Hartman and Paris Utilizing Platform

Carlin Hartman and Courtney Paris are doing more than just coaching basketball for the Sooners.

This summer, they joined the Big 12's Black Assistant Coaches Alliance, formed in response to the ongoing social unrest in our country. The goal of the alliance is to create effective platforms for building better opportunities through transparency, economic and financial literacy programs and civic engagement initiatives for all student-athletes and coaches.

"To have this platform as coaches and leaders, I'm trying to serve [our players], to help them to become better men and better people so once they leave us, they can pay it forward in other ways," Hartman said.

With continued progress and growth as the goal, Hartman and Paris hope to not only utilize their platform, but encourage others to do so as well.

"Those players finding their voices to fight for things we believe in, that stuff all matters and it all adds up," Paris said.

One of the first dividends of BACA was all basketball student-athletes not only at OU, but throughout the Big 12 Conference, being registered to vote this past election. Hartman, Paris and the rest of the alliance hope that is just the first step in an effort to make a better world for everybody. Read More

Isaiah Levingston & Sanaá Dotson

As part of the University of Oklahoma Athletics Department's Sooners for Humanity initiative, OU track and field redshirt junior Isaiah Levingston and volleyball sophomore Sanaá Dotson (first name pronounced suh-NAY) participated in the Black Student-Athlete Summit in January, an annual event hosted by the University of Texas and this year held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The three-day summit featured dozens of presenters and an opportunity to network with thought leaders, professionals and other student-athletes.

Organizers of the summit said the aim of this year's event was to ensure that Black student-athletes have the practical leadership skills to be effective change agents on campus and beyond, and to help position them to promote the well-being of themselves, their peers, families and communities.

"We hope to use our platform and voice as student-athletes to create the change that we hope to see."
Isaiah Levingston

"Since its inception in 2015, the Black Student-Athlete Summit has been a mecca for support, research and important dialogue centered on the collegiate Black student-athlete experience," said OU Director of Student-Athlete Experience and Well-Being Brenton Sumler. "As we continue to strive to provide a championship experience for all of student-athletes here at OU, we knew it was important to provide a few of our influential Black student-athletes the opportunity to attend the important event.

"In selecting our representatives, we wanted to choose student-athletes who have true passion and a voice for not only improving the Black student-athlete experience here at OU but also in the community in which they live. It was a no-brainer to choose Isaiah and Sanaá to represent OU at this important summit."

Levingston and Dotson, who are active and influential members in OU's Athletes United group that strives for a safe space to educate, empower and promote outreach to the community, recap their summit experiences here.

Chanse Sylvie

Chanse Sylvie has spearheaded change on the Oklahoma campus and in his community.

After George Floyd's death last summer, Sylvie, a defensive back on the OU football team, took on a prominent role in advocating for police reform. He developed a plan of action that received the attention of local authorities and politicians. He met with Oklahoma state representatives, the Norman Police Department and officials wxith the City of Norman and his hometown of Shreveport, La.

Sylvie's efforts led him to an internship opportunity with Oklahoma state congresswomen Merlyn Bell (District 45 representative) and Ajay Pittman (Distrtict 99 representative). His internship began today at the Oklahoma State Capitol in Oklahoma City and he said part of his work will focus on getting a police reform bill introduced.

A 2018 OU graduate with a degree in political science who is scheduled to earn his master's in global affairs with a concentration in security in May, Sylvie has been extremely active in bettering his community and in improving opportunities and life experiences, particularly for youth. Notably, he founded the OneMindset Foundation in Shreveport in June, helping establish a 7-on-7 football team for inner-city children, organizing a back-to-school giveaway to provide elementary school kids with supplies, providing Christmas presents to a local family and arranging a Christmas meal for over 500 senior citizens. In addition, he was selected by Shreveport mayor Adrian Perkins to serve on the city's Young Adult Action Committee to push for police reform. In June, Perkins announced the signing of an executive order that prohibits Shreveport police officers from using any physical restraint maneuvers on the head or neck area.

In Oklahoma, Sylvie is a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and through the organization has visited patients at the OU Children's Hospital and participated in the hospital's prom event and the Art With a Heart art show. He also works at a Norman juvenile detention center as a youth mentor, has volunteered with the J.D. McCarty Center for children with developmental disabilities, volunteered with kids from single-parent homes via the Bethel Foundation, visited the veteran's center in Norman and spoken to children at area middle schools. As a member of the Omega Psi Phi fraternity he has organized presentations focused on mental health, sexual assault and police relations, and helped organize mentorships and events to feed homeless in the area.

Also a member of OU's Black Student Association and the athletics department's Student-Athlete Innovative Leaders (SAIL) group, Sylvie is a two-time Academic All-Big 12 First Team honoree, including this past season.

For all his efforts, Sylvie was part of a prestigious group of 22 college football players selected to the 2020 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team for their extraordinary commitment to making a lasting impact off the field. He was one of 11 FBS student-athletes, including three from the Big 12, to earn Good Works Team recognition for his contributions to the community and world at large. Read More

Stay tuned throughout the month of February as we highlight Sooners who are making a difference in their community and the world.