Weiberg Tells Tulsa World Most Important in Colorado's Move is the Message

STILLWATER – Some of Oklahoma State’s most memorable moments in athletics have involved Colorado. In the Big Eight Conference opener in 1972 under new head coach Dave Smith the Cowboys fresh off a narrow loss at Arkansas 24-23 were home in Lewis Field facing No. 3 Colorado. Those Cowboys shocked the world with a 31-6 win over the highly-regarded Buffaloes. Colorado was led by John Stearnes, who went on to big league baseball career primarily with the New York Mets and Cullen Bryant, a running back that spent 13-years in the NFL with the Rams and the Seahawks.

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Rudolph throws for a score in the Alamo Bowl.

It was a very impressive win under Smith, who left for SMU after that season leading Jim Stanley to become OSU’s head coach. 

As a Pac-12 member and after one of their two winning seasons in that conference, Oklahoma State shined in the Alamo Bowl in 2016 beating up the Buffs 38-8 behind three passing touchdowns and 314-yards passing by MVP Mason Rudolph. 

The most tragic of events in Oklahoma State athletics came on Jan. 27, 2001 when the third plance carrying the Oklahoma State team and travel party home from a game at Colorado crashed in the flatirons of Colorado east of Denver and killed all 10 men aboard including Oklahoma State student assistant Jared Weiberg, the brother of Oklahoma State athletic director Chad Weiberg. 

Oklahoma State has that and many attachments to Colorado having shared 53-years of previous membership in the same conference with the Buffaloes. 

The attachment with Colorado returning to the Big 12 according to Weiberg in his comments to Oklahoma State beat reporter for The Tulsa World Dean Ruhl.

“I think the best thing about it is what it says about our league and where we are,” Weiberg continued. “For Colorado to make this decision, to rejoin with us, says a lot of positive things about the direction we’re going.”

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Weiberg visits with Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark.

Weiberg acknolwedged the Big 12 has been through so much the last two-years since Texas and Oklahoma announced their joint departure to the SEC. The league has added four new schools coming on board this season, changed commissioners to a an agressive and forward thinking Brett Yormark, and now added the return of Colorado and perhaps more schools to follow possibly out of the Pac-12.

“Each step is meant to help ensure the upcoming 10-15 years, so that we know we’ve done everything we can to be in the best position we can be in for whatever the landscape of college athletics looks like,” Weiberg concluded.