Skip to main content

    Report: Oklahoma State Coach Says Bedlam Baseball Will Continue

    Josh Holliday literally grew up in Bedlam, and while other coaches have been noncommittal, he said it's "sensible" to have OU scheduled "for years to come."

    Amid all the consternation over continuing the Bedlam series or killing it, it was Oklahoma State coach Josh Holliday who offered a clear vision of the future — of baseball, at least.

    “We are continuing to play,” Holliday told The Oklahoman Tuesday night after OSU crushed the Sooners 14-5 in Norman.

    “We’re on the schedule for years to come.”

    OU and OSU are scheduled to play in baseball for one final time: April 5-7 in Stillwater for a three-game Big 12 Conference series.

    OU is moving from the Big 12 to the Southeastern Conference — it becomes official on July 1 — and while it seems the schools certainly won’t play on any kind of regular basis in football, there has been talk of doing the obvious: continuing the series in every other sport.

    It just makes financial sense, as well as scheduling sense, for baseball, softball, soccer, tennis and even men’s and women’s basketball to continue playing.

    But almost none of the coaches involved have been even remotely committal about it.

    “I don’t control that,” OU’s Skip Johnson said Tuesday night. “That’s the biggest thing. I’m just the baseball coach, that’s for higher people to do.”

    Holliday, on the other hand, talked openly about the multitude of reasons for continuing the series he literally grew up in.

    “It’s not baseball’s responsibility to carry on the Bedlam tradition,” Holliday told The Oklahoman’s Scott Wright. “We’re choosing to play because Coach Johnson feels like it’s a good game for the Sooners, I think it’s a good game for the Cowboys to play a high-level midweek game against a really good team that’s drivable, that the fans like, that the kids like.

    “That’s why we’re playing it. It’s sensible. It’s hard to find good midweek games. We’re playing because we think it’s in the best interest of college baseball and Cowboy baseball and Sooner baseball, not because we’re trying to carry the torch for Bedlam.”

    © 2024 ABG-SI LLC. SPORTS ILLUSTRATED IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF ABG-SI LLC. - All Rights Reserved. The content on this site is for entertainment and educational purposes only. All betting content is intended for an audience ages 21+. All advice, including picks and predictions, is based on individual commentators’ opinions and not that of Minute Media or its related brands. All picks and predictions are suggestions only. No one should expect to make money from the picks and predictions discussed on this website. For more information, please read our Legal Disclaimer. Gambling content intended for 21+. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER.