Deion Sanders' spring football idea is a good one; Mike Gundy's Spring Bedlam is not

USA Today

26-03-2025

Deion Sanders' spring football idea is a good one; Mike Gundy's Spring Bedlam is not
A few weeks ago, Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders shared a fresh approach to how to handle spring football. With a number of programs cancelling spring games for fear of transfer portal tampering or injuries, Sanders suggested a joint practice and scrimmage model similar to an NFL training camp.
It was an idea that hit home with Syracuse head coach Fran Brown, who jumped at the idea to travel to Boulder to practice and scrimmage with "Prime Time's" Buffaloes. On Tuesday afternoon after practice, Oklahoma State Cowboys head coach Mike Gundy suggested a joint practice and scrimmage with the Oklahoma Sooners as a way to reignite Bedlam.
'Honestly, for us, we should do a home-and-home with OU in the spring,' Gundy said on Tuesday. 'They should come here on the 19th, and we should go down there and play a home-and-home in the spring with them. Charge 25 bucks a head. They can use it for NIL. We can use it for NIL. If they don't want to do two in one year, we can do it here this year, do it there next year, and split the gate."
Gundy wants Oklahoma only when it won't affect his 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," Gundy said in 2021 when asked about the future of Bedlam. "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 is 15-4 all-time against the Oklahoma Sooners. It's understandable why he might take that stance.
Sure, nonconference schedules being booked so far in advance has something to do with it, but you see Power Four programs getting out of nonconference games all the time. Lincoln Riley was trying to duck LSU eight months before their 2024 season opener and got out of a home-and-home series with Lane Kiffin and the Ole Miss Rebels.
Deals can be made to reschedule nonconference games. But Gundy doesn't want any of that. He wants to make some name, image, and likeness money in a no-stakes, low-risk, high-reward environment against a program that holds a 91-20-7 all-time mark in the series.
There are any number of teams that would welcome an opportunity at a joint practice and scrimmage with the Oklahoma Sooners. UNT, TCU, and SMU are right down I-35. Tulsa is just up I-44. Kansas and Kansas State are within driving distance.
When NFL teams hold joint practices, they aren't doing so with divisional rivals. When the Dallas Cowboys get together with another NFL team, they aren't welcoming NFC East rivals Philadelphia, Washington, or New York. In the same way, you won't see Brent Venables and the Oklahoma Sooners open their doors for the Texas Longhorns in a joint practice. And, in all likelihood, neither will they for the Oklahoma State Cowboys. I won't say never, because just like we found out in the summer of 2021 with the announcement that OU would be moving to the SEC, anything is possible in this day and age of college football.
Though it may not have the same energy as the Red River Showdown, Bedlam's home-and-home atmospheres are incredible. It's a rivalry game that is one of the best in-state rivalry games in college football. Even if the all-time series is lopsided, you can't ignore the passion on both sides surrounding Bedlam matchups.
Don't relegate Bedlam to a few joint practices and a scrimmage each spring. Bringing Bedlam back is a good idea, but make it mean something more than a cash grab.
Deion Sanders' vision for spring football is a good one. Mike Gundy's vision for Bedlam is not.