All Sooners

OU Basketball: Oklahoma to Honor Toby Keith During Bedlam Men's Basketball Saturday

All beverages will be served in Red Solo Cups in homage to the late country music star as the Sooners host rival Oklahoma State in LNC.
Bryce McKinnis|
OU Basketball: Oklahoma to Honor Toby Keith During Bedlam Men's Basketball Saturday
OU Basketball: Oklahoma to Honor Toby Keith During Bedlam Men's Basketball Saturday

In this story:

Oklahoma Sooners

NORMAN — The University of Oklahoma will celebrate the life of Toby Keith during Saturday’s men’s basketball game against Oklahoma State at Lloyd Noble Center, the team announced in an X post Friday morning.

Toby Keith, who recorded 20 No. 1 singles during a nearly three-decades-long career in country music, died Monday at 62 years old from complications related to stomach cancer. The Moore, Okla. native was a lifelong Sooners supporter.

The Oklahoman’s Colton Sulley reported Tuesday that all beverages would be served in red Solo cups during Saturday’s Bedlam in homage to Keith’s 2011 triple-platinum single, “Red Solo Cup.”

The team paid tribute to Keith by placing an acoustic guitar, a red Solo cup and a crimson OU hat in his regular baseline seat during Tuesday’s 82-66 win over No. 21 BYU at LNC.

"Today's a tough day for Sooner Nation," OU head coach Porter Moser told media after Tuesday's win, a red Solo cup in his right hand. "We lost a dear friend in Toby Keith. You heard his songs blaring in the arena. I've been here for 3 years, and he became a true friend of mine. ... He's Sooner Nation."

Tip off for Saturday's Bedlam is set for 6 p.m. Oklahoma State has won seven of the last eight Bedlam contests.

Published
Bryce McKinnis
BRYCE MCKINNIS

Bryce is a contributor for AllSooners and has been featured in several publications, including the Associated Press, the Tulsa World and the Norman Transcript. A Tishomingo native, Bryce’s sports writing career began at 17 years old when he filed his first story for the Daily Ardmoreite. As a student at the University of Central Oklahoma, he worked on several award-winning projects, including The Vista’s coverage of the 2021 UCO cheer hazing scandal. After graduating in 2021, Bryce took his first job covering University of Tulsa and Oral Roberts University sports for the Tulsa World before accepting a role as managing editor of VYPE Magazine in 2022. - UCO Mass Communications/Sports Feature (2019) - UCO Mass Communications/Investigative Reporting (2021) - UCO College of Liberal Arts/Academic presentation, presidential politics and ideology (2021) - OBEA/Multimedia reporting (2021) - Beat Writer, The Tulsa World (2021-2022) - Managing Editor, VYPE Magazine (2022-2023)

Share on XFollow McKinnisBryce