Starting in January of 1986, a morning agriculture news and information program called SUNUP debuted with host J. Kevin Wagner (pictured) and reporter Ron Dahlgren. Rob McClendon succeeded Wagner as host of SUNUP, producing and anchoring more than 3,000 shows from 1990 – 2004.
The show, which was televised from the OSU campus for 15 minutes each weekday, ran for 18 years in that format. It aired on the Oklahoma Educational Television Authority and attracted an estimated 100,000 viewers daily. It was instrumental for bringing agriculture-related information and science-based programming to farmers and ranchers after most commercial TV stations had decided to stop airing their farm broadcasting shows.
SUNUP still airs on OETA on Saturdays and focuses on Oklahoma agriculture and related issues, including information on the latest research and crop updates. The program is sponsored by the Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources at OSU.