NORMAN – The University of Oklahoma will offer a Spanish language television broadcast of the Sooners’ men’s basketball game against Oklahoma State on Saturday, Jan. 5. It will be the first time OU has produced a television broadcast in Spanish.
In addition to the primary Bedlam broadcast on Fox Sports Southwest (tips at 1 p.m. CT in Norman), OU will produce a second live version with Spanish audio and graphics on Fox Sports Oklahoma Plus. Oklahoma City Thunder Spanish radio broadcaster Eleno Ornelas will call the action alongside OU basketball alum Eduardo Najera.
OU is in its second season of offering Spanish radio broadcasts for all football games. The Bedlam TV broadcast continues OU’s outreach and service to its Spanish-speaking fans.
“This is our next step in creating an inclusive environment that makes it easy for fans to engage our program,” said OU Vice President and Director of Athletics Joe Castiglione. “We launched Spanish radio and a Spanish Twitter account so advancing into television is a logical move. This is an exciting time for us and we’re thrilled that we have the people and resources to continue this relationship.”
SoonerVision will utilize both of its control rooms on the OU campus for the dual broadcast with full production of both programs.
Ornelas brings two decades of professional experience to the broadcast. In addition to calling the Spanish radio broadcast for every Thunder home game since the team’s inaugural season in 2008, Ornelas has been the Spanish voice of the Texas Rangers since 1998. In addition to his on-air role with the Rangers, he has served as the team’s official Spanish interpreter since 2016.
The Juarez, Mexico native began his broadcasting career in the Dallas-Fort Worth area at KRVA Radio in Dallas before joining KESS-AM in 1998. Ornelas has previous experience as the Spanish play-by-play announcer for the Dallas Mavericks and has covered the Dallas Cowboys and the Dallas Burn soccer team.
After a standout four-year career at Oklahoma, Najera became the first Mexican-born player to be drafted into the NBA when he was selected 39th overall in the 2000 NBA Draft. He went on to boast an 11-year NBA career, playing for Golden State, Dallas, Denver, New Jersey and Charlotte.
Scoring 1,646 career points in a Sooner uniform, Najera ranks 10th on Oklahoma’s all-time scoring list. During his senior season (1990-00), Najera earned first-team All-Big 12 and third-team All-America honors after averaging 18.4 points (second in the Big 12) and 9.2 rebounds (also second in the Big 12). The Basketball Hall of Fame named him that season’s Chip Hilton National Player of the Year for excellence on and off the court.
Najera has continued his professional hoops career on the sideline and front office. After retiring from playing in 2012, he spent three seasons as the head coach of the NBA D-League’s Texas Legends, the minor league affiliate of the Dallas Mavericks. He currently works as a scout for the Mavericks.
Tickets for the Bedlam contest start at $20 on SoonerSports.com/tickets. OU Athletics is also offering a Saturday Special, packaging general admission tickets for three Saturday home games against Oklahoma State, TCU (Jan. 12) and Vanderbilt (Jan. 26) for just $30 total.
