Report: ADs Say End of Bedlam Rivalry is 'Disappointing,' But 'It Can't Happen'

OSU's AD says this is the consequence of OU jumping to the SEC, while OU's AD says the Cowboys have "shown no interest" in continuing the series.

The Bedlam Rivalry isn’t officially dead yet. But it apparently has an expiration date.

College football insider Brett McMurphy of The Action Network reported Tuesday morning that athletic directors from both Oklahoma and Oklahoma State say the game can no longer be played once the Sooners jump to the Southeastern Conference.

“(This) is one of the consequences of OU’s decision (to leave the Big 12 Conference),” OSU’s Chad Weiberg said. “It’s disappointing for the people of the state of Oklahoma.”

OU’s Joe Castiglione, however, has said the Sooners want to continue playing and laid the future at OSU’s feet.

“Oklahoma State has shown no interest to schedule any future games in football,” Castiglione told McMurphy, “so we’re moving on.”

On Tuesday, OU coach Brent Venables was asked about the report that portends the end of one of college football's oldest rivalries. He said he hadn't heard the latest, but his stance was no different than when he was asked about Mike Gundy's comments at Big 12 Media Day, when Gundy said Bedlam had just 2-3 years left.

"I love rivalry games for all the right reasons," Venables said. "If that’s what they’ve decided to do, that’s what they’ve decided to do. It doesn’t really matter. I love rivalry games. For all the reasons people have a deep, genuine investment in their school and take incredible pride. What it does in those environments is really cool. Like I’ve said before, I’m a traditionalist at heart. I understand what rivalries look like, whether that’s the Sunflower Showdown or Oklahoma-Oklahoma State or going down the list of the other great ones out there. Those are great for college football." 

The Sooners are expected to have a nine-game SEC schedule once they join the SEC — still formally scheduled for 2025.

OU does have future openings for a marquee non-conference opponent because several future games scheduled against SEC opponents will be folded into a conference schedule. OSU could also face a nine-game league schedule once its membership settles at 12.

Both schools currently prefer playing one marquee opponent, one solid mid-major and one more manageable opponent.

“(Continuing the Bedlam series) presents logistical issues under our current (scheduling) structure,” Weiberg told McMurphy. “We don’t have any openings to play them. We’re full. Unless there are significant undertakings to make the game happen, it can’t happen.

“It’s very difficult to predict the future of college athletics right now,” Weiberg said. “Would we have interest? Yes, when the logistics work out, but that appears to be well into the future.

“It is disappointing (the series is ending). This is a part of the history of this state, is Bedlam. To think about that coming to an end or some lengthy pause, up until a year ago, was almost unfathomable.”