Report: Oklahoma-Oklahoma State working toward neutral site Bedlam basketball matchup

With Oklahoma is joining the SEC, their annual Bedlam series with Oklahoma State seemed to see its final game last season, but perhaps there’s still some hope on the hardwood.

Fans have grown to love the rivalry between the Sooners and the Cowboys, but it’s entered dire straights, with the two teams playing in separate conferences, beginning with the 2024 campaign. Now, there’s a chance the game could continue next season, at least in the realm of basketball.

According to CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein, Oklahoma State men’s basketball coach Steve Lutz has relayed to him that the game is slated to be played at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City during December of 2024, although no contracts have officially been drawn up yet.

“Steve Lutz tells me that there are no contracts yet, but the annual ‘BEDLAM’ game between Oklahoma and Oklahoma State is on track to be played at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City in mid-December,” Rothstein posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

That would be an awesome compromise from the Sooners and the Cowboys. While Oklahoma is excited for their move to the SEC, losing the competition and history of the Bedlam Series would be something no college sports fan wants to see.

Last season, Oklahoma State defeated Oklahoma three times, twice during the regular season, and once during the Big 12 Tournament. We’ll see if Bedlam comes together in 2024, and if the Sooners have better luck this time around.

Oklahoma State’s Mike Gundy sounds off about Bedlam rivalry, social media

With the Sooners set to move to the SEC, the Bedlam Series is ending for now on the football field, and Cowboys’ head coach Mike Gundy had a lot of thoughts about the changes coming to Bedlam earlier last season.

Gundy, who played for Oklahoma State before becoming the team’s long-time coach, sounded off on Bedlam, saying that the rivalry means less now and placing a lot of the blame for that on social media.

“It didn’t bother me because we didn’t have social media, but it was a rivalry then,” Mike Gundy said. “Like, [Brian] Bosworth spit in my face. I spit in his. It was actually a rivalry.”

As the quarterback at Oklahoma State, Mike Gundy never beat Oklahoma in four tries, even with Barry Sanders to share the backfield with. Still, as he explained, the rivalry was more intense on and off the field back then than it is now. 

“The summer before my sophomore year, I would go to parties in Oklahoma City and they would say, ‘Well, Bosworth and [Paul] Migliazzo and some of those guys were here,’ and I had to make a decision were we gonna have confrontation there and who was with me? Because, those guys, I can kick them in the shin and run like hell, but I’m not dumb. So, we had to make those decisions because what kind of frame of mind was Brian gonna be in at that point? I don’t know. Had he taken a Vitamin C and had a few drinks? Well, he might not be a guy that you want to talk to at that point. He’d get real read across his face,” Gundy said. 

“So, it was a rivalry then. Now, it’s not as much anymore, unfortunately, because of the way it is, but it’s a very important game.”

With the future of the Bedlam series is up in the air on the football field, Mike Gundy also doesn’t expect the series to start in the regular season as a non-conference game any time soon. Instead, the next matchup will come in a bowl game, he believes. We’ll see if he’s right.