[ad_1]
Mike Gundy is one heck of a quote.
He’s no Mike Leach, but Oklahoma State’s head coach has provided some exceptional sound over the years.
None may ever be better than his infamous”I’m a man, I’m 40,” rant, but his frank and honest thoughts on Texas and Oklahoma bolting the Big 12 for the greener pastures of the SEC are right up there.
They may not be as quotable, but they’re just as hard-hitting.
Recently speaking about the state of the Big 12, which is losing Texas and OU but also gaining BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, and UFC, Gundy said that he felt the Longhorns and Sooners were leaving to the SEC for money and nothing else. In fact, he was as far as to say that Texas and Oklahoma “took the money and ran”.
“Let’s just cut to the chase. They made a choice to financially secure their athletic departments for the next 12 to 15 years,” Gundy told ESPN. “People can talk about all the reasons, but that’s why they did it, all for the money, and took a lot of history out of this league and a lot of history out of college football with them.” College football expansion and super conference seem to certainly be the trend moving forward, but Gundy — like many in college football — is not sure that realignment will be the best thing for the sport. Specifically, breaking up conferences like the Big 12 and Pac 12 means that many of the best rivalries in college football are at risk, and that includes the Bedlam games between the Cowboys and Sooners.
“They sort of made that decision when they left for the SEC,” Gundy said, referencing the Bedlam rivalry potentially being on its last leg. “It’s just not going to be feasible. We’re scheduled out to 2036, I think, and I’m sure the SEC is going to nine conference games. They’ll have to, or the media will kill them. The fans would love to keep playing [Bedlam], but the people behind the doors who make the decisions are going to say, ‘No.’
“That’s what you lose, some great rivalries and a lot of history.”
For what it’s worth, Oklahoma State will play at No. 9 Oklahoma on November 19th this season. Bedlam is on OSU’s schedule moving forward past 2022, but as Gundy points out, it will be interesting to see how Oklahoma’s move to the SEC will change things.
[ad_2]
Source link
