Crimson and Cream Collective Launches $2 Million Membership Challenge
January 24, 2024 | Athletics
https://soonersports.com/news/2024/...ctive-launches-2-million-membership-challenge


Subscribe to Crimson and Cream: https://www.crimsonandcream.co/

NORMAN — Crimson and Cream, the official collective raising money to help facilitate NIL opportunities for University of Oklahoma student-athletes, alongside its partner Ascend Fundraising Solutions, announced the launch of the $2 Million Membership Challenge. The goal of the campaign is to drive new memberships into the Crimson and Cream collective with the aim of adding 2,000 new subscriptions. For every 250 members who join, a $250,000 contribution will be unlocked that will directly impact the OU student-athlete experience, up to a total of $2 million.

"This is an amazing opportunity for OU fans to directly help support OU student-athletes," said Jason Belzer, CEO of SANIL, the company responsible for operating Crimson and Cream. "Our mission to support our athletes and help them benefit from NIL can't happen without the participation of our great Oklahoma fanbase."

The campaign launched Jan. 18 and will run for 50 days, ending March 7. Each new member who joins will also receive a series of limited-run, collectable window stickers. New members can receive up to seven stickers if they sign up within the first week of the campaign.

"We are proud to partner with Crimson and Cream on this initiative," said David Bertram, President of Ascend's Collegiate Division. "This campaign will help tap into the passion the Sooner fanbase has for the program and provide it with a direct line to positively impact the lives of these great student-athletes."

In addition, Crimson and Cream has added a new round-up membership tier. Once members join and link a credit card, their daily transactions will round up to the nearest dollar, with the sum of those round-ups going directly to help OU student-athletes. Just a few cents from every Sooner fan goes a long way toward helping meet NIL goals.

To help Crimson and Cream achieve its goal of 2,000 new members, click: https://www.crimsonandcream.co/

Sticker Release Schedule:
• Week 1: Sooner Schooner (Jan. 18-25, 2024)
• Week 2: Championship Mindset (Jan. 25-Feb. 1, 2024)
• Week 3: Crimson and Cream logo (Feb. 1-8, 2024)
• Week 4: OU Helmet (Feb. 8-15, 2024)
• Week 5: OU logo (Feb. 15-22, 2024)
• Week 6: Boomer Sooner (Feb. 22-29, 2024)
• Week 7: Sooners Basketball (Feb. 29-March 7, 2024)

About Crimson and Cream:
With the passing of legislation allowing student-athletes to profit from their name, image and likeness, Crimson and Cream leverages the collective power of the alumni and fans to equip student-athletes with the tools and resources necessary for them to excel both during and beyond their time in Norman. More importantly, we seek to help student-athletes maximize their NIL opportunities the right way, without ever compromising the values of the university and the legacy of all those who have donned the Crimson and Cream in the past. The Crimson and Cream Executive Committee is a group of passionate Oklahoma fans and well- known alumni that came together to help Sooner athletes leverage their NIL in diverse and creative ways. The executive committee receives no compensation for its work associated with the collective and the sole goal is to assist OU athletes in finding ways to leverage their NIL for good, while representing the university honorably.

Contact:
Alyssa Slaton
Account Executive, Student Athlete NIL (SANIL)
alyssa@studentathletenil.com

About Ascend Fundraising Solutions:
Ascend has been an industry leader in fundraising solutions for over 12 years, having raised over $1 billion for its partners, including some of the most iconic brands in North America: NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA and NCAA member athletics programs. Ascend's platforms and services reaches millions of sports fans across North America, plus millions of charitable donors through its non-profit business, which includes partners such as Boston Children's Hospital, Boys and Girls Clubs and the United Way Worldwide.

Contact:
David Bertram
President of Collegiate Athletics Division
dbertram@ascendfs.com

After a disappointing loss on Tuesday, the Sooners know Saturday is essentially a must-win game.

If Portal is still open.
Looks like Harbaugh is off to the Chargers.

Will quit being Liverpool FC manager at the end of season. Massive news if you're a football fan.

Brian meant so much to this site, along with Parker and I. If you all can show up, they would love everyone that wants to show respect to be there!

The memorial is Friday 1/26 at 11am.

Life.Church Moore
2916 S. Telephone Rd.
Moore, OK 73160.

His obituary is also posted at https://www.oklahoman.com/obituaries/pokl0695460


Update: Here is a link that the Bishop’s asked I get out there. It’s for children cancer research. For those wondering what can be done for the Bishop Family, this was what I was asked to push. Brian and Bunni Bishop were passionate about this and he would be extremely happy to have support from our members.

https://welcu.com/fireflies-patagonia/fundraising-2024-bunni-bishop

God Bless and prayers for the Bishop family. 🙏

I know we have a big recruiting weekend going on. Who will be the next 2025 commit? Do we get a commitment this weekend?

Curious, BD / PT, any testing updates, especially on the mid year guys?

22pt underdogs in Austin and won. Girls are 6-1 in conference play. All five starters according in double figures

Will be busy at Oklahoma:

Kahlil is on the TLC channel version of ," The Batchelor" called " Love and Translation"

Brian Bishop’s life of adventure, excitement, satisfaction and reward began in Norman, Oklahoma and was completed December 28, 2023 at his home in Houston, Texas following a hard-fought battle with cancer.

Brian was a ‘serial entrepreneur’ but had many interests including: theology, classical architecture, history, art, design, marketing, archeology, Sooner sports, and his family. A lifelong learner, he found great intellectual satisfaction in studying quantum physics, the limits of gravity, and simulated universes; he loved a good conspiracy theory.

He considered it folly to chase money, explaining that true entrepreneurs aren’t motivated by financial reward, rather by finding solutions to seemingly impossible challenges and quieting the doubters.

Brian influenced many small everyday contributions to American life, including the initial concept of NIKE Town, the expanded acceptance of ATM cards, and the development of a simple solution impacting convenience store profits by installing fountain drinks in lieu of canned soft drinks.

While still a student at the University of Oklahoma he was asked to formulate an acceptable labor plan for the Alaska Pipeline under Union 798 before the giant construction project could get underway in 1974. After college he founded United Bank Services and installed the program in over 300 banks nationwide; he later pursued a master's degree in fine art. At one time his artwork was a substantial part of the permanent print collection of the OU museum, and he had a studio in Norman where his prints and paintings were often on display.

In 1985 he founded Circuit Board Technologies, which developed ‘fast track’ methods for integrated circuit board manufacture and repair using cross-training methodologies. The company customer list included IBM, Micronics, Intel, AST, V- tech, Zenith, and the Department of Defense.

His life took a dramatic turn on April 19, 1995 when the OKC bombing compelled him to give his company to his employees and dedicate five years of his life to helping others. He served as the Assistant to Senior Pastor Nick Harris at First Methodist Church, whose building was across the street from the bombing and was destroyed by the blast.

He made over a dozen trips to the Holy Land and Middle East during this time, and for a decade (2008-2018) also served as vice chairman of a mission, school and clinic in Tharaka, Kenya, built to help the most impoverished tribe in Kenya feed over 250 people daily.

He founded ‘OUInsider.com’ in 1998 and was proud that it continues to serve the Oklahoma media market as a member of the Rivals network.

Brian is survived by his dynamic wife, Regine Familet, his sons Andy, Michael and their spouses, and daughter Bunni as well as four wonderful grandchildren. Also a sister Carol Hackett of Derby, Kansas and a brother, Rev. Gary Bishop, of Grove, Oklahoma.

Although his friends and acquaintances spanned the entire socioeconomic ladder, he most admired the character, humor and integrity found in common man, and counted his father as the greatest man he’d ever known.

Despite being outspoken, opinionated and far from perfect, he always sought to follow in the footsteps of his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

"Nothing shall separate us from the love of Jesus Christ, neither height or depth nor any other created thing. We are His forever."

It's setting up to be a MASSIVE recruiting weekend for the Sooners, and sometimes it can be difficult to keep up with all the names and faces.

So, we did the hard part for you.

Here are 10 names that you need to file away for OU's Junior Day weekend, and some film analysis on each of them. Plenty more to come over the next several days!

https://oklahoma.rivals.com/news/film-breakdown-10-visitors-to-know-for-2025-oklahoma-junior-day

Guys, rather than complain about our lack of success in the portal in this NIL era we need to examine how Michigan won a title because that is going to be much closer to our path than the Ohio state/Texas model. Michigan was elite at identifying and developing overlooked talent and they were able get that talent to stick around all 4 years which gave them an experienced and physically mature squad. We recruit much better than Michigan so we naturally have more talent at a base level but we’ve got to become master developers and talent evaluators on the offensive and defensive lines. We simply are not going to be able to rely on getting elite guys via the portal so we’ve got to get ours via High school recruiting, develop the hell out of them, and get them to stay 4 years.

I think we will see less of a collapse with Michigan than we did with Bama considering Bama brought in a new staff and Michigan is expected to promote Sherone Moore. And Michigan looked no different when Moore manned the sidelines - But I’m sure some guys will portal.
Are there any current Michigan players with known relationships to our staff? Whether that be they were once leans to OU or we were a hat on the table. Hopefully Andrel can do some recruiting for us.

I cannot remember Sampson or Tubbs getting their asses pounded by Texas at home with a respectable team. Nights like tonight remind me of how shitty Moser has been the first 2 years. This team shot like 5% from the field down the stretch. You cannot beat a special Olympics team shooting like that. Disgraceful to get our balls blown off by a mediocre Texas team, Coached by an idiot. Moser was a shit hire, I cannot see him ever recruiting well, we are 1000 miles from the greatness and ferocity of Billy Ball and Kelvin Sampson and Hollis Price.

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— As many of you likely saw by now on Twitter, Wynnewood (Okla.) RB Caden Knighten has booked a visit to Oklahoma after his recent decommitment from Vanderbilt. DeMarco Murray was one of the first people to reach out to him after he went public with his decision, which came in the wake of Vanderbilt parting ways with former running backs coach Jayden Everett. I spoke with Knighten yesterday and he acknowledged to me that if he picks up the offer while on his visit, it’s going to be very difficult for him not to commit to Oklahoma. As to whether that offer actually comes, I’m not sure just yet. The Sooners will have at least three running backs (Michael Turner Jr., Kentrell Rinehart and Demarius Robinson) at the Jan. 27 junior day, and the staff has prioritized blue-chip Texan backs Tory Blaylock and Deondrae Riden as well. OU is only recruiting for one running back spot in the 2025 class. So if they offer Knighten, they have to be prepared to let him occupy that spot… unless they were to come to an Andy Bass-esque agreement with him as an NIL-incentivized PWO. I do think Knighten will be given the opportunity to play at Oklahoma, one way or the other. But it’ll be interesting to see how Murray plays his hand here.

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— Dropped by Norman North yesterday to check in with 2026 WR Mason James, who has a very good chance to be the state’s top player in the cycle. Back in the fall, Emmett Jones and Oklahoma gave James his first offer, which understandably meant a lot to the homegrown superstar. The offers have continued to roll in, as Oregon, Tennessee, Arkansas, Kansas State and others have all thrown a hat into the ring. James himself told me that he plans to commit before the end of the calendar year, and Switzer Center sources have said they expect the young wideout to end up a Sooner. I am of that expectation as well, hence my longstanding FutureCast to Oklahoma. He quietly took an unofficial to OU earlier this week, and has been a regular on campus ever since picking up the offer. Now, don’t be surprised if you see James make the rounds at some of the other schools that have offered; the way it was phrased to me by one source is that he wants to verify with certainty that Oklahoma is indeed home. But James understands that an early commitment, especially for a wideout, is increasingly necessary in the age of the transfer portal. If I’m picking OU’s 2026 WR class right now, I think it’s James, Brock Boyd and Legend Bey.

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— Another 2026 prospect with whom Oklahoma is in VERY good shape is Richardson (Texas) APB Dameon Crowe, a diminutive yet explosive weapon who has held the offer from Oklahoma since last summer. The 5-foot-7 dynamo took multiple game-day visits to Norman this past season, and both Emmett Jones and DeMarco Murray have been heavily involved in his recruitment. The Sooners see Crowe as a player that can line up in the backfield or create mismatches as a receiver, and he’s more than capable of making plays in the return game as well. The Sooners love Crowe and Crowe loves the Sooners; OU was the only school he really wanted to talk about when I spoke with him about his recruitment yesterday. Jones and Murray have combined to stake Oklahoma to a huge lead, and I truly don’t think it’s out of the question that the Sooners have an entire 2026 skill-position group committed by year’s end (I’m looking at Crowe, James, Boyd, Bey and longtime RB pledge Jonathan Hatton). OU boomed early in the 2025 cycle, and the same may be true for 2026.

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— Get to know a new name at linebacker in the 2025 class, as the Sooners will host fast-rising Hoschton (Ga.) enforcer Luke Metz next weekend. It’s an interesting situation here, as Ted Roof had intended to extend Metz an offer on behalf of the Sooners just after the new year. But on the very day he intended to do so, Brent Venables informed Roof that he’d be replaced as defensive coordinator. Unlike the curious case of Christian Thatcher, though, the Sooners’ pursuit of Metz doesn’t seem to have died off with Roof’s departure. New linebackers coach Zac Alley visited Metz at his school a few days ago, and when I spoke to Metz, he shouted out Alley completely unprompted. I’d asked the young ‘backer what he valued in the recruiting process, and he used Alley as an example of a coach who maintains a no-nonsense approach and will show you instead of telling you. And not shockingly, he made the oft-utilized Brent Venables comp.

“He came in here and really just laid down his accomplishments and his vision for Oklahoma,” Metz said of Alley. “He’s like a little Coach V. It’s insane how much he reminds me of Coach V.”

Though he’s not yet received his initial ranking, Metz now holds nearly two dozen scholarship offers, several of which are Power 5 opportunities. The Sooners have not yet offered him, but Metz expects that they will do so when he gets to campus next Saturday. Venables obviously has a strong reputation in and around the state of Georgia, but so does Alley, albeit to a lesser extent. And Metz has the utmost respect for both men. Even though he hasn’t yet received the scholarship offer, Metz is high on the board for the Sooners at linebacker. I think what happens this weekend with Christian Jones could go a long way towards dictating whether the Sooners turn up the heat on Metz, as there’s only one linebacker spot remaining in this class. But if Oklahoma does elect to pursue the Peach State standout, I believe they’ll be difficult to overcome. For those that haven’t seen it, Metz’s junior tape is worth a watch; he’s a fun football player.

Anyone saying it’s BV this or that doesn’t know what they are taking about!!

It pisses me off he has put BV and our coaches behind the 8 ball and is making their jobs more difficult. He’s not allowing them to compete on a level playing field

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Unofficial visit tomorrow — today?

Thursday.

Just when you think you’re out… the wackiness of recruiting reels you right back in again

Porter Moser took plenty of heat on Tuesday night after a 75-60 loss to Texas. However, he's still got the stamp of approval from the man in the white visor, and that counts for a lot around Norman, Oklahoma. https://oklahoma.rivals.com/news/co...er-nation-to-keep-the-faith-with-porter-moser

It’s been about a week since I’ve checked the board. I likely missed it, so can anyone fill me in on where the Hatchett stands currently?

Looks like Oklahoma has the edge for sure: