Oklahoma State President Kayse Shrum Calls Out Oklahoma Over SEC Move
Oklahoma State president Dr. Kayse Shrum released a statement on Friday targeted at Oklahoma. Shrum shared a thread on Twitter saying there was a, “lack of engagement and transparency from our colleagues at OU over the past months on a matter with serious ramifications for our state. We have historically worked together to advance our state and address issues based on a partnership built on trust.”
These are the first public comments from Shrum since the reports started circulating that Oklahoma and Texas were planning to leave the Big 12 for the SEC.
Shrum went on to add, “To that end, we will continue to work with purpose to the advancement of our state and the betterment of our fellow Oklahomans. In the ever-changing college athletic landscape, we will honor our values and ethics as we consider the next steps.”
The “values and ethics” line is most certainly another shot at Oklahoma. It was long believed that if Oklahoma did ever leave the Big 12 Conference, they would be a packaged deal with Oklahoma State. Instead, OU has decided to partner with their hated rival Texas.
It has long been reported that nearly a decade ago when the Big 12 nearly imploded, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State were moments away from bolting for the Pac-12 with Texas and Texas Tech, but it fell apart at the 11th hour.
Shrum continued saying, “Our commitment to our student-athletes is top of mind, and their best interests will be represented prominently. We enjoy a proud athletic heritage with more National Championships than any other Big 12 university, and we will aggressively pursue the opportunities ahead.”
Oklahoma State had issued a more general statement earlier this week which stated the University was “gravely disappointed”.
What happens from here remains unknown for Oklahoma State and the entire Big 12 Conference.
However the Cowboys’ athletic program hasn’t just succeeded in football, it’s been incredibly successful in several other sports, like golf, wrestling, basketball, baseball, cross country and others. In total, Oklahoma State has 52 NCAA team national titles, which ranks fourth in most NCAA team national championships.
But if this goes down the way it appears like it might, following what happens to the Oklahoma State Cowboys will be one of the most fascinating moves in this game of college football realignment chess.
Here is the full thread from Dr. Shrum.
