It's not just Football, There are lots of Logistics to Scheduling Bedlam

STILLWATER – Oklahoma State soccer head coach Colin Carmichael is on a bus with his team heading to Lawrence, Kan. where the 7-1-1 Cowgirls will open Big 12 play with the Jayhawks. Then on Sunday the Cowgirls stop in Manhattan to face the Wildcats before coming home for a Thursday home match with Big 12 foe Texas Tech. Then on Oct. 6 they will travel to Norman to face Oklahoma in a Bedlam conference showdown. The two schools have played a non conference Bedlam match for the past 12 seasons until the match this season on Aug. 28 was postponed due to weather and lightning. 

Oklahoma State Athletics

Colin Carmichael at a match earlier this season.

Two Bedlams a year, one non conference and one conference, so it would be automatic that the two schools will continue to play in soccer even when Oklahoma leaves for the SEC, right? With all the controversy and conversation over football Bedlam continuing or as it is widely known now, likely not, the other sports are being examined and quizzed. 

While Oklahoma has dominated the football series between the two schools 89-20-7, in futbol the Cowgirls own the series having won the last six games and overall are 31-9-3 vs. the Sooners. 

“You know I think we would want to play, but I was talking to Mark (Carr-Oklahoma’s second-year coach) when we were in the weather delay here earlier this season,” Cowgirls head coach Colin Carmichael said. “We don’t know what our schedule will be and we will be adding BYU, last year’s NCAA runner-up and Central Florida, who is in the NCAA Tournamwnt every season. We could be playing both of them and West Virginia and may not want to play a heavy non conference schedule.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

OU and former US Soccer Federation coach Mark Carr.

“Mark said the same with them,” Carmichael continued. “He said, ‘We don’t know what our SEC schedule will be and I would kind of like to see that.’ I get it. You want to schedule for your goal. Our goal is to schedule to make the NCAA Tournament and make a run in it. We agreed to see what happens and then make the decision on whether to play accordingly. It needs to be in both program’s best interest.”

We know Oklahoma State and Oklahoma will play soccer Oct. 6 in Norman. We know they will play twice in 2023. After that we don’t know what will happen. 

Nobody pointing fingers, coaches that would prefer to play each other and have Bedlam, but smart enough to wait until they know more and make the right decision. It sounds like the football situation. It’s just social media and the thin emotions of fans, and even some media make it a hot button topic or one that is guranteed to be some great click bait. I hate click bait.