU and Texas, and a football scheduling future that won’t include an every-other-year home game against the Sooners and Longhorns.

By far, Texas spends more money on athletics than any other Big 12 school. The OU annual budget is well beyond that of any of the remaining eight schools. Within the new Big 12, as it pertains to spending, Oklahoma State should consistently be in the upper half of the league standings on spending. OSU might even be in the top three.

At a money level, the playing field in the new Big 12 should be much less top-heavy, but huge spending hasn’t resulted in consistent winning at Texas. In its last 12 meetings with Texas, Oklahoma State has won eight times.

Relative to the Gundy-OSU relationship, this would be the defining statistic: the 54-year-old Gundy has as much history with the program as—well anyone in history. With regard to head-coaching continuity, Oklahoma State has a pronounced advantage over most of the schools already in the league and those that soon will be.

In the 17 seasons since Gundy became OSU’s head man, Kansas and Houston each had six head coaches. Texas Tech and Cincinnati each had five. With four coaches apiece: West Virginia, Baylor, Iowa State and UCF. OU seemed stable as longtime head man Bob Stoops handed the baton to Lincoln Riley in 2017, but Riley shocked Sooner fans and all of college football when he resigned on Nov. 27 (about 14 hours after a Bedlam loss in Stillwater). It’s a treasured bragging point for OSU fans—that Riley’s otherwise successful run at OU ended with a 37-33 loss to the Cowboys, and that it was an Oklahoma State conquest seen by an ABC prime-time audience of 6.5 million viewers.

POSSE 49

FOR THE OSU-BAYLOR BIG 12 BATTLE, THERE WAS AN AT&T STADIUM ATTENDANCE FIGURE OF 65,771 — A LARGER CROWD THAN THERE HAD BEEN FOR OU’S BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHUPS WITH BAYLOR IN 2019 AND TCU IN 2017.

In regard to television, Oklahoma State is in a much better place than it was a few years ago. After the departures of Nebraska and Texas A&M a decade ago, there was the perception that OU and Texas had the Big 12’s only national football teams in regard to television. Recent numbers suggest that Oklahoma State games have become appointment viewing for more viewers than ever before.

For the OSU-Notre Dame Fiesta Bowl, there were 8 million viewers, and at its highest point, the telecast had a viewership of more than 11 million. For the Dec. 30 Valero Alamo Bowl featuring OU and Oregon, there were 4.3 million viewers.

Before dismissing those rankings as a byproduct of Notre Dame being involved, consider this: The 2021 Big 12 Championship game did not involve OU or Texas. It matched OSU and Baylor, and for that telecast there also were 8 million viewers. For the 2020 Big 12 title game matching OU and Iowa State, there were 3 million television viewers.

COVID-19 had a crushing impact on 2020 college football rosters, scheduling and attendance, and TV ratings were in decline all season. However, for the 2021 OSU-Baylor Big 12 telecast to have more than doubled the viewership of the 2020 OU-Iowa State Big 12 telecast—it does seem to emphatically support Gundy’s contention that the Cowboy brand is enhanced by 16 consecutive winning seasons.

For the OSU-Baylor Big 12 battle, there was an AT&T Stadium attendance figure of 65,771—a larger crowd than there had been for OU’s Big 12 Championship matchups with Baylor in 2019 and TCU in 2017.

“You look back to the summer, and it almost felt like, ‘Well, if Oklahoma or Texas aren't playing in the championship game,

50

SPRING 2022

then nobody’s going to be there and nobody's going to watch,’” Baylor athletic director Mack Rhoades told ESPN recently.

“That was kind of the conversation and maybe the interpretation of the future of the league. That obviously isn't the case.

“People are fired up about Oklahoma State football and fired up about Baylor football, and certainly the rest of the league as well.”

The 2021 Big 12 Championship game flourished with healthy attendance and a television audience without the presence of OU or Texas. “(It’s) a glimpse of what the Big 12 can be,” Rhoades said.

Gundy was interviewed for the same ESPN piece, which was published in February with this headline: “Oklahoma and Texas who? How the new-look Big 12 is ready to thrive.”

With a 12-win finish in 2021, Oklahoma State since 2010 has seven seasons of at least 10 wins. Before 2010, only the 1984, 1987 and 1988 Cowboys had gotten to the 10-win plateau.

While looking ahead at the retooled Big 12 membership, Gundy told ESPN, “Oklahoma State should be leading the charge.”

In a review of the 2006-21 football results of the 12 schools that will comprise the future Big 12, Gundy’s program has recorded the most victories overall (145) and the most bowl appearances (16, with an 11-5 mark in those games). Over the course of those 16 seasons, Cincinnati had 142 wins, BYU 141 and Houston 131. Among schools that will remain Big 12 members, OSU’s win total is well ahead of the next-best totals (TCU’s 130 and West Virginia’s 127).

TO THE SEC

OSU is the only new Big 12 team to have recorded as many as 11 bowl wins in 2006-21. During that period, TCU and BYU each had nine bowl victories.

“That doesn’t mean we start at a higher level,” Gundy said of competition in the conference. “What that means is if we push forward and make a strong commitment, then we could get to a high level in the new conference.

“I don’t know if enough people really know the story and the success that Oklahoma State football has had.”

Across the entirety of the athletic department, facilities development kept Oklahoma State at a desired level of viability.

If the Big 12 had crumbled and the Cowboys wound up in the Pac-12, the combination of Boone Pickens Stadium, the Sherman E. Smith Training Center, Gallagher-Iba Arena, the incredible O’Brate Stadium, the Greenwood Tennis Center, Neal Patterson Stadium, Greiner Family OSU Cross Country Course, the Karsten Creek golf property and various other venues would have positioned OSU’s overall facilities bundle near the top of that league.

Within the New Big 12, no other school will top Oklahoma State’s collection of facilities.

With OSU graduate T. Boone Pickens having contributed $150,000 to the process, Karsten Creek was created nearly 30 years ago. The Gallagher-Iba expansion was completed in 2000.

In 1973, at the inaugural Cowboy Pro-Am fund-raiser at Stillwater Country Club, Holder (then OSU’s 25-year-old golf coach) met the 45-year-old Pickens for the first time. Eventually, they became best friends. In 2003, Pickens wrote a $20 million check, and OSU’s outdated Lewis Field immediately became known as Boone Pickens Stadium.

In 2005, at Pickens’ urging, Holder agreed to become OSU’s athletic director. When Pickens donated $165 million, OSU’s stadium renovation became a far more comprehensive project—a $283 million makeover that was completed in 2009.

As Pickens gave at an astonishing level, Holder developed new donor relationships and became a superstar fundraiser.

Specifically for the construction or improvement of various facilities, Holder raised about $450 million during his 16 years as the athletic director. Today, he is OSU’s emeritus athletic director, still in attendance at every football game and every basketball game, and still raising money for the Cowboys and Cowgirls.

While Holder changed the OSU landscape with the development of the Athletic Village, older OSU alumni must marvel at what Gundy accomplished during the same period.

He built a consistently winning program in football. Sixteen consecutive Cowboy teams have played in a bowl game. Before Gundy became the head coach, OSU never had a streak of more than three consecutive bowl seasons.

It’s a common sports cliché: “You’re only as good as your last game.” Oklahoma State’s last football game was a victory over blueblood Notre Dame. And by the way, the Cowboys also took down Texas and OU in 2021.

While it’ll feel weird to have the Cowboys and Sooners in different conferences, the Oklahoma State football program has a logo, too. OSU has positioned itself to stand alone and effectively soldier forward as this state’s only Big 12 representative.

POSSE 51

Baseball

10.25

When OSU announced its scholarship endowment initiative, the athletic program was last in the Big 12. Now, more than halfway through the 10-year program, OSU leads the conference.

FULL SCHOLARSHIP

Dennis and Karen Wing (2) | Hal Tompkins Sandy Lee | Jennifer and Steven Grigsby Mike Bode and Preston Carrier (2) David and Julie Ronck

But we’re not finished yet.

HALF SCHOLARSHIP

OSU awards 229 full scholarships to student-athletes each year at a cost of $4.5 million. Each dollar freed up through endowed scholarships goes back into our programs. Better equipment. Better facilities. Better support. Each dollar has a direct impact on the lives of our student-athletes.

QUARTER SCHOLARSHIP

Sally Graham Skaggs Bryant and Carla Coffman David and Grace Helmer | Jill Rooker Martha Seabolt | Dr. Scott Anthony John and Beverly Williams Richard and Lawana Kunze

Equestrian

1.25

This is the list of all the generous supporters who have helped to provide a bright Orange future.

FULL SCHOLARSHIP

Baloo and Maribeth Subramaniam

QUARTER SCHOLARSHIP

They are our Honor Roll.

David and Gina Dabney

PHOTOS | MARY ELIZABETH CORDIA

Football

33.0

FULL SCHOLARSHIP

Bob and Kay Norris Bryant and Carla Coffman / The Merkel Foundation David LeNorman | Dennis and Karen Wing (2) Dr. Mark and Beth Brewer Ike and Marybeth Glass Jack and Carol Corgan Jim Click | John and Gail Shaw Ken and Jimi Davidson | Leslie Dunavant Mike and Kristen Gundy Mike and Robbie Holder Ron Stewart | Ross and Billie McKnight Sandy Lee | Tom and Sandra Wilson Wray and Julie Valentine James and Mary Barnes

HALF SCHOLARSHIP

Cindy Hughes | Donald Coplin Doug Thompson | Ed and Helen Wallace R. Kirk Whitman | Greg Casillas Jim and Lynne Williams / John and Patti Brett Mike and Judy Johnson | Sally Graham Skaggs State Rangers | Tom Naugle | Nate Watson

QUARTER SCHOLARSHIP

Al and Martha Strecker Arthur “Andy” Johnson, Jr. Arthur Couch | Barry and Roxanne Pollard Bill and Ruth Starr | Brad and Leah Gungoll Brian K. Pauling Bridgecreek Investment Management LLC Bryan Close | David and Cindy Waits David and Gina Dabney | Dr. Berno Ebbesson Dr. Ron and Marilynn McAfee Eddy and Deniece Ditzler | Flintco

52

SPRING 2022

Fred and Janice Gibson | Fred and Karen Hall Howard Thill | James and LaVerna Cobb Jerry and Lynda Baker | John P. Melot Jerry and Rae Winchester John S. Clark | Ken and Leitner Greiner Kent and Margo Dunbar | Paul and Mona Pitts Randall and Carol White | Shelli Osborn Roger and Laura Demaree Steve and Diane Tuttle Tony and Finetta Banfield

General

1.25

HALF SCHOLARSHIP

Terry and Martha Barker

QUARTER SCHOLARSHIP David and Judy Powell Kenneth and Susan Crouch Sally Graham Skaggs

Graduate Athlete

Men's Golf

5.25

FULL SCHOLARSHIP

David and Julie Ronck Dennis and Karen Wing Jack and Carol Corgan Men’s Golf Scholarship Baloo and Maribeth Subramaniam

HALF SCHOLARSHIP Simmons Bank

QUARTER SCHOLARSHIP Bob and Elizabeth Nickles Garland and Penny Cupp Richard and Joan Welborn

Men's Tennis

Baloo and Maribeth Subramaniam A.J. and Susan Jacques Bill and Marsha Barnes Brett and Amy Jameson Calvin and Linda Anthony Chuck and Kim Watson David and Julie Ronck (1.25) Dennis and Karen Wing (2) Douglas and Nickie Burns Griff and Mindi Jones James and Mary Barnes | Jim Vallion Ken and Jimi Davidson Kent and Margo Dunbar | KimRay Inc. Sandy Lee | Mitch Jones Memorial

HALF SCHOLARSHIP

David and Julie Ronck Dr. Mark and Susan Morrow Jay and Connie Wiese | Sally Graham Skaggs Stan Clark | Billy Wayne Travis Holloman Family

QUARTER SCHOLARSHIP

Dr. Scott and Lynne Anthony Gary and Sue Homsey Michael and Heather Grismore Rick and Suzanne Maxwell Robert and Sharon Keating Steve and Suzie Crowder Terry and Donna Tippens

Baloo and Maribeth Subramaniam Louise Solheim

HALF SCHOLARSHIP

David and Julie Ronck | Dena Dills Nowotny

Women’s Tennis

Tom and Cheryl Hamilton

Men's Track

FULL SCHOLARSHIP

FULL SCHOLARSHIP

QUARTER SCHOLARSHIP

QUARTER SCHOLARSHIP

23.5

Women’s Golf

2.0

QUARTER SCHOLARSHIP

HALF SCHOLARSHIP

Men's Basketball

Bill and Roberta Armstrong Bill and Sally Cunningham Donald Coplin | Jill Rooker Richard and Linda Rodgers Jo Hughes and Deborah J. Ernst Richard Melot

0.75

0.75

Bob and Joan Hert | Neal Seidle Tom and Cheryl Hamilton

QUARTER SCHOLARSHIP

Jim McDowell Men's

0.75

QUARTER SCHOLARSHIP

Dr. Mark and Susan Morrow Susan Anderson | Ken and Leitner Greiner

HALF SCHOLARSHIP

Mary Jane and Brent Wooten

Soccer

1.0

FULL SCHOLARSHIP

James and Mary Barnes

Softball

0.75

QUARTER SCHOLARSHIP Tom and Cheryl Hamilton Richard Melot Ann Dyer

Women’s Basketball

7.25

FULL SCHOLARSHIP

Brad and Margie Schultz Ken and Jimi Davidson Mike Bode and Preston Carrier

HALF SCHOLARSHIP

Baloo and Maribeth Subramaniam Don and Mary McCall John and Caroline Linehan Calvin and Linda Anthony Mike Bode and Preston Carrier

Amy Weeks | Kent and Margo Dunbar

0.5

QUARTER SCHOLARSHIP Jamie Maher Richard Melot

Wrestling

10.75

FULL SCHOLARSHIP

A.J. and Susan Jacques Bruce and Nancy Smith Chuck and Kim Watson Lon and Jane Winton OSU Wrestling – White Jacket Club / Gallagher Endowed Wrestling Scholarship OSU Wrestling – White Jacket Club / Myron Roderick Endowed Wrestling Scholarship OSU Wrestling – White Jacket Club / Ray Murphy Endowed Wrestling Scholarship OSU Wrestling – White Jacket Club / Tommy Chesbro Endowed Wrestling Scholarship The Cobb Family

HALF SCHOLARSHIP

Mark and Lisa Snell Bobby and Michelle Marandi

QUARTER SCHOLARSHIP

Danny and Dana Baze / Cory and Mindy Baze John and Beverly Williams | R.K. Winters

To learn more about scholarship opportunities and how you may contribute, please contact: Larry Reece (405-744-2824), Matt Grantham (405-744-5938), Shawn Taylor (405-744-3002).

POSSE 53

COME SEE FOR YOURSELF THERE IS NO PLACE LIKE STILLWATER, OKLAHOMA and there are many ways for high school students to experience life on Oklahoma State University’s campus. Walking tours are offered each weekday for future students. We also offer Saturday tours and exciting admissions events throughout the year to help students find their place on campus.

Schedule a campus tour to see the OSU campus through the eyes of a current student.

From One Plate to Another

winner! winner!

The Cowgirl softball team celebrates a walk-off 7-6 win over Minnesota earlier this season.

The back-and-forth contest took 10 innings to decide a victor and saw the Cowgirls answer the Golden Gophers' runs in the 9th and 10th frames. OSU ended the game on a bases-loaded walk by Sydney Pennington that scored Kiley Naomi.

Coach Kenny Gajewski's squad is ranked in the Top 10 and looking for a return trip to Oklahoma City and the Women's College World Series for the third straight year.

PHO TOS CLA Y BI

LLM

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POSSE 57

boys of spring Senior Jake Thompson takes the field at O'Brate Stadium along with his Cowboy teammates.

The OSU baseball squad earned a Top 10 preseason ranking to start the season and has maintained their status as a team to be reckoned with in the Big 12. Look for O'Brate Stadium to be rocking the rest of the spring campaign as the Cowboys vie to host postseason play in college baseball's finest venue.

PHO TO B

RUC E

WA TER

FIEL

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POSSE 59

RENEWAL Spring is a time of renewal. You can see it in the trees around Stillwater as I write this. The multicolor green leaves are about to explode from their branches. By the time Posse Magazine goes to print, and you read the last page, new foliage will add mass to a tree near you. The grass is emerging skyward as well. The color is amazing, but this season also means hello allergy meds and mount up on the tractor for another seven months of mowing.

Renewal and work seem to go hand in hand.

This is also the time of year where Mother Nature calls us back outside for sports as well. Cowgirls and Cowboys have taken to their respective diamonds in softball and baseball. Women’s and men’s tennis teams are on the courts at the glorious Michael and Anne Greenwood Tennis Center and both golf teams are crisscrossing the country in search of warmer temperatures and calmer winds. Spring soccer is also at full tilt.

While Cowboy Football is a fall sport, fans across the nation will be abuzz as thousands arrive in Stillwater on April 23 for the annual Spring Game. Coach Mike Gundy still has us enthralled with memories of defeating Notre Dame in the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl. And from one great logo to another, the better returning team in 2022 is most likely Oklahoma State. We hope you will join us for a weekend packed with activities across campus. Check

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various OSU websites for details including sports, theatre and more!

Sometimes with renewal comes change. We have welcomed the dynamic Jacie Hoyt as OSU’s new women’s basketball coach! She is busy getting her team prepared for workouts as the semester comes to an end.

What a great addition to the OSU family!

So many great things are happening across the entire OSU System. Before the mildness of spring turns to summer heat, get out and enjoy a Cowgirl or Cowboy event. Regardless of where you are or what you do, remember to represent by wearing your orange!

GO POKES!

KYLE WRAY

Senior Vice President for Executive Affairs Kyle Wray OSU

@KyleWrayOSU

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ALUMNI A S S O C I AT I O N

Let Pete pay.

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