University of Oklahoma Athletics Turned Game Day Photos Into Real-Time Wins

A tradition of excellence and innovation

The University of Oklahoma (OU) Athletics has built one of the most respected legacies in college sports, with 45 national championships and a reputation for excellence on and off the field. Each season, the department captures thousands of moments that reflect the pride and energy of the Sooners community. As their content library expanded, the photography team needed a faster, more reliable way to organize, share, and distribute visual assets.

The challenge: Outdated systems slowed work down

Director of Photography, Morgan Givens, oversees visual content for all OU Athletics programs, from football to gymnastics. His work depends on speed and coordination across departments, but the system made that nearly impossible. When Givens joined, files were scattered across old servers and physical hardware, and asset delivery depended on manual transfers.

Here’s what the OU team needed to fix:

• Outdated storage slowed production and risked loss of assets. Years of photos were stored on aging hardware with no consistent structure. Locating files took hours, and valuable history was at risk. Givens called it “very scatterbrained” and there was no simple way to cleanly organize or back up content.
• Game-day delivery was slow and inconsistent. Photographers used card runners to deliver memory cards from the field to editors or wait until halftime to drop photos. It was time-consuming and limited the amount of live content that reached fans and media.
• Searching and sharing required manual effort. Without strong search tools, finding a specific image meant sorting through folders manually. Staff across departments had to ask a member of the communications or graphic design department  for help each time they needed assets, creating constant interruptions and delays.
• No central hub for cross-departmental collaboration. Creative, communications, marketing, and sponsorship teams all needed access to photos, but worked independently. The lack of shared access made it hard to stay aligned and slowed project timelines.
• Missed opportunities to grow engagement through live content. Social media coverage lagged behind game action because photos took too long to process and share. The department wanted fans to experience big moments as they happened, but the tools couldn’t keep up.

“When I got to Oklahoma, I saw an opportunity to strengthen our digital strategy and department photo sharing with a centralized photo-sharing platform. Having used PhotoShelter at previous stops, I knew it could be a game changer for our athletics department. Morgan and his team have seamlessly integrated it into our workflow, and it’s transformed how we collaborate and share thousands of photos across all our digital platforms and the athletics department.”

Becca Opheim, Associate Athletics Director, Digital Strategy & Revenue Innovation, University of Oklahoma Athletics

The solution: A modern DAM made for universities

With PhotoShelter, OU rebuilt its entire photo operation into one connected, efficient system. What once took hours now happens instantly, giving the team complete control of its archive and in-game delivery.

Here’s how they made it work:

• Centralized storage brought order to the archive. All photo assets now live in one organized, cloud-based system. “It’s great having a centralized place for all of our assets for everyone in the department to access,” said Givens. The archive is structured, secure, and easy to manage.
• Real-time FTP uploads replaced card runners. Working with IT, Givens installed Ethernet drop points across key venues. “We have FTP galleries for every single sport,” he said. “PhotoShelter has really been a catalyst in making sure that our workflow runs as efficiently as possible.” Editors now receive hundreds of images during live games.

• AI-powered search saves time and effort. Staff can now find what they need in seconds. “A good example is searching for ‘fireworks’ with PhotoShelter AI, and it works incredibly well,” said Givens. The search tools make historic and recent content instantly accessible to everyone.

• Department groups keep collaboration organized. PhotoShelter’s permission-based setup gives each team access to what they need without overlap. “There are a lot of stakeholders,” Givens said. “People in communications, marketing, sponsorships, , even facilities.” The structure keeps every group working smoothly.
• Instant content delivery increased social engagement. Faster photo transfers mean fans see highlights in real time. “PhotoShelter’s a big part of amplifying a lot of what we do,” Givens said. “Engagements and interactions with our posts have really skyrocketed.” The team can now share moments as they happen.

“As a social media manager within OU’s Athletics Department for nearly a decade, I have seen firsthand the growth of social media and the need for real-time content in today’s digital space. PhotoShelter has been a game changer for our department in this regard. For years, receiving photos during events was an inconsistent struggle on a game-by-game basis. Among many other valuable features, including live transmission through PhotoShelter, we are now able to post content on a timely basis and, in return, reap the benefits via engagement from our fan base!” 

Patrick Dunn, Director of Digital Strategy/Communications, University of Oklahoma Athletics

A unified team working in sync

University of Oklahoma Athletics has turned its photo program into a model of organization, speed, and teamwork. What began as a scattered system is now a fully connected operation that keeps every department aligned and every fan engaged. Today, their photography team works with precision and efficiency, delivering real-time content that captures the energy of every game and preserves the university’s legacy for years to come.

“There’s really nothing like PhotoShelter. It’s just essential, and it’s worth every penny.”

Morgan Givens, Director of Photography, University of Oklahoma Athletics