With the Oklahoma Sooners moving to the [autotag]SEC[/autotag] and the Oklahoma State Cowboys staying in the [autotag]Big 12[/autotag], the [autotag]Bedlam[/autotag] rivalry between the two rival schools had looked to be lost.
One of the best in-state rivalries in college sports may not survive conference realignment in every sport, but men’s basketball sounds like it’s on track to keep going.
CBS Sports’ college basketball insider Jon Rothstein took to social media Monday morning to let fans know that, while no contracts have been signed yet, Bedlam hoops may be returning in mid-December.
Rothstein had OSU head coach [autotag]Steve Lutz[/autotag] on his podcast “College Hoops Today’ and Lutz told him that the game is on track to be played at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City. The arena is currently home to the NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder.
Though it wouldn’t have the same feel as a game at Lloyd Noble or Gallagher-Iba, getting the rivalry back in a sport as popular as men’s basketball is a great start. This could be the domino needed to get Bedlam to return in other sports as well.
The atmosphere in the Paycom Center should be a pretty raucous one, given the debate about which school has run away from playing the game in other sports. By the middle of December, we should have a pretty good feel for how the Sooners and Cowboys are looking on the court as well.
While we’re at it, a Bedlam baseball series at Bricktown Ballpark or a Bedlam softball series at Devon Park would be a must-watch. Women’s basketball could follow suit after men’s hoops and play at Paycom or at the BOK Center.
And of course, a regular season Bedlam football game may be the furthest from returning.
But I for one have no problem if [autotag]Joe Castiglione[/autotag] and [autotag]Chad Weiberg[/autotag] want to hash out a home-and-home for a future nonconference matchup. Those would automatically become two of the most-anticipated games on the schedules for both the teams and the fanbases.
And who knows, maybe with the expanded 12-team [autotag]College Football Playoff[/autotag], Bedlam football could be coming back sooner rather than later.