One of the most notable drawbacks of conference realignment is the loss of the traditional rivalries that make college football so unique and captivating compared to other sports.
Try to imagine a world where games like Michigan vs. Ohio State, Oklahoma vs. Texas, or Alabama vs. Auburn don’t happen every year. Depressing, right?
Several major rivalries, many of which were in the Big 12, have been lost to realignment over the last two decades.
Before 2011, the Big 12 had a collection of some of the most heated rivalries in all of college football: The Lone Star Showdown (Texas vs. Texas A&M), The Border War (Kansas vs. Missouri), and Nebraska vs. Oklahoma, to name a few.
However, the shuffling and reloading of conferences has killed most of those rivalries off — although the Longhorns’ move to the SEC does reignite their rivalry with Texas A&M.
Another rivalry that will die on the scrap heap of conference realignment is Bedlam, the annual meeting between Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, which has been played consecutively since 1910. However, that streak will die with the Sooners’ exit to the SEC earlier this month. Bedlam is one of the most lopsided rivalries in college football, with OU holding a 91-20-7 edge in the series. However, it was Mike Gundy and the Cowboys who went out on top, taking down their bitter in-state rival last November, 27-24, and riding off into the sunset with the Bedlam Trophy in hand.
But now, that game is dead. A game that has been played annually since the days of Jim Thorpe is now, well, history. Why? Depends on who you ask.
Related: Mike Gundy Comments on the Future of Bedlam Afte Beating Oklahoma
New York Times (The Athletic) Stewart Mandel addressed a question concerning the loss of rivalry games thanks to conference realignment and used Bedlam as the prime example. Why can’t the rivalry live on, especially with rivals like Oregon-Oregon State and Washington-Washington State finding a way to keep their traditions alive?
“Every single rivalry that has been discontinued because of a realignment move easily could be brought back as a home-and-home, or, as with this year’s Apple Cup, a neutral-site game. But, this being college sports, schools let pettiness and pride get in the way of what should be a logical, cut-and-dried business decision,” Mandel writes.
When Oklahoma announced its decision to leave for the SEC, Gundy and the rest of the Oklahoma State contingent were scorned and presented themselves as such.
“Oklahoma State is not going change what we do because Oklahoma chose to go to the SEC,” Gundy said at Big 12 Media Days in 2023. “They need to change what they do because they are the ones that made their minds up to go to the SEC.”
Mandel says that he believes that Oklahoma State — among other schools — should get over the hurt feelings and schedule the Sooners in football.
“I get the hurt feelings. But ask yourself: Who exactly benefits from Oklahoma State no longer playing Oklahoma in football,” Mandel asks. “What program are the Cowboys going to replace the Sooners with on the schedule that will get their fans even halfway as interested? Because no other blue-blood program is signing up to play in Stillwater every other year. And how many million TV viewers will they lose on that Saturday by playing a lesser program instead?
“Don’t tell me it’s not possible because their schedules are already booked up through 2036. Do you know how easy it is to get out of those nonconference contracts? Schools do it all the time.”
Related: Brent Venables Comments on the Future of Bedlam
