The O'Colly, Friday, October 6, 2023.

Friday, October 6, 2023

Game day pushes Pokes out of parking

tweaks made every two or three years.

Emily Phillips, a freshman living in the Commons will have to hunt for a new parking spot.

Fighting your own battles

Oklahoma collegiate athletes lean on team for support

Michela Desdefano is terrified to stop playing volleyball.

“I feel like (volleyball is) what I am,” Desdefano said.

Volleyball became an allconsuming entity in Desdefano’s life once she began playing for Oklahoma City University. She realized that she had to rely on herself. The mental health resources she needed were not available to her in Oklahoma. Oklahoma collegiate athletes like Desdefano rely on each other for mental support throughout the season rather than seeking out mental health resources.

“Nowadays, you know, there’s so many different factors for these poor student athletes,” said Lexis Vizarelis, director of goalkeeping and technical director for Oklahoma Energy Football Club. “And what they’re going through is a changing environment.”

Desdefano’s mental state strained when she began playing college volleyball. She said she has not meshed with every teammate she played with, coaches took her for granted and an angry athletic director turned his back on her after she entered the transfer portal.

But Desdefano is committed to volleyball. She moved across the world for it.

Three years ago, Desdefano moved from Italy to the U.S. to play collegiate volleyball. She

dining

University Dining Services updated its hours for the fall semester.

UDS sent a survey to the student body at the end of the spring semester. It found that operating hours were one of the major concerns. The efforts to extend hours, starting in this semester, were made to benefit students.

Vedda Hsu, the director of UDS, explained the reason for expanding operation hours.

“Due to the crowding and many lines, this helps students looking for more options,” Hsu said.

The new operating hours have impacted the Student Union. Because of overcrowding, places such as Chickfil-A, Chophouse Taqueria and Shake Smart have expanded their hours.

Chick-fil-A is now open until 7 p.m.

Chophouse Taqueria is also open

spoke no English and knew no one in the U.S. All she had was volleyball.

Desdefano started playing volleyball when she was 8. With the support of her parents, she flourished as a player in an athletic environment different from what her American teammates experienced.

In Italy, volleyball is a club sport and not played in schools. She said teachers disapproved of her commitment to sports, and her life felt divided. But she kept playing.

At college, Desdefano and the sport she played blurred into one as volleyball consumed her sense of self.

“I’m learning that I’m so much more, but you have to think, I played the same sport since I was 8,” Desdefano said.

two hours longer and will now close at 5 p.m.

Shake Smart, a hotspot for protein shakes and fruit bowls, now opens earlier and closes later. The updated hours are 9 a.m.-6 p.m.

With the increase in student population, Hsu said it is important to continue to develop dining services.

“With more new students comes more new dining concepts,” Hsu said.

Last year, there were 28 dining operations, and this year UDS has added two more.

Union Plaza Grill is one of the new additions, located in the Union Plaza. Open Monday-Thursday at 11 a.m. while supplies last.

Barkin’ Brews, a new coffee shop in McElroy Hall, opened two weeks ago. The hours are 7 a.m.-2 p.m.

Dining options near the dorms have also extended their hours, much to the relief of on-campus residents.

Grace Baldwin, OSU freshman, expresses said she has mixed feelings about the new hours.

A weekday game can mean the triumph of canceled classes or the defeat of dragging yourself across campus at 1:30 p.m.

Ahead of today’s football game, OSU students, faculty and staff were forced to prepare for the influx of visitors. By 3 p.m. today they must vacate most parking lots surrounding Boone Pickens Stadium, as well as some residential lots.

Steve Spradling, director of parking and transportation services, said it is business as usual for a weekday home football game.

“It’s just a matter of trying to balance things out to accommodate the guests to campus, and this is something that we started 14-15 years ago,” Spradling said.

When the first weekday game was introduced to the Cowboy’s football schedule, Spradling said the provost’s office put together a plan. Parking and transportation services still adhere to it, with

Phillips said she was aware of the fluctuating parking guidelines when she purchased her residential parking pass, but that does not change the difficulty to accommodate it.

All cars in the Commons parking lot had to be relocated by 3 p.m. yesterday so tailgaters who reserved spots could use them today.

Although this is a recurring inconvenience for students, Phillips said making arrangements to move her car ahead of today’s game adds an extra layer of difficulty. “I would move on Wednesday to the soccer field because I’m not driving around for two hours to find a parking spot because these RV people have to come park their RV,” Phillips said. “It’s like, I understand they’re ticket holders and donate a lot of money, but it’s like, there’s hundreds of cars that you’re misplacing that to begin with have nowhere to go.” For Phillips, planning ahead is crucial.

“It does allow more students to eat

Jaycee Hampton

Desdefano (right) moved to the U.S. from Italy to play volleyball but still seeks mental health resources based in Italy.

Editor-in-Chief

Go to class or gear up for the game?

“Since it’s in the evening, I’m more willing to go. If it was in the afternoon, I wouldn’t be able to go since I have class, and it would be more of a hassle.”

“The games connect back to the culture, it’s meant to be on Saturdays. On Friday, you do whatever you need to do and get done for the game on Saturday. My classes run until almost 4 on Fridays. I’m planning on missing all of them except one class that has an exam.”

“I know it was probably avoidable, but I think there’s this misunderstanding that everyone’s not going to class. I know I have a lab that goes until 3, and I’m debating not going. It’s more of a question of is my grade good enough to miss that class. I have two classes but the first class is already canceled for the game.”

O’COMIC

The freedom of being alone

Editor-in-Chief

Do we genuinely like our own company? Are we scared to find out the answer is no?

Picture this: you have the evening off and want to do something fun. You call your closest friends and ask if they want to go to dinner, but they are all busy.

After you hear the first ‘no’s,’ you call those friends you haven’t seen for a long time and need to catch up, but they are also busy.

You exhaust your possibilities and start thinking you will be alone for the rest of the night.

What is the next step? Do you choose to go to dinner by yourself or do you stay home?

When someone eats alone at a restaurant, the initial instinct is to wonder why.

Did they choose to go alone or did someone stand them up?

I have heard people say they are embarrassed to be seen alone, as if there is a rule on how many people you should go out with.

Taking the step to go on an adventure alone, is like jumping off a cliff and not knowing where you will end up.

The truth is, instead of a painful abyss, taking time to be alone brings freedom, it helps you fly.

It gives your brain time to be

Editorial board

Luisa Clausen editorinchief@ocolly.com

Sports editor Braden Bush sports.ed@ocolly.com

Assistant Sports editor Ashton Slaughter sports.ed@ocolly.com

Design editor

Ben Holieway design.ed@ocolly.com

News & Life editor

Kennedy Thomason news.ed@ocolly.com

Assistant News & Life editor Bella Casey news.ed@ocolly.com

Photo editor Ethan Scott photo.ed@ocolly.com

Adviser John Helsley john.helsley@okstate.edu

comfortable with its thoughts, and it works on improving the personal patience required to respect the overwhelming feelings and thoughts that flood our being.

When you are alone, your opinion is the only thing that matters. You can choose what path to take for the day without consulting someone with you. We live with ourselves every day, but we are hardly ever alone. There is a painful growth that comes with questioning your thoughts and observing your surroundings.

Time alone allows us to realize our child-like wonder is not dead, it is just asleep.

Amidst the chaos of adulthood, taking some time to look up and observe the surroundings is a rare breath of fresh air. People around can be loud and opinionated; someone is always expecting something whether that is a decision or an initiative and when the responsibilities are endless, all our mind can focus on is the things we have not done but need to.

Taking a step back is respecting the person you wake up with, spend the entire day with and go to bed with. It is being kind to who you are and spending quality time with the only person who can get things done in your life: yourself.

Overcoming the fear of being alone is finding freedom no one can take away from you, and that is better than any Christmas gifts.

If you feel overwhelmed and tired of the noises coming from all quarters of your world, walk around the block, or maybe go to your favorite restaurant. Think about the things you haven’t allowed yourself to do, and enjoy the process of becoming.

news.ed@ocolly.com

News & Lifestyle reporters:

Addie Wagner

Ashton Miller

Cloe Campfield

Emi Norton

Hayden Alexander

Isaac Terry

Jake Sellers

Jaycee Hampton

Jessica Pearce

Lauren King

Michael Clark

Taylor Carroll

Sports reporters: Photographers & Designers:

Alyssa Brandon

Baylor Bryant

Calif Poncy

Daniel Allen

Davis Cordova

Gabriel Trevino

Gina Foster

Griff McClellan

Ivan White

Kenley Cordray

Kenzie Kraich

Parker Gerl

Payton Little

Savannah Chenoweth

The O’Colly Staff Newsroom

Tessa Dorrell

Cassius Davis

Davis Cordova

Ethan Hilbert

Jaycee Hampton

Karlie Boothe

Kendall McGhee

Molly Jolliff

Michael Clark

Sam Beebe

Rebekah Cleary

Luisa Clausen

Kendall McGhee

Ben Holieway

Teia Rice

Kareem Sawan

Erin Barnard

Luisa Clausen

SGA chasing goals

‘Exciting legislation coming soon’

Bella Casey News and Lifestyle Assistant Editor

As the semester nears the halfway point, the Student Government Association is one step closer to accomplishing its goals.

Sydney Adkins, the SGA Senate Speaker, or the leader of the Legislative branch in SGA, is a senior political science and American studies major graduating this spring. She said SGA is developing new legislation, preparing for The Constitutional Convention and working to expand awareness of what SGA does.

Q:Describe what a weekly Senate meeting is like.

A:We have a formal set of procedural rules in the Senate, Robert’s Rules, so we have a set agenda that we go through every week. We start out with reports, updates and announcements from our adviser, the student body president, the vice president and the executive branch to spread word about events and news around campus. We then move on to any legislation.

This is where we hear proposals to change university policy, to change our internal rules and bylaws or perhaps approve new student organizations and grant current clubs funds for upcoming events or competitions. After that, we move into any sort of Senate Reports or updates from myself or my Steering Committee. To conclude, we usually have senators from different constituencies give reports on their own colleges and living groups, and this allows us to be fully informed about a wide variety of things on campus.

Q:How does this semester with SGA compare to spring semester?

Last fall?

A: This semester is mainly focused on recruitment and our big Constitutional Convention. This event is like a major overhaul of our internal rules so we can make sure we are running as smoothly and efficiently as possible. We wanted to do the convention instead of changing every rule one by one, so we have more time to focus on student concerns and projects with the university. The past few semesters have been so internally focused that I feel like SGA was slowly drifting away from where our values are rooted, which is the students. This is no one individual’s or branch’s fault, but it was a change I noticed and quickly wanted to remedy in my time as Speaker.

Q: Tell me about some of the legislation the Senate has heard this

semester.

A: We have heard a multitude of things, such as granting funds to student government, to expanding accessibility of Student Orientation materials for those who might not speak English as their first language. We have also passed legislation encouraging the university to create exemptions for class, or even implement dead week rules for federal and state elections to ensure that students can utilize their right to vote in surrounding states. Another bill was that we asked the Bursar’s office to expand upon their descriptions of how our student fees are utilized so students can better understand what amenities and programs their fees are funding. We have a lot more pieces of exciting legislation coming soon.

Q: Does the SGA have a broad goal it would like to accomplish this semester?

A: The Constitutional Convention is our largest goal for the fall semester. A large overhaul like this one has a lot of moving parts, and every single branch has a role to play. We have an excellent team of voting delegates, I will serve as chair to this convention, and we will work closely with our Attorney General to ensure that we are making the changes that best impact our university and the students within it. This kind of cooperation is key to planning and executing the Convention.

Q: Does the SGA have a broad

goal it would like to accomplish for the school year?

A: Yes, and that is simply to expand awareness of what we do, how we operate and what resources we can provide to students. Already, I have set the expectation of my senators being more hands-on and involved with the students they represent, and we have already received a large influx in interest of our programs and our projects. SGA plans to continue this outreach to better serve those we represent, because we are truly an organization that values the relationships we build between ourselves and the student body.

Q: Has SGA implemented any change on campus so far outside of hearing and passing legislation?

A: Yes. We are still in the middle of many different conversations with administration and other entities for projects we hope to accomplish very soon, but our president and vice president have reached an agreement with parking to turn the first ticket per semester of any student on campus into a donation for our campus’ food pantry. For example, if a student gets their first ticket, and the fine is $30 or less, instead of paying the fine online like normal, they can donate cash or food items adding to that amount to our pantry. Ashley (Peterson) and Hilary (Albrecht) have put so much hard work into this project, and more details will come as soon as everything is finalized.

news.ed@ocolly.com

Bryson Thadhani

SGA’s president and vice president reached an agreement with OSU parking to allow students to make a food donation in place of their first parking ticket of the semester if it is under $30, and SGA plans to pass more legislation that benefits students.

“It is a little bit tough,” Phillips said. “I’m probably gonna have to move tonight (Wednesday) because I’m in class until 2:45 tomorrow.”

The change in parking guidelines also threw a wrench in political science professor Christine Bird’s plans.

Bird is new to OSU and did not want to gamble with game day traffic. She commutes on the Big Orange Bus to teach class in Stillwater, and though she said the system is reliable, Bird was unsure of how game day festivities would impact today.

“I didn’t want to ask students to try to find parking because I have a lot of students

who commute,” Bird said. “It seemed that the best course of action was just to move on Zoom for the day.”

Canceled class is normal for a weekday game day, as parking and the extra visitors in Stillwater make transportation chaotic.

Bird, who received an email on Monday informing her of the change in parking guidelines, said she felt confident in moving her class to an online format because of the comfortability with online learning.

“There’s always the risk that students won’t pay close attention, but, you know, that’s the risk that we take,” Bird said. “It would have been great to know about the parking disruptions, maybe sooner, and then I could’ve planned a little bit more strategically, but this is kind of how we deal with stuff like this.”

Moving forward, park-

ing and transportation services intends to continue with the same plan. It will continue to notify students, faculty and staff of any changes in parking guidelines.

Spradling said weekday games are not going away anytime soon.

“It seems like it’s becoming a trend with the television networks and stuff to be able to have weekday games to try to draw an audience, so I think it’s something we’re going to have to deal with,” Spradling said.

Accommodations are made for professors and students who hold or attend class on game days. For professors, the Monroe Street garage is available in the mornings, and the garage is available in the afternoon for students. Students are also encouraged to park in overflow lots and utilize the bus service.

Pumpkin patch funds child vision screening

year. “We really start in August (of the year before), planning for the network,” Hawkins said.

For the eighth year, the Stillwater Noon Lions Club and Highland Park United Methodist Church will sell pumpkins to raise money for vision care for Stillwater’s youth.

“Part of our fundraising goes to eyesight and vision screening for elementary kids, and we are screening all the elementary schools, homeschools and church schools in Stillwater,” Volunteer Richard Hawkins said.

Hawkins said the groups screen 1,100 children during October. They have screened three schools so far and have seven more to do.

Hawkins said eyesight is vital for everyone, but especially for children.

“If kids can’t see, they can’t learn,” Hawkins said.

“We also partake in feeding the hungry and feeding the kids, we get food sacks for the kids. If they aren’t healthy, or if they can’t see, we provide for both of those activities so the kids can learn.

“It doesn’t cost them a thing; we pay for that,” he added.

The pumpkin patch is the main source of funding for these services and taking care of the patch is a big, and time consuming, commitment each

“We have to have our order in by Feb. 12 of each year, so that the people on the Indian reservation in New Mexico can know how much to grow.”

The patch uses a service called Pumpkins USA to source their pumpkins. All of the pumpkins at the Stillwater patch are grown by a Native American reservation in Farmington, New Mexico.

“We get to keep a portion of how much we sell (for fundraising),” Hawkins said. “And the rest goes to the reservation for earnings for the people who work there.”

On Sept. 22, 146 volunteers from OSU’s men and women’s basketball teams, men and women’s tennis teams, Farmhouse fraternity, Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity, Phi Kappa Tau fraternity, Arvest Bank, BancFirst, many other OSU students, Stillwater citizens and police officers lent a hand in unloading nearly 2,600 pumpkins for the patch to fundraise with.

The patch hosts food trucks, photo ops and events throughout September and October until its end on Halloween. Events such as “Ag in the Classroom,” carriage rides and bake sales help bring out more people to see and support the patch, such as Kayla Cook and her family.

“This is the first time back in probably about five or six years,” Cook said. “We usually wait until closer to Halloween to get pumpkins... [but] we did ride the carriage.

“They’re always really really pleasant, and they always have a whole lot of good stuff for the kids.”

Kids aren’t the only ones that enjoy the patch. Hawkins said a local wedding group purchased 164 pumpkins to decorate an upcoming wedding as well. Other patches have had people buy pumpkins to announce pregnancies and gender reveals.

The patch plans to host more events in the future, including a pancake breakfast on Oct. 7; Ghostbusters on Oct. 15; pumpkin patch classrooms on Oct. 19 and 20; vision screening, a kid’s carnival and carriage rides on Oct. 21; a performance by Misspent Ukes on Oct. 22; a pumpkin catapult on Oct. 29 and finally a treat or treat event concluding the patch on Halloween.

The patch is open from 1 to 7 p.m. on Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sundays.

OSU students can volunteer at the patch for volunteer hours. To do so, you can go to the OSU Volunteer Services online registration and pick a convenient day and time.

news.ed@ocolly.com

What does ‘Year of the Cowboy’ mean to OSU?

Daniel Allen Staff Reporter

Note: In honor of the Year of the Cowboy, the 100th anniversary of Pistol Pete, The O’Colly will be producing weekly stories pertaining to Oklahoma State’s mascot. This is the second story in the series.

Roughly 100 years ago, Frank Eaton immersed himself in Stillwater’s renowned Armistice Day parade.

A century later, his presence signified the birth of an identity that would tether itself to his beloved Oklahoma State University for years to come – Pistol Pete.

In early August, the OSU Alumni Association tabbed OSU’s 2023 Homecoming theme as “The Year of the Cowboy,” honoring the century mark of one of the university’s notorious identities. Those with deep ties to the university understand the significance.

“The spirit of the Cowboy is part of the heart and soul of Oklahoma State University,” OSU President Dr. Kayse Shrum said in a public statement shortly after the Armistice Day parade. “The students who saw Frank Eaton at the 1923 Armistice Day parade knew it, and it remains true today.

“Pistol Pete has been a symbol for the Cowboy family for the past 100 years. He belongs to all of us — students, faculty, staff, alumni and fans.”

Some students and alumni were unaware of the aforementioned milestone. Nonetheless, they found merit in honoring it.

“I think it’s pretty cool to be honest,” said student Hung Hoang. “Pistol Pete is part of the university. He’s part of – he’s a big part of

athletics. It just seems like he’s such an integral part of everything here.”

Others agreed with Hoang, including first-year students.

“Pistol Pete is a pretty big part of everything that goes on around here,” said freshman Malachi Jackson. “I’ve only been here for four weeks now, and you just see him everywhere. And even when he’s not actually there, I mean, there’s still posters and photos and murals of him everywhere else.”

For those involved in OSU Greek Life, it means enticing Homecoming events and activities. More extravagant pomping ideas. And of course, more opportunities to adorn house decs with Pistol Pete-based designs.

It’s made for a unique experience for those involved in Greek Life, and perhaps even more so for those who aren’t.

“(The Year of the Cowboy) makes Homecoming more exciting in all honesty,” said student Jack Green. “I’m not a member of any fraternal organization, but on occasion, I’ll stroll by Greek Row, and I’ll see the (pomping) designs underway, and I’m always intrigued the more I analyze them – when I do.”

All of it highlights the buzz attached to the 100-year milestone.

“Things like this are why I came to OSU,” said student Alden Taylor. “I wanted a genuine, memorable college experience.

“I’m not gonna lie, I didn’t really know anything about (The Year of the Cowboy) before I stepped foot on campus. But I see everything that’s happening because of it. Athletics, stuff on campus, everything. It’s a cool experience. I can’t really say it means the world to me, but it definitely brings a perspective to what (Pistol Pete) means to OSU.”

File Photo

This year’s Homecoming theme, “Year of the Cowboy,” celebrates 100 years of OSU’s iconic mascot.

Isaac Terry Staff Reporter

Come check out the wide variety of elegant clothing at Formal Fantasy!

Located on 121 E. 9th Ave, Downtown Stillwater

The best selection of beer, wine and liquor that Stillwater has to offer! Perfect for all your game day needs, come to Brown’s Bottle Shop located on 128 N. Main

“The Original Hideaway, located on the corner of Knoblock and University. Serving quality pizza and more since 1957.”

Murphy’s Department Store

815 S Main, Downtown Open 10-6

Monday thru Saturday

Houses for rent

Spacious 1100 sq. ft 2 bedroom home. Recently remodeled, CH/A, wood

floors, nice yard. 2214 E. 6th Ave., Scarlett Bus Route. 405-372-7107.

Cowboy Calendar

Friday 10/06/23

OSU vs. Kansas State

Boone Pickens Stadium @ 6:30 p.m.

Friday Concert in the Garden: Morgan

The Botanical Garden at OSU @ 5:45 p.m.

Orange Friday

Iron Monk Brewing Company @ 5 - 7 p.m.

Painting/Ceramics w/ Pizza

StillyArts @ 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. Book your tickets here:

https://stillyarts.com/paintnights

Fee: $20 (8x10 canvas + pizza) / $30 (11x14 canvas + Pizza) https://stillyarts.com/

paintnights

Town & Theatre Presents: And Then There Were None

Town & Gown Theatre Musicals Adults: $16 Students or Military: $14 Seniors (Sun. only): $14 Plays Adults: $14

Students or Military: $12 Seniors (Sun. only): $12 https:// www.townandgown.org/fbclid=IwAR2bP2ZHCTi1R_ BZJ08wi2jvd2JMLetDIW7_VXRLpEiry01mhUqxJVgdDCA

Silk Art Exhibit

Modella Art Gallery @ 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.

Saturday 10/07/23

28th Annual Stillwater Car Club Car Show

Cimarron Plaza @ 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. https://stillwatercarclub.org/

Cowboy Country Farm Toy Show

Payne County Expo Center @ 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. $4 - under 12 free https://www.facebook.com/CowboyCountryFarm-

Toy

Cowboy Racing Fall Frenzy

Greiner Family Cross Country Course @ 1:30 - 3:30 p.m.

OSU Native American Student Association POW WOW

Payne County Expo Center @ 12 - 11 p.m.

Open House & Trains

The Botanical Garden at OSU @ 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. & 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Pop Up Art Shops

Prarire Arts Center @ 10 a.m.

Silk Art Exhibit

Modella Art Gallery @ 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.

Town & Theatre Presents: And Then There Were None

Town & Gown Theatre Musicals Adults: $16 Students or Military: $14 Seniors (Sun. only): $14 Plays Adults: $14

Students or Military: $12 Seniors (Sun. only): $12 https:// www.townandgown.org/fbclid=IwAR2bP2ZHCTi1R_ BZJ08wi2jvd2JMLetDIW7_VXRLpEiry01mhUqxJVgdDCA

Trey Lewis Live

Tumbleweed Dancehall & Concert Venue @ 8 p.m. $15

Windmill Market & Pumpkin Patch

before romantic collaborations heat up next summer. Pull together to harvest the bounty.

To get the advantage, check the day’s rating: 10 is the easiest day, 0 the most challenging.

By Ruth Bloomfield Margolin

Thursday’s Puzzle Solved

Aries (March 21-April 19) — Today is a 6 — Prioritize home and family matters. A surprise requires adaptation. The first set of problems is just about solved. Stay focused. A hidden danger could arise.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) — Today is a 7 — You’re exceptionally quick and charming. Craft a persuasive response to bad news. Listen to intuition. Reason and emotion argue to a standstill.

Gemini (May 21-June 20) — Today is a 9 — Simplify to adapt around a shortfall or unexpected expense. Don’t make promises you can’t keep. Avoid spending on stuff you don’t need.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) — Today is a 9 — Take charge of your destiny, despite complications, interruption or chaos. Decrease doubt. Practice getting more for less. Don’t lose yourself in a daydream.

Leo (July 23-Aug. 22) — Today is a 6 — Avoid noise or hustle. Find a quiet, private setting where you can think. Imagine and invent possibilities. Things may not be as they seem. Don’t jump to conclusions.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) — Today is a 7 — Listen and observe. You don’t have all of the story. Navigate social challenges intuitively. Avoid expensive pitfalls. Do the extra credit problems. Simplify your plans.

Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) — Today is a 7 — Avoid a mirage. Consider options carefully before dashing out. You can have whatever you’re willing to work for. Continue to gather data. Confirm reservations. Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) — Today is an 8 — Love is the common thread that binds your enterprise. Keep contributing to the shared pot. Disagreements become apparent. Resolve them patiently. Don’t flash your money around.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) — Today is an 8 — Dance gracefully with your partner. Collaborative efforts could seem stalled. Strategize and collaborate for ease and efficiency.

Don’t try out a new idea yet.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) — Today is an 8 — Your work, fitness and health routines could get disrupted. Take the time for precision. Avoid risk. Strengthen immunities with good food, exercise and rest.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) — Today is a 9 — Love is the game. Don’t fall for empty promises. Reconnect with your passions, interests and family. Work interferes with pleasure.

Contemplate your next move carefully.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — Today is a 7 — Avoid traffic or roadblocks and stick close to home. A domestic breakdown could provide the perfect excuse for an upgrade. Keep systems running smoothly.

Solution to Thursday’s puzzle

Complete the grid so each row, column and 3-by-3 box (in bold borders) contains every digit, 1 to 9. For strategies on how to solve Sudoku, visit sudoku.org.uk

Content Agency, LLC

Desdefano overcame the stigma some Oklahoma collegiate athletes face when confronting their mental health struggles, and she sought out the resources necessary to revive her mental strength.

But it’s 5,500 miles away.

Desdefano has a therapist who lives in Italy. She said speaking her native language, Italian, helps her express herself properly, which is not possible with therapists in Oklahoma.

And Desdefano is not alone.

Other international athletes on the team are prohibited from using Oklahoma mental health resources because of the language barrier. As their teammates consider university counseling services, international athletes are left out.

But Desdefano’s American teammates face struggles when it comes to mental health resources, too.

Hannah Grundy, Desdefano’s teammate, said she has been coached through a “handle your own battles” mindset.

“I think it’s good to take ownership of your life,” Grundy said. “But there are also times when other people need to step in and help you.”

Guerin Emig, a sports writer for the Sellout Crowd who also worked at the Tulsa World for 20 years covering high school and college sports, watched this stigma develop.

Emig said he observed fans forget college athletes have more responsibilities on their plate than the average college student. Emig said athletes are aware of the money made on their backs, and that pressure can be challenging and potentially dangerous.

“Their mental health is not well looked after,” Emig said. “If you are not looking after the well-being of your players, then you are doing them a disservice.”

Emig watched the sports world evolve in front of his eyes, from an industry that did

but it wasn’t so public until social media,” Emig said. “Now it has become an open forum where fans feel like they are emboldened to make judgments about them.”

importance of mental health when you have a crisis that grave. Since then, Emig heard more players address the topic.

kid that goes through (mental health struggles), a coach might go to 20 different in a 40-year career.”

not acknowledge the importance of mental health to one beginning to encourage athletes to find the help they need. As social media usage became prevalent, the stigma around utilizing mental health resources in sports took a step backward.

“College athletes have always been under a microscope,

It was globally reported that the pandemic impacted people’s mental health, and college students were no exception. From 2020 to 2021, about 60% of college students faced one or more mental health conditions, a 50% increase from 2013, according to the Healthy Minds Study.

Emig said he observed that change after the pandemic and said coaches reevaluated their role in the athlete’s lives and how they go on about addressing mental health issues.

Emig said the pandemic gave everyone an excuse to ask coaches and players about the

“Physically they might be unbreakable,” Emig said. “But mentally, that is not the case.”

Jimmy Hampton, head soccer coach at University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma, agreed.

As a coach, Hampton said he views keeping his players safe and healthy as part of his job. Each time one of his international students goes back to her country, he ensures she is safe in her apartment at night to ease her parents’ worries. He encourages his players to call him anytime for any reason.

But he questions if this is enough.

He said he wonders what players go through behind closed doors, and he wonders if he will only gain knowledge of their struggles when it is too late to find them help.

“I think coaches should have more resources,” Hampton said. “Because if you have one

Desdefano and Grundy said they lean heavily on one another for support, as do many of their teammates. They said university counseling services are always booked, and they are not aware of off-campus resources. Their coach said her door is always open, but the girls choose to handle their issues themselves. They are responsible for school and sports.

And the hard work does not feel worth it every day.

“There’s just a lot of hard days in volleyball, in sports,” Grundy said. “I think any college athlete would tell you that.”

And they are expected to bear the weight of it all on their own.

“You assume that they’re Superman or Superwoman,” Hampton said. “It’s not true. They’re somebody’s daughter, granddaughter, son, brother.”

GOD’S WONDERFUL LOVE GIFT!

“But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” (Ro.5:8 NLT)

One of the important foundations of our faith is the extent of God’s love for us. It is how far He would go to help us in our sinfulness. If we were to face the righteous judgment of God without his help, we all would be eternally lost; separated from God and all that is good, and it would be forever.

John 3:16 expresses that simply. “ God so loved the world! God went to great lengths to supply a way for us “not to perish;” not to be separated in eternal regret from all that is good and wonderful. It is God who took the initiative. We are so dead in our sins that we did not even see our need fully. To save us, God sent his

Son, Jesus, to die for us; to pay the penalty that was rightfully ours, so that we, humans, could go free.

What does he ask from us? When we learn (hear) the message of God’s love, of Jesus’ sacrifice for us; we trust him, admit our need(our sin), and honestly thank him for his love gift. God forgives all our sins and declares us righteous in his sight.(Ro.5:1) He also gives us a new life within. We are “born again”, and we begin a new and real relationship with God. It is a love relationship; “We love him because He first loved us.” (1

Jn.4:19)

“How great is the love the Father (God) has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” (1 Jn.3:1 NIV) Not by any works we have done, but receiving freely Gods love gift. It is free to all!

Jaycee Hampton

Michela Desdefano (right) and her teammate, Hannah Grundy, said they lean on each other for mental support as college athletes.

Luisa Clausen

Cowboy Kitty

Protector of OSU’s Botanic Garden

Addie Wagner Staff Reporter

It’s a quiet, peaceful day in OSU’s beautiful, lush Botanic Garden.

Suddenly, a tiny bell jingles from somewhere in the blooms. An orange, furry creature appears and greets visitors with a cheery “meow.” His name is Cowboy Kitty, and he has become the Botanic Garden’s most popular attraction.

Cowboy Kitty is popular with visitors of the garden, but some Stillwater residents may not know he exists.

Lou Anella, director of the OSU’s Botanic Garden, said one of her colleagues donated the cat and he has patrolled the garden for around 12 to 13 years. Cowboy Kitty started as a stray cat and has been an important member of the garden’s staff ever since.

Anella talks about Cowboy Kitty fondly and wants to make it clear Cowboy Kitty is just as much a part of the success of the garden as its employees.

“We’re all about the visitor and trying to make a good experience for the visitor,” Anella said. “Cowboy adds to that by just being so friendly, especially to children.”

Harrison Schraut, 2, is one of the Botanic Garden’s frequent visitors.

He has been going to the Botanic Garden with his mother, Alora Thompson, for weeks since discovering Cowboy Kitty. Schraut became close

to Cowboy Kitty, and the two have formed a friendship.

“He is extremely friendly,” Thompson said.

“We sing a song when we pet him just because we tend to be handsy as toddlers. But they both have loved each other every time.”

Cowboy Kitty is popular among kids because of his gentle nature and relaxed personality.

“Cowboy Kitty does what he wants,” Thompson said. “It’s his garden; he just allows us to come play. He will let you know when he’s done with pets and ready to move on or lay down, or he will follow you around.”

Cowboy Kitty is mysterious, and some visitors take time to look for him.

He enjoys lounging on shelves of plants, stretching out on the soil or following people as they enjoy the garden.

Thompson remembered when her young son came across Cowboy Kitty for the first time.

“I’d say his favorite memory is when he discovered him for the first time,” Thompson said. “He was mesmerized already by all the workers and what they were working on but then saw a cat just sitting on the sidewalk and went running.”

Anella also confirmed when visitors find him, Cowboy Kitty is a social cat and loves to inspect all guests of the garden.

“Wherever people are gathering, he follows,” Anella said.

“He follows people. If there’s a tour, or a group, or class, you look and there will be Cowboy,” Anella said of Cowboy Kitty’s daily routine.

Laura Payne, Payne County’s extension horticulturist, is one of Cowboy Kitty’s biggest fans too.

“People come here to look for the cat,” Payne said. “Parents bring their kids here just to see him because they don’t want pets. He just makes people happy.”

news.ed@ocolly.com

Dining hall...

Continued from 1A

Linguetti’s, the Italian eatery located in Kerr-Drummond, is now open for lunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and for dinner from 5-9:30 p.m. Also, in Kerr-Drummond, the 405 Deli is open 30 minutes later, until 10 p.m.

For residents on the north side of campus, hours have been updated as well. In North Dining, Road Trip, the pizza and pasta bar, is open an hour and a half later, until 10 p.m. Dash, the grab-n-go, is also open until 10 p.m.

In Adams Market, the fried food restaurant, previously known as The Hatch, is back open under a new name, The Station. The hours are the same as they were in previous semesters, 5-10 p.m.

Amanda Hamlett, marketing coordinator for UDS, is working on the development of a student advisory group. Hamlett explained the group would be “made up of 7-10 students from a wide variety

of backgrounds to be the voice for the students.”

Both Hamlett and Hsu stressed the importance of hearing from the student population.

“Sometimes we think we know what students want,” Hamlett said. “But we don’t actually know.”

Hsu agreed. The student advisory group’s purpose would be to include students in the decision-making process for any problems regarding dining on campus.

Hsu said students are a valued part of the success of university dining.

UDS keeps dining operations running by employing mostly student employees. To run all 30 dining operations, the staff must be large. Hsu said about 400500 student employees are hired each year.

Due to expanded hours, UDS is hiring more employees.

To apply, visit: https://dining.okstate.edu/employment/

For a full list of the updated dining hours, visit: https://dining. okstate.edu/hours/fall-hours.html

news.ed@ocolly.com

Addie Wagner

Cowboy Kitty has patrolled OSU’s Botanic Garden for 12 to 13 years.

Raynee Howell University Dining Services has expanded operating hours for some of its restaurants.

News

‘Nothing is going to stop us’

OSU student shares experience as a drag queen

Isaac Terry Staff Reporter

When his life was going downhill, Stella Fierce saved Braxton Thompson.

Thompson’s hobby is to dress up as Fierce, his drag queen persona. The sophmore at OSU first took on the character in October 2022.

In April, Senate Bill 216 passed the Oklahoma senate, which makes it illegal to perform gender transition services to those under 18. At 19, Thompson is not old enough to perform in bars and most clubs, but he has performed live at OSU for an “Evening Extravaganza” hosted by the OSU Department of TheatreAs a theatre major, Thompson implements what he learns when he plays Stella.

Thompson said his inspiration for Stella, a cosplay of a character from the TV show “Winx Club,” which he based his Halloween costume on, is what cemented Stella Fierce’s name, as well as his will to continue down the path of drag.

For Thompson, drag is an art form. But it may not be like that for everybody.

When Thompson first publicly tried drag, a man vandalized and attempted to set fire to a donut shop in Tulsa with a Molotov cocktail. The donut shop had recently hosted an event featuring drags and the day after the fire, Andy Little with Tulsa Fire said “anti-LGBTQ” flyers were left on neighboring businesses.

“It was kind of scary to see the lengths that these crazy people go to try to like, prevent people from expressing themselves,” Thompson said. “I don’t think it’s going to slow me down or stop me in really any way.”

LGBTQ+ people experienced 5.4 violent hate crimes specifically motivated by sexual

orientation and gender identity per 1,000 people, compared to 0.2 victimizations per 1,000 people for non-LGBTQ+ people, according to UCLA School of Law Williams Institute. In November 2022, a gunman opened fire in an LGBTQ+ nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colorado, killing five people and injuring 25 others. In 2016, a mass-shooter opened fire at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, killing 49 people and injuring an additional 53.

“Honestly, everyone in the LGBT community in general, nothing is going to stop us,” Thompson said. “For me drag is a way to play a character. It’s like no matter what I do as this character, I can never be doing something wrong. Like that (has) a sense of freedom to it. And a lot of it is entertainment, it’s something other people enjoy.”

For the past year, Fierce grew into her own character. Thompson experimented with other looks such as “Wizard of Oz” inspired Dorothy look earlier this year.

In March, the Oklahoma House passed House Bill 2177, which focuses on transgender youth. The bill prevents any transitioning practices such as surgery or hormonal therapy for people under 18.

“Whenever I started drag, things in my life (were going) downhill,” Thompson said. “And, having this art form to kind of distract myself and play this character who had nothing wrong in their life. Her only problems are deciding what to wear. So it really helped me get through these times where I was not doing well, and I believe that my entertainment, me being that character, can also help other people. Distract them for a while.”

Transgender youth can contact the Trevor Project at 1-866488-7386. The Trans Lifeline can be reached at 877-565-8860.

Courtesy of Braxton Thompson

Thompson has begun to experiment with other looks, such as a “Wizard of Oz” inspired Dorothy look as Stella grew into her own character.

WANNA BET?

Davis Cordova Staff Reporter

Alan Bowman didn’t change his plan — or mindset — when Garret Rangel started in OSU’s first game.

Colleges taking caution with sports gambling

Hunter Dekkers wasn’t trying to get rich quickly or fix any games, but it didn’t matter.

OSU coach Mike Gundy held up his cell phone to a crowded room of reporters.

Gundy and his program consistently educate student-athletes on the dangers of sports gambling. But the cell phone, he said, is a culprit for increased instances of gambling in college sports. Accessibility has made placing bets easier to do and more difficult to control.

“We’ve addressed gambling for years,” Gundy said. “The addressing part of it now is different because of the availability to do it with these.”

The accessibility and convenience of betting has created unintended consequences. The same accessibility that allows athletes to make bets without a middleman also exposes athletes to the outside world and its vitriol.

Gambling has long been part of society, but it is a growing issue in collegiate athletics. It presents problems for universities, athletes and fans, and it’s been compared to “the new oxycontin.” With sports gambling legalized in 38 of 50 states and in Washington, D.C., compared to only nine states in September 2018, and the ability to wager becoming increasingly accessible, college athletics begins navigating a new world and learning how to police it and adapt to it.

“Behemoth of a Problem”

In May, more than three dozen student-athletes at Iowa and Iowa State, including Dekkers, an ISU quarterback, were named in a sports betting scandal. It’s illegal to place bets in Iowa under the age of 21, and the NCAA prohibits athletes from betting on any sport in which it sponsors a championship.

Breaking that NCAA rule results in a loss of a percentage of eligibility, but in cases like Dekkers’, betting on one’s own team, an athlete faces permanent loss of eligibility.

Collin Pratt, a senior associate in finance and strategy at U.S. Integrity, a company that monitors corruption in the gambling industry, has spent the past two months traveling the country, talking to partner schools about prevention for situations like Iowa State.

“I think (Dekkers’) average wager size was $7,” Pratt said. “He just made a silly mistake and unfortunately, it’s cost him the sport that he grew up knowing and loving to play. He likely will be unable to ever play that again.”

Until 2018, sports gambling was illegal at the federal level, and the NCAA lived by the “all gambling is bad” model. But now gambling is part of a normal Saturday for many people outside the umbrella of Las Vegas. It’s part of sports.

Now, the NCAA and colleges can’t hide behind that blanketed statement. It’s a complex issue that takes a nuanced response, action and education.

“Sports have been around for much longer than 2018, and up until

that point, all these executives at colleges, professional sports leagues, etc., just kind of turned a blind eye to the sports-betting world, which completely existed,” Pratt said.

“Since then, all these people that are still in place now have this behemoth of a problem.”

“The Ugly Side of Sports”

More than $150 billion is gambled on sports in the U.S. annually, according to legalsportsbetting. com, and more than $100 billion is wagered during football season.

It’s a big business with a monstrous appetite. A dropped touchdown pass could cause a bettor from cashing his or her ticket, or a player scoring in the final seconds could send a game over the point total at the last moment. In those instances, fans can, and have, reach out to the increasingly accessible players, and harass or threaten them.

Ben Dyson, OSU’s assistant athletic director for compliance, said those cases are more common at the professional level and none have happened at OSU yet, but it’s starting to trickle into college sports and appear on his radar.

“It’s kind of the ugly side of sports,” Dyson said. “That’s one of the downsides of gambling is that people don’t just watch it now for fun, they’ve got money tied up in it, and sometimes it’s big money. So the emotions are in it in a negative way.”

And sometimes that money comes from places too close to a student-athlete. NCAA laws state that an athlete cannot bet on any sport in which the NCAA sponsors a national championship.

Recent scandals

Schools already affected by sports gambling:

Alabama baseball (2023) Iowa and Iowa State football (2023)

UTEP men’s basketball (2014)

San Diego men’s basketball (2011) Toledo football, men’s basketball (2004-06)

Gambling on campuses

A look at the numbers, according to NCAA:

Bowman said he believes that approach gave him the advantage in eventually securing OSU’s starting quarterback position for and after the Cowboys’ game vs. Iowa State two weeks ago.

On Monday, Mike Gundy confirmed Bowman as the starter for Friday’s game against Kansas State when he announced that Bowman “played good enough to come back and get the start and we’ll just watch from there.”

Beyond the four-plus year college experience over quarterback competitors Gunnar Gundy and Rangel, Bowman, a sixth-year senior, said he felt he had a leg up over the two when it came to how he trained and practiced.

His routine never faltered when the three rotated in through practice and the first three games.

The past three weeks, he said there has been zero change to the way he prepares, even if he’s QB1.

“I think I prepared as the starter the day I got here,” Bowman said, “and I think that’s one advantage I had through the first three weeks of the season. When it did happen, I didn’t have to skip a beat or change anything, just keep doing what I’ve been doing.”

In the first three games of OSU’s season, the cycle of quarterbacks brought more questions than answers for both fans and players. Bowman said the competition was rigid when it came to not knowing when he would be playing in the game or practice.

Quarterback battles are nothing new for Bowman. He’s in his sixth year of college football. Surely he didn’t win the starting job as a freshman at Texas Tech without competition. And he later competed to play for an eventual playoff team at Michigan. Bowman said he’s had experience with those situations in the past and that’s what helped him through the process of fighting for the job, even if he didn’t know what was next.

women’s basketball’s Chandler Prater channels ‘dawg’ mentality

Ethan Scott

It took Alan Bowman four weeks into

starting quarterback position.

Ben Holieway

Braden Bush

Sports Editor

Courtesy of Getty Images

Sports gambling has always been around in the U.S., but its accessibility has made it prevalent on college campuses.

The student-athletes can’t. But John Holden, a sports management professor at OSU who appeared in The Free Press article titled “Sports Betting is the ‘New Oxycontin,’” said a friend sitting in the desk next to the athlete in history class can.

“Your classmates are placing bets on their phone during class,” Holden said. “Betting on you.”

That puts athletes in an awkward position.

An NCAA study in May showed that 67% of students living on college campuses are bettors, and 41% of students who bet have placed wagers on their school’s team. That means student-athletes can become sources of team information, which is just as prohibited as an athlete gambling on a game his or herself.

“The guy down the hallway that’s in the fraternity that’s into it, and he says, ‘I can go over here and talk to one of our players, and I can find out who’s hurt, and I have an advantage,’” Gundy said. “So that’s an issue.”

Dyson uses an example he’s heard of. A fan sent a studentathlete a message online, asking if the athlete was going to play in the next day’s game, to which the athlete said no and that he was still hurt. The fan screenshotted the message and posted it, then the point spread moved nearly six points. That raised flags and sparked an investigation. Situations like that are what Dyson spends his time trying to prevent. And in the new landscape of sports and gambling, his job becomes more difficult.

“It was just somebody thinking he was interacting with a fan, and they turned around and used that information,” Dyson said. “It caused him all kinds of headaches.

“A seemingly innocuous conversation can have some bad consequences.”

Drawing lines on the go

The lines are blurry in the college sports betting world. A balance of ethics, money making, maintaining the integrity of the game and protecting student-athletes. That balance has been tested on the go.

The COVID-19 pandemic left athletic departments scraping for money. Five major universities – Michigan State, LSU, Maryland, University of Denver and University of Colorado – made multiyear partnerships with sports betting companies.

While action ensued on the football field at Michigan State football games, banners ran across screens in the stadium, reading, “Caesars Sportsbook and Casino: Official Sports Betting Partner of Michigan State Athletics” and “Download the Caesars Sportsbook and Casino App.” That partnership was worth $8.4 million over five years, according to The New York Times.

According to the same The New York Times article, as part of LSU’s deal, the university

sent emails to recipients – some of whom were not yet 21, the legal age to gamble in Louisiana – and the emails read, “place your first bet (and earn your first bonus).” And PointsBet offered the University of Colorado Boulder an extra $30 each time a promo code was used to download the betting company’s app. That was one way out of a financial mess for universities.

“Partnerships were a great way to make seven figures from those sportsbooks,” Dyson said.

“And it kind of made sense in their minds, obviously, because you have a sporting event, you have a sportsbook, and put that marketing together. I get why they did it, but I don’t think anybody slowed down at those institutions to think kind of the hypocrisy and mixed messages.”

Promoting gambling, endorsing it in stadiums and making money off it while prohibiting athletes from having any involvement is a tough sell and even tougher to execute.

“Take the money and do as I say, not as I do kind of thing,” Dyson said.

In March, the American Gaming Association stepped in and adopted a responsible marketing code to ban partnerships between sportsbooks and schools. That stopped the blatant crossover of universities and gambling, but gambling is still ingraining itself into college athletics every day.

ESPN’s College GameDay displays betting lines and odds, and there’s a segment where hosts pick point spreads. SportsCenter host Scott Van Pelt runs a segment called “Bad Beats,” which looks at wacky ways that bets lost from throughout the week.

When watching athletics events on TV, there are constantly sportsbooks commercials of “free bets” or of celebrities sponsoring the books. Even on the sides of roadways, gambling promotion signs are frequent.

Easy, fun and accessible. That’s the idea being pushed to the public and warned about in locker rooms.

“So, there are definitely some mixed messages being sent,” Holden said.

The Local Angle OSU isn’t immune to getting tangled up in the web of sports gambling. The Cowboys are in the thick of it, too.

Arland Bruce IV, a transfer wide receiver from Iowa, joined the program in the spring and was set to help fill voids at slot receiver after John Paul Richardson transferred to TCU. A month before the season began, Bruce was named in the Iowa gambling investigation, and the initial complaint said Bruce placed 11 wagers on Hawkeye football games while part of the team during the 2021-22 season on a DraftKings account in his father’s name. Other reports said Bruce placed 132 bets, totaling $4,342, for an average of $32.89 a bet.

The same account placed eight wagers on Hawkeye football games during the 2022-23 season, including games he participated in.

When a player engages in wagering on his or her team,

the door opens for scrutiny to enter. In a game against Northwestern in October 2022, Bruce was accused of placing an “under” wager with the over/ under (total points scored in a game) at 37.5. Bruce scored a touchdown that took the point total from 33 to 39, losing his alleged bet.

Still, wagering on games creates a dangerous environment for athletes, as bettors could become suspicious of athletes tampering with games. That sets athletes up for scrutiny from the outside world when a bet loses, and a 50/50 play doesn’t go a bettor’s way.

In August, Gundy said OSU took heightened precaution in response to the investigation and others around the country.

“We’ve gone further with it over the last 12 months,” Gundy said. “What’s come out across the country has kind of been a shock to everybody, and we’ve addressed it multiple times over the last three weeks because of it, to try to coach them up on the dangers of it, much less how the NCAA sees it or whoever else.”

Bruce received a charge for tampering with records from the State of Iowa in August, but he pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of underage gambling on Sept. 18. Bruce paid a $645 fine, and the state did not pursue further action.

Gundy said in August that Bruce remained with the team, but his football career is still in the air. He was suspended from team activities, and his remaining two years of eligibility sits in the hands of the NCAA.

“I was told the NCAA declared all those kids ineligible,” Gundy said Monday. “So anytime somebody is declared ineligible, you go through a process to reapply for eligibility. And I’m guessing that’s where all those kids are at right now.”

Now, Gundy is crossing his fingers that the NCAA doesn’t make an example out of Bruce

and that he is able to return with two years of eligibility remaining.

Education Is Prevention

With Iowa and Iowa State’s investigation, and it bleeding into OSU’s football program with Bruce, Dyson doesn’t have to go far to find a scaredstraight story.

It seems simple to place small, anonymous bets. No harm, no foul. No big deal. Until it is.

“They think, ‘I can do it easily and not get caught,’ and in most situations, you probably can,” Dyson said. “But when you have something that happens at Iowa and Iowa State where law enforcement gets involved, then all of a sudden, your anonymity is gone.”

Dyson meets with all athletic programs and goes over the dangers with sports gambling and uses those cases as cautionary tales to educate players on how easy it is to get caught in the middle of it and hurt their careers.

Sometimes a reminder is needed to regain attention.

“A lot of times when you go long periods of time with not having those cautionary tales, people just kind of forget the impact of what it can do,” Dyson said.

The Big 12 announced a partnership with U.S. Integrity in August, with the company providing monitoring tools, such as ProhiBet, which is a monitoring software system. U.S. Integrity partners with the Pac 12, SEC, Big Ten and most major professional sports leagues, and Big 12 schools gained access to the system Sept. 1.

The new technology has already yielded results.

Like Iowa and Iowa State, Alabama dealt with gambling integrity issues. Crimson Tide baseball coach Brad Bohannon was fired after being found connected to betting activity in Ohio on his team, allegedly informing a bettor that a starting pitcher wasn’t going to play. U.S. Integrity was alerted to major bets being placed on the LSU-Alabama game, which sparked the investigation.

Holden said it’s naive to think it doesn’t happen more often around college sports than just known cases such as Iowa and Alabama.

“It’s happening,” Holden said. “It’s whether we’re monitoring it and becoming aware of it, I think is really sort of what we need to talk about.”

Those situations are nightmares for a coach. Gundy has seen everything go on around the country, and he’s tried to make sure his players know what went wrong in those situations.

“But every one of them scares me,” Gundy said.

Trajectory

wagering issues.

The study showed that 27% of autonomy (Power Five) schools’ athletics departments dealt with a sport gambling issue at some level in the past year. In 2019, that number was only 3%.

Simply put, sports gambling isn’t going anywhere but up. That means issues aren’t, either.

“I think it’s gonna get worse before it gets better,” Holden said. “I think that’s going to continue for a little while, and education is going to improve over time. The understanding of the rules is going to improve. But it’s been a slow process.”

Dyson said sports bookies have been on college campuses for generations, and there’s not much that can be done about that. Gambling has deep roots in society, and there’s always going to be avenues to do it. Only 38% of Power Five compliance directors were “extremely or moderately concerned” with sports wagering issues in 2019, compared with a 53% mark in 2023.

All Dyson and other compliance administrators can do is spread the message and use the available tools.

“At a certain point, we can’t be with all of them 24/7. We can’t hold their hands. If they’re going to do it, they’re going to find a way to do it, but at least you’ve educated them, and we’ve made them aware of what they can and can’t do.

“Just have to rely on the education that you provide, and then you do what you can to prevent it and knowing that you’re never going to be able to stop all of it.”

OSU nose tackle Collin Clay said the program is clear in its expectations and educates athletes well on the topic, but that it boils down to players making their own decision.

“We’ve just got to be smart with what we do,” Clay said. “It just has to be important to you. Just looking at other people who may have got in trouble for that, you’ve just got to be aware of that stuff. You’ve got to be smart with what you do.”

Dyson has watched the landscape change wildly in his 16 years at OSU’s athletic department, and he doesn’t see sports gambling issues dying down anytime soon. Popularity is growing, and so are problems. And with most things, money is the central driver.

Odds are placed on games further and further in advance. There are TV shows dedicated to betting and fantasy football. More than 75% of the country has legalized sports betting. It’s been embraced in the sports world.

The sports gambling ride has already taken off, ready or not, and now the college sports world is holding on and adapting on the go. Buckle up.

“As long as there’s money to be made, then it’s going to continue to happen,” Dyson said. “There’s no way to put the genie back in the bottle with this.”

File Photo

OSU transfer receiver Arland Bruce IV is no longer participating in team activities after being named in a gambling scheme within the Iowa football team.

Legalization of sports betting in the U.S.

Technology used in preventing illegal sports gambling activity

to prevent student-athletes from placing wagers, through alerts.

In a normal month, U.S. Integrity sends about 15-18 alerts to sportsbooks nationally for potentially suspicious betting activity.

Alerts don’t indicate a game is fixed, but it means the Las Vegas-based gambling corruption monitoring company can’t identify why a market is moving a certain way.

“Of those 15 to 18 alerts a month, about half of them end up resulting in suspensions, bans and arrests from nefarious sports betting activity,” said Collin Pratt, a senior associate at U.S. Integrity.

Pratt and U.S. Integrity use a new world of technology to prevent illegal sports gambling. With the proliferation of legalized gambling in college sports, the technology U.S. Integrity and sportsbooks use is rapidly evolving to protect athletes from scandal.

“Any time there’s one of these sports betting scandals, nobody feels good about it,” Pratt said. “But the one positive thing it means is that the system is working, that the regulated sports betting landscape is working.”

U.S. Integrity introduced a tool, ProhiBet, provided to partner schools

“When student-athletes know that they’re on a prohibited wagering list and that their school is going to be notified the moment that they sign up for an account or try to place a prohibited wager, that’s a big deterrent from going and making those silly mistakes that can cost you your future,” Pratt said.

Big 12 schools gained access to ProhiBet on Sept. 1, and compliance administrators can view U.S. Integrity’s wagering activity chart. The chart has a line for each of the 93 legal U.S. sportsbooks they partner with, making it easy to track unusual betting activity.

Sportsbooks use their own technology to prevent athletes from betting, too. They use the same technology as ridesharing companies to track where bets are being placed, so sportsbooks can tell whether a bet was placed in a team facility or prohibited premises.

Ben Dyson, Oklahoma State’s assistant athletic director for compliance, said the technology is accurate to within 3 feet of where the bet is being placed.

“They don’t just know you’re in the facility, they know you’re in the locker room, and they can even pinpoint maybe what locker you are in,” Dyson said.

The sports gambling and collegiate athletics world changed in May 2018 when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (1992), making gambling legal at the federal level.

PAPSA granted an exemption to Nevada, but its overruling meant other states could begin passing legislation to make sports betting legal. Since, 38 of 50 states and Washington D.C. legalized sports gambling at some level.

Oklahoma is not one of those states.

Rep. Ken Luttrell introduced a sports betting bill, House Bill 1027, but it failed to advance in the Senate in April and did not receive a hearing.

Matt Morgan, Chairman of the Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association, said there hasn’t been much interest from legislative leadership to make sports gambling happen.

“I think, in layman’s terms, we just haven’t seen the momentum on behalf of the state to say it’s something they’d like to get done,” Morgan said. “From the tribal perspective, I think a lot of operators, and of course a lot of our customers, are interested in having sports betting.”

The Oklahoma legislature returns

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to session in February, and HB1027 is alive and could be taken up at that time.

Oklahoma tribes hold an exclusive gaming compact, meaning the tribes would be the ones offering sports gambling. Tribes give the state a 4% share of revenue that rises to 6% if revenue exceeds $20 million under the current compact.

Morgan said it will take the tribes, legislature and governor’s office all coming to the table and having conversations to make sports gambling work for all parties. The longer it sits, the more money the state is missing out on, Morgan said.

“I think we’re kidding ourselves if we don’t think black-market sports betting is going on right now,” Morgan said. “Whether you’re betting with your friends, whether you have a bookie, whether you’re on the internet or you’re doing it legally and go into a different jurisdiction, those people that want to bet on sports are.

“What having a legalization bill in Oklahoma would provide is making sure those dollars are flowing into tribal governments and those dollars are being shared with the state and that people that want to participate in it can have confidence in the integrity of the offering.”

No movement yet on legalization in Oklahoma, but there’s still hope

Braden Bush Sports Editor

Braden Bush Sports Editor

U.S. Integrity monitors the movement of sports betting markets in 93 of the 95 legal sportsbooks in the U.S.

Red states have not yet legalized sports gambling as of October 2023.

File Photo

House Bill 1027 would legalize sports betting in Oklahoma, but it failed to advance in the Senate in April. It can be heard again when legislature returns to session in February.

“It’s tough because you never know what you’re going to get. You never know when you’re going to get in. You never know who’s going to come in and play and when and how,” Bowman said.

“I’ve been in a lot of quarterback battles, so that kinda helped. So having six years and having that experience of being in competitions before helped me a lot.”

Now that the job has been determined, for now, Bowman can settle into a role he

hasn’t held since 2020 at Texas Tech. “I think I have more of a leadership role,” he said. “Being able to fire up the guys and get them going in practice on a play-byplay basis. I’m in there the whole time so I can fire up a receiver, fire up the running backs and get everybody going. It’s hard to do that when I’m not with them.

“Now that I’m with them more and we’re all together, I can rah-rah them up when they are down and encourage them when they make a good play.”

Having one quarterback seemed to boost the once-struggling offense. OSU put up 27 points in its loss to

Iowa State, with Bowman completing 23 of 48 passes, throwing two touchdowns and two interceptions. He also ran for a touchdown.

Bowman said the increased workload in practice, getting about 60% of the snaps, has helped him improve his work with the offense.

“I think the more snaps you get with your team, the better you’re going to be,” Bowman said. “Going into Iowa State, we got enough snaps, and now the bye week has helped us to get more and more. The more you can get, the better we’re going to get.”

sports.ed@ocolly.com

Epps ‘staying ready’ with increased role

Ashton Slaughter Asst. Sports Editor

Recruiting in Missouri is like a sales business.

That’s how OSU coach Mike Gundy puts it, at least.

“If we contact 10 of ‘em (recruits) and two of ‘em are interested, then we’ll pursue it; see where it goes,” Gundy said. “It’s a sales business; if you’re profiting on sales, you can’t chase a bunch of guys that aren’t giving you a chance.”

Prater channels ‘dawg’ mentality on defense

Davis Cordova Staff Reporter

Chandler Prater does a little bit of everything: captures boards, creates plays for teammates and scores.

But her favorite is defense, which is what OSU women’s basketball coach Jacie Hoyt said was the focus and the mindset of this year’s new-look team. Prater loves to play defense, and she welcomes the grind it takes on that side of the court.

“I’m a dawg,” Prater said. “Defense is the key to my heart. I just love the feeling of stalking somebody else and the feeling that my teammates know I have their back on both sides of the ball.”

Prater joins the Cowgirls at a time where the roster is reloaded, again. In Hoyt’s first season, she brought in a majority of new players and made the NCAA Tournament. This season, Hoyt brings in seven

transfers along with three freshmen.

Prater is one of the marquee names among the new players on the team because she’s considered a vocal teammate and can do just about anything on the court.

“She’s the leader on that end of the floor.

I mean she just loves it,” Hoyt said. “She gets after it and she’s so physical. She’s incredibly competitive, and she just brings that out in the rest of her teammates. That’s been really fun for me to watch them take it to another level.”

This offseason wasn’t the first Hoyt recruited Prater. When Prater came out of high school in the Kansas City area, Hoyt tried to recruit her to UMKC. Prater eventually made her decision to play for Kansas but didn’t forget the bond she made with Hoyt.

Prater transferred from Kansas in the offseason, after she helped lead the Jayhawks to a WNIT

victory last season in her first year as a starter.

In early May, Prater announced her return to the Jayhawk crowd after winning the WNIT trophy and pushed for fans to buy season tickets. A few days later, Prater entered the portal. She entered the portal as a grad transfer and said Hoyt attracted her to play in Stillwater, especially since the two have had a long history with each other.

“I would say playing against this team (drew me to Stillwater),” Prater said. “I always knew they had a quick, fast playing style, and Jacie definitely just drew me in. I’ve had a relationship with Jacie since she was at UMKC. I just feel like it was kinda written in my path to come here and it feels really special and every day I get to understand that I made the right decision.”

sports.ed@ocolly.com

Reloading the Roster

Cowgirls reloaded roster through portal and freshmen

Transfers:

Quincy Noble, North Texas

Rylee Langerman, Arkansas

Kennedy Fauntleroy, Georgetown

Ale’Jah Douglas, Clemson

Chandler Prater, Kansas

Brianna Jackson, Old Dominion

Freshmen:

Stailee Heard, Sapulpa

Mia Galbraith, Austin, Texas

Brenna Butler, Gruver, Texas Courtesy @OSUWBB on Twitter (X)

Cameron Epps, a redshirt freshman safety who played 66 snaps in his first start against Iowa State, is from St. Louis, formerly a “nice area” for recruiting before Mizzou departed for the SEC in 2012. Now, Missouri high school football recruits are looking at the SEC, not the Big 12.

Epps, though, gave OSU a shot. And with starting safety Lyrik Rawls being day-to-day with

an undisclosed injury and other safety Trey Rucker, who was arrested for an alleged DUI last week, Epps may be the guy to step in yet again. “When guys go down like Lyrik, somebody’s gotta step up and play,” Gundy said. Epps signed as a cornerback but moved to safety last spring. Being placed all around the field is nothing new for the former four-star Rivals prospect, who played quarterback, wide receiver and cornerback while returning punts and kicks.

His 6-foot-3, 208-pound frame and undeniable athleticism sparked the interest of Gundy and Co., who offered Epps in September 2020. Being paired with Kendal Daniels — who stands 6-foot-4 — adds a wrinkle to the Cowboy secondary, combining the two’s athleticism with their range.

Epps’ athleticism and frame showed in Ames, where after early busted coverage plays, he

tied Daniels with a teamleading 10 tackles — seven more than he totaled in four games last season. The Cyclones tested him. Although he failed at first, he kept fighting. “I had some things I need to clean up, for sure,” Epps said. “But this week I’m hoping on fixing that and playing better.”

Despite Epps calling his transition from cornerback to safety a “learning curve,” he believes he’s best in the striker role in defensive coordinator Bryan Nardo’s 3-3-5 defense, playing a hybrid role of safety and linebacker. Instead of being “on an island,” he can display his athleticism in the middle of the field.

Wherever he’s needed, though, he’ll be there. As a backup, Epps is prepared to step in at any opportunity — just like he has throughout his football career.

“It meant a lot (to get his first-career start),” Epps said. You always gotta stay ready as a two.”

sports.ed@ocolly.com

Courtesy Braden King / OSU Athletics

Chandler Prater’s style fits well with the Cowgirls’ perimeter defense.

Ethan Scott

Alan Bowman said getting the majority of first-team reps allows him to fully take over as a leader in the offense.

Quincy Noble

Point / Counterpoint

Ashton slaughter parker gerl

Luckily for OSU fans, the offense can’t get much worse. Being ranked 100 in total offense at 343.4 yards per game is unfamiliar territory for the Cowboys. Now, though, they have their guy — Alan Bowman. He’s only played one full game, and although he didn’t look incredible, he looked serviceable. Let him get some more snaps with the offense, and if (big if) the run game can get established, this offense can improve.

After

No, fans shouldn’t expect improvement coming off the bye week. OSU hasn’t even found its identity yet, so expecting week to week adjustments and positive changes shouldn’t be expected. Stats and numbers will tell you the Cowboys just aren’t a good football team right now, and week to week improvements come from good teams. As of now, OSU isn’t one. Until that time comes, fans shouldn’t expect improvement.

the bye week, should fans expect the offense to improve?

Game Day Preview

3 storylines: OSU versus Kansas State

Can OSU contain KSU wideouts?

K-State wide receivers Phillip Brooks and Jadon Jackson pose a challenge for the OSU secondary. Brooks has totaled 226 yards and Jackson is nearing the 200-yard mark. Each has also scored a couple of touchdowns. The Cowboys’ secondary has been no stranger to giving up big plays and touchdowns to opposing wideouts, making Brooks and Jackson tough covers in Week 5.

Will Presley get involved?

The Cowboys’ offense has struggled most of the season and has yet to find a constant rhythm. A glaring part of OSU’s offensive struggles has been the lack of touches for wide receiver Brennan Presley. He’s caught four or less passes in each of the past three games, has yet to reach 100 receiving yards on the year and has just one game with more than 30 receiving yards. Offensive coordinator Kasey Dunn has said a number of times he wants to get Presley more involved but has yet to do so successfully.

Will KSU stay healthy?

In KSU’s win against UCF, quarterback Will Howard played through a leg injury. Offensive tackle Christian Duffie played on a limited snap count and key offensive players RJ Garcia and Treshaun Ward did not play. Like OSU, the Wildcats are coming off a bye week and got a chance to recover. If Garcia, who has 168 receving yards on the year, and Ward are able to go, the KSU offense immediately gets an additional boost to its already talented offense.

Kansas State’s defense has produced 14 sacks and 36 tackles for loss through four games.

Courtesy of Kansas State Athletics

Wildcats outmatch OSU in the trenches

Gabriel Trevino Columnist

After losing its star defensive end as a first-round NFL draft pick, the Kansas State defensive line didn’t rebuild: it reloaded. Through four games, the mostly three-man Wildcat front has 14 sacks and 36 tackles for loss — the latter stat is sixth in the country per game. In comparison, OSU only totaled 26 sacks in 13 games last year. This season, it has 10 but has allowed nine. Both Kansas State’s offensive and defensive line surmount OSU’s, which will likely play a role in Friday’s game.

Defensive end Khalid Duke leads the charge with four sacks and six tackles for loss. Duke wasn’t a starter when OSU went to Manhattan and lost 48-0, but in garbage time he terrorized the Cowboys offense. He only record one tackle, but pressured OSU’s backfield a number of times

with his twitchy athleticism and polished arm moves.

Linebacker Austin Wells is the cleanup man on blitzes and can hit through gaps for stops. He leads the Wildcats with seven tackles for loss and has one sack.

The Cowboys’ pass rush, on the contrary, lacks consistent, every downs stars.

Collin Oliver is a disrupter whenever he gets to rush out of a two-point stance, but on most downs he’s in the second level as a stand-up linebacker.

Nathan Latu has emerged as a solid edge defender, but isn’t at the level of star players in the conference or country.

And I doubt OSU’s offensive line will be able to do much against the fierce Wildcat front. OSU coach Mike Gundy said quarterback Alan Bowman wasn’t “running for his” life every play against Iowa State like he did vs South Alabama, but the offensive line still hadn’t improved to be a strong unit yet.

Dalton Cooper is the

Cowboys’ best at left tackle, and as Bowman’s blind-side blocker that helps, but the interior still struggled to prevent pressure two weeks ago vs the Cyclones’ three-man defensive line.

Most games are decided in the trenches. If a team can pressure the opposing quarterback more than it allows pressure, then that team will usually win. Pressure doesn’t just lead to sacks. A 250-poundplus defender in a quarterbacks face can alter accuracy, which can cause interceptions and misses on deep and intermediate-level passes. Whichever team can do and stop that will win.

And OSU has shown it likely won’t. Not just because it lost 48-0 last year. Because it lost 33-7 and 34-27 to South Alabama and Iowa State less than a month ago. A Big 12 championship hopeful team can do much worse.

Kansas State players to watch: Giddens, Sinnott lead offense

No. 31 DJ Giddens, RB

Giddens is off to a great start through four games, rushing for 423 yards and four touchdowns, averaging nearly 7 yards a carry. He’s coming off a dominant 207-yard, four-touchdown game in a win against UCF two weeks ago. Giddens can be dangerous in the passing game, too, as he caught eight passes totaling 86 yards in the win. With the ability to make plays on the ground and through the air, and the Cowboys’ past struggles containing opposing running backs, he’s one of the top players the OSU defense will be looking to stop.

No. 34 Ben Sinnott, TE

The Wildcats’ tight end is KSU’s leading receiver this season. In four games, he’s caught 16 passes for 247 yards and two touchdowns and has been key in helping the KSU offense move down the field with big receptions. He’s caught a pass for 34 or more yards in multiple games and is averaging 15.4 yards a catch. With additional KSU pass-catchers banged up, Sinnott could see even more volume on Friday and be the lead target for Will Howard and the Wildcats’ passing game.

DJ Giddens

Ben Sinnott

Both photos courtesy of Kansas State Athletics

Parker Gerl Staff Reporter

Cowgirls cut expectations, have yet to play ‘best

Gina Foster Staff Reporter

After completing two tournaments this season, the OSU Cowgirls said they are feeling fairly confident.

The Cowgirls golf team opened its season with a sixth-place performance at Pebble Beach and found more footing and experience during the Schooner Classic at Belmar Golf Club in Norman, but see room for improvement.

Maddison HinsonTolchard led the Cowgirls in the first round at Belmar, scoring 2-under 68, tied for 8th. Clemence Martin was 2-over 72, tied for 34th.

For this tournament, two freshmen, Marta Silchenko and Sammie Miller, played as individuals. Silchenko scored a 5-over 75, tying for 65th, while Miller carded a 6-over 76.

The Cowgirls sat in 10th place after the opening round.

“After that first round, we dug ourselves a bit of a hole,” said coach

Greg Robertson. “You just have to be patient and let it all play out, you can’t try to force it. You can’t try harder the next two rounds. You’ve got to play how we know how to play golf and just relax and let it happen. I think they did that for the most part in those last two rounds.”

Round 2 was a day for improvement. HinsonTolchard tied the program record for the lowest 18-hole score, carding a 6-under 64, joining Jayde Panos and Amy Ruengmatakhun.

“I had no idea,” Hinson-Tolchard said. “I actually found out when they posted on Instagram about it. It was a bit of a surprise. I honestly thought it was a 63 or 62, so when I shot 64 it was a surprise, but I’m happy.”

Silchenko improved substantially and carded a 1-under 69, while Miller scored an 8-over 78 for her round.

“I think the freshmen we’ve had come in this year are very wellrounded golfers, so I’m not surprised that they’ve been shoved into the

lineup straight away,” Hinson-Tolchard said. “I think getting the experience for them now in the fall is really going to help us in the spring because the spring is a lot busier.”

Hinson-Tolchard finished seventh after shooting a 2-over 72, and the Cowgirls finished in sixth place.

This weekend, the Cowgirls split up to take on two tournaments. Six Cowgirls travel to Illinois to compete in the Illini Invitation, and three will compete as individuals in Tulsa. Robertson’s expectations for this team are to improve and control what they can.

“We’ve tried to eliminate expectations because there’s so much you can’t control other than what we’re doing,” Robertson said. “You just have to do your job and each tournament, each day, just try to get a little better.

“I think we’ve far from played our best golf. Our hope is that we’ll continue to improve from here.”

Coming into the season, OSU was filled with uncertainty. The Cowgirls were a team without its two leading scorers, they missed the NCAA Tournament and brought back multiple players from serious injuries.

Despite the influx of new faces, the Cowgirls got off to an 11-3 start, including a win against No. 19 UCF a week ago.

“We’ll take a lot of confidence from the game (against UCF), we played a top-25 team and, in my opinion, deserved to win,” said OSU coach Colin Carmichael. “We’ve started really well, we’re

Fans point to recruiting for football’s struggles

Daniel Allen Staff Reporter

Pressure continues to mount for Oklahoma State’s football recruiting.

On Sept. 28, OSU football’s Twitter (X) tweeted a “Coaches on the Recruiting Trail” post. Various coaches and staff members purportedly traveled across the nation to visit various targets and prospects.

Recruiting tweets usually garner optimistic responses from fans in the comment section. However, these responses lacked positivity.

“Yeah! Find them 2and 3-star recruits,” Parker Curran commented.

“Hope we can beat out UTEP and North Texas for the recruits other Power 5 schools don’t want,” Dustin J. said.

Most comments from OSU fans consisted of blunt criticism of coach Mike

Gundy and his staff’s recruiting philosophy. For years, the Cowboys have lived off development, not highly ranked prospects. For the most part, those tactics have sufficed. Of the 11 current former OSU players on an NFL roster who didn’t transfer in, eight were three-star recruits out of high school according to 247Sports

Malcolm Rodriguez, now with the Detroit Lions, was a three-star prospect out of Wagoner High School. To most recruiting sites, he was a two-star. And while he’s primarily a backup, this season Rodriguez did garner 15 starts his rookie year in 2022.

Fans bring a valid point to light, though. In the modern era of college athletics, where NIL and the transfer portal are more prevalent than ever, how long can Gundy’s philosophy last?

OSU fans appear to point blame of the 2-2 start

to the lack of recruiting victories or splash landings of notable high-school prospects.

“Who wants to be part of the 50th ranked recruiting class…..and play for a coach who won’t speak to you and only know you by your number…who will get you out coached pretty much every game,” Jody White commented.

On average, the Cowboys’ recruiting classes have finished 39th nationally since 2015. The highest in that span came in 2022, when the Cowboys boasted the nation’s 29th-best class.

During what was arguably OSU’s most successful two-year stretch (2021-22) where the average ranking was 30, NIL was in its infancy stages.

But from 2023 to the 2024 class, that average has dipped to 57. A sign of the times? Perhaps. And fans didn’t shy away from calling out Gundy and his staff for

in a great position in the league, but we haven’t won anything yet.”

The Cowgirls got off to a similar start last season, but the team’s success quickly disintegrated following a number of injuries.

OSU has dodged serious injuries to this point, but players and coaches will tell you this season’s success is from more than injury luck.

“I think the big thing is team chemistry off the field,” said midfielder Morgan Bynum. “I’ve been here for five years, and this is the closest team I’ve been on, we love hanging out with one another.”

The Cowgirls’ chemistry is evident on

the lack of success on the recruiting trail.

“We can’t offer you NIL (because) we don’t believe in that here, but come be a Cowboy,” Blaine Biswell said.

“With our recruiting budget and Gundy’s “gogetter” recruiting philosophy, I imagine the extent of our recruiting is some grad assistants riding in a van to a little league football game in Guthrie this weekend,” Dustin Kirk commented.

Social media backlashes happen. Win and it’s sunshine and rainbows in the final score tweet. Lose – of course, depending on the severity – and it’s doom and gloom.

But as of late, the Cowboys have done a lot of losing, and not just on the recruiting trail.

And a commentsection raid from OSU fans on social media won’t be all that ensues.

the field, with the team scoring multiple goals on corner kicks and other set pieces, along with showing an ability to make long, accurate passes to set up goals on multiple occasions this season.

OSU soccer’s blistering start has them in the upper echelon of the Big 12 and as a legitimate threat to compete for the conference as the Cowgirls head into the heart of Big 12 play.

“We haven’t won anything yet, our goals are all ahead of us,” Carmichael said. “As good as we’ve been, we have to keep pushing forward because we haven’t reached any of our goals yet.”

Courtesy OSU Athletics

Maddison Hinson-Tolchard shot a record-tying 64 in Round 2 at Belmar, but coach Greg Robertson the Cowgirls still aren’t playing their best golf.

OSU coach Colin Carmichael said even though the Cowgirls are off

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