Oklahoma State athletic director Chad Weiberg wants Bedlam to continue in all sports but football once Oklahoma leaves for SEC

Oklahoma State athletic director Chad Weiberg provided an update on the future of the Bedlam Series.

Weiberg said Thursday at the Sports Business Journal Intercollegiate Athletics Forum in Las Vegas that the Cowboys’ athletics department hopes to continue the Bedlam rivalry with Oklahoma in all sports except football.

Action Network’s Brett McMurphy shared Weiberg’s comments on Twitter.

While Weiberg didn’t rule out Bedlam continuing in football, he noted how future schedules could act as a roadblock.

“I’m not saying we would never play them, but logistics need to be worked out. There are a lot of unanswered questions,” Weiberg said per McMurphy’s tweet.

The future of the Bedlam series has been in doubt ever since Oklahoma and Texas accepted invitations to join the Southeastern Conference. OU and Texas leadership have stated that they intend to remain in the Big 12 conference until the league’s media grant of rights deal expires on June 30, 2025.

Naturally, it again became a storyline leading up to this season’s edition of Bedlam. Oklahoma State head football coach Mike Gundy addressed the future of the rivalry on Nov. 22 and said his expectation was that the series’ future was in jeopardy.

“I don’t think it will. I just don’t think there’s a business side of it that…I don’t make that decision. I guess Dr. Shrum and Chad Weiberg, they could do whatever they wanted or the board. I don’t know who’s involved in this. I don’t think it’s a realistic thing that it’s going to happen based on the business side of power-five conference football in the Big 12 or the SEC. That’s just my opinion on it. I mean, I could be wrong and I’m not getting that from anybody. I’m just answering the question you asked me,” Gundy said.

Gundy referenced the new members that will be joining the Big 12 in the coming seasons—BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF—and said it’s unlikely Oklahoma State would want to play Bedlam in addition to its existing non-conference commitments and future conference schedule.

“So, that’s 10 power-five conference [games], so if you’re going to go back into this game, you would be willing to play 11 out of a 12-game season, which would be extremely difficult,” Gundy said.

Gundy also discussed how adding another difficult non-conference opponent could affect Oklahoma State’s financial bottom line.

“And, from a business standpoint, we all know this. The more success and games you win in football is a huge revenue avenue for your athletic department and your university, because the more you win in football, enrollment goes up. That’s the fact. Marketing money goes up. There’s a huge amount of money involved in that. So, you would say, if we were running a company and you’re in a business standpoint, somebody would have to make a decision. Do you want to risk some of that and how many other teams across the country that are competing to get into the final four are willing to play 11 conference games and only have one non-conference based on the amount of money that could be sitting there at the end? Whether you like it or not, I’m guessing that’s what’s going to take place,” Gundy said.

Oklahoma State snapped what had been a six-game losing streak in Bedlam by rallying to beat Oklahoma 37-33 on Nov. 27.

Oklahoma true freshman quarterback Caleb Williams passed for 252 yards and three touchdowns against the Cowboys, but the Sooners’ offense was held scoreless in the second half.

Redshirt junior running back Kennedy Brooks carried 22 times for 139 yards against Oklahoma State.

The two teams are set to meet on Nov. 19, 2022, in what will be Oklahoma’s regular season home finale next season.

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