SWOSU Athletics and Al Harris Library collaborate to preserve historical sports materials, creating a centralized database through SWOSU's Digital Commons for old film, pictures, and documents.

By the Numbers
  • 61 football videos spanning 1955-87, including the 1977 Apple Bowl broadcast
  • 15 men's basketball videos from 1973, 1978, 1979, and 1983
Yes, But

There may be challenges in digitizing and preserving a large quantity of historical analog media assets.

State of Play
  • SWOSU Athletics partnered with Al Harris Library for preservation
  • Al Harris Library received an Oklahoma Heritage Preservation Grant for digitization efforts
  • SWOSU Digital Commons now hosts the digitized athletic assets
What's Next

The library plans to digitize another 100-plus obsolete-format-video assets in 2024 and add more sports and material formats to the Athletics Media repository in the future.

Bottom Line

The collaboration between SWOSU Athletics and Al Harris Library ensures the digital preservation and public accessibility of historical athletic materials, contributing to the long-term goals of the General Thomas P. Stafford Archives.