3 minute read

in eastern Oklahoma

nutrition and health challenges in eastern Oklahoma. HOP funds universities working with local cooperative extensions in mostly rural counties where obesity is found in nearly half the adult population.

The OSU team will work to address health disparities related to poor nutrition, physical activity and obesity.

“CDC is excited to announce this new HOP funding to land-grant universities in communities with high rates of obesity,” said Dr. Terry O’Toole, program development and evaluation branch chief in CDC’s Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity. “This funding supports local programs to improve access to fresh, healthy foods and opportunities for physical activity with the goal of reducing chronic diseases.”

See Nutrition on 6

Big 12-Pac 12...

Continued from 1

Call it naivety or hopefulness on the conferences’ parts, but realignment is always bubbling beneath the surface. Kliavkoff got the Red River treatment when the University of Colorado unanimously voted to leave the conference six days later. The Pac 12 was foolish to think it couldn’t happen to them and not get ahead of expansion, and now it is in jeopardy after years of vanity and complacency.

Both in 2010 and 2021, the Pac 12 had opportunities to overtake the Big 12 but instead let it live. That wasn’t so much as a favor to the Big 12 as it was the Pac 12 mindset that it was above the Big 12 on an academic level – and that the banks of the Brazos River were the closest thing to the Pacific Coast any Big 12 school could offer.

The Big 12 grew from those close calls and learned not to be sedentary. You know the story. Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby went on the offensive and added four new teams, which sturdied the conference. Then he handed the reins to a savvy Brett Yormark.

While the Pac 12 sat happy with its 10 teams for the 2024 season and was content on waiting to renew its media rights upon expiration at the end of the 2023-24 season – a year earlier than the Big 12 – Yormark cut in line and renegotiated with ESPN and Fox in October 2022. His prize was a six-year, $2.28 billion contract that raised annual Big 12 distribution numbers from $42.6 million per school to nearly $50 million – without OU and Texas. That number is far superior to the Pac 12’s current $32.1 million per school figure, and it severely crippled the Pac 12 media negotiations, which are still ongoing and have no timetable. Suddenly, the Big 12, which was on the brink of extinction, uppercut the Pac 12 and had more stability to offer.

If that wasn’t enticing enough, the Big 12’s contract includes a pro rata clause, meaning the conference receives a raise to keep per-school money the same in the case of expansion. All of that was enticing enough for Colorado, whose announcement dropped the Pac 12 to nine members in 2024.

But this time, there are no Big 12 schools to pick off.

“George Kliavkoff is doing as good a job as he can do, and he works his ass off and works tirelessly for the members of the Pac-12,” Colorado athletic director Rick George said. “ ... but this decision wasn’t about that. It was about this, and that’s the Big 12 Conference and what’s best for CU and CU athletics and our student-athletes, and that’s what we made this decision based on.” The Pac 12’s tone changed instantly. No longer was it satisfied with where it stood, nor did it think it was better of without a school like Texas Tech or Kansas State.

“We are focused on concluding our media rights deal and securing our continued success and growth,” a Pac 12 statement said after the Colorado announcement. “Immediately following the conclusion of our media rights deal, we will embrace expansion opportunities and bring new fans, markets, excitement and value to the Pac-12.” sports.ed@ocolly.com

Too little, too late? Maybe. The Pac 12, even in a worst-case scenario, will likely still exist on some level. And sure, Colorado isn’t Oregon. But that door is open wider than ever. Who else could join the Buffs? To this point, the Pac 12 has played its cards wrong, and its unwillingness to adapt has put in an uncomfortable situation and allowed Yormark and the Big 12 to rise from the ashes.

All of this could have been avoided as recently as two years ago. The Pac 12 traded its leverage in conference stability for pride, and now it’s the conference looking for an escape route while the Big 12 looks on. And it might not find it.

This article is from: