Bedlam Series
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The Bedlam Series refers to the athletics rivalry between the University of Oklahoma Sooners and the Oklahoma State University Cowboys, of the Big 12 Conference's South Division. Both schools were also members of the Big 8 Conference before the formation of the Big 12 Conference in 1996.
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[edit] History
The Bedlam Series is, like most other intra-state rivalries, a rivalry that goes beyond one or two sports. Both schools also have rivalries with other schools, though most of those rivalries are limited to one or two sports at the most.
When the Bedlam Series gained Ford and the Bank of Oklahoma as corporate sponsors, the series became much more formalized. A points system was adopted in order to award a winner of the all athletic competitions combined between the two schools. A crystal bell trophy is awarded to individual Bedlam game winners (such as football), in addition to a trophy for the overall series champion for that year. The "Bedlam Bell" is modeled after the bell clapper in Old Central, the oldest building on Oklahoma State's campus. For a time, the actual bell clapper was a traveling trophy for the two schools, until the popularity of this tradition waned.
Bedlam Series Winners
- 1999-2000: Oklahoma
- 2000-01: Oklahoma State
- 2001-02: Oklahoma
- 2002-03: Oklahoma State
- 2003-04: Oklahoma
- 2004-05: Oklahoma
- 2005-06: Oklahoma
[edit] The Douglas Cup
In 1900, in Oklahoma Territory, Oklahoma A&M (later Oklahoma State) veterinary medicine professor Dr. L.L. Lewis assembled a group of A&M students to participate in the first territorial Track and Field Meet. Held on May 4, 1900, the event included Alva Normal College, Central Normal of Edmond, Kingfisher College and the University of Oklahoma, along with OAMC. The prize of the tournament was a silver cup donated by a local jeweler named Douglas. Surprisingly, A&M won the meet and returned to Stillwater with the traveling trophy.
In 1901, A&M won again, and a third consecutive win would mean permanent retirement of the Douglas Cup in Stillwater. The meet was held on May 23, 1902, with the Aggies amassing the most points. Oklahoma filed a protest based on the pole vault competition not having been completed due to darkness, however, Oklahoma A&M claimed the Douglas cup.
The next day the Sooners held their own vault competition and declared themselves the victor. Several weeks later, the Douglas Cup was missing from its place in a glass case at the Oklahoma A&M chemistry lab. Suspecting that OU students had stolen the Cup, a group of A&M students retrieved the Cup from Norman, supposedly burying it under Old Central for safekeeping.
Ten years later, when excavation was being done for A&M's Gundersen Hall, the trophy was found. Today it resides in OSU's Heritage Hall.
[edit] Wrestling
While the football and basketball Bedlam games stand today as the marquee events in the series, the term 'Bedlam', as it refers to this rivalry, has its roots based in the rivalry between the schools' prestigious wrestling programs. Originally named after the atmosphere during a heated wrestling dual between the two schools (a newspaper writer emerged from Gallagher Hall exclaiming "It's bedlam in there!"), the Oklahoma State team holds a large advantage in the series. The Cowboy wrestling program currently holds an impressive 120-24-9 record against the Sooners. This dominance of the wrestling series between the two universities is a source of great pride for Oklahoma State. Both programs have been very successful on the national level, Oklahoma winning seven team national championships in its history, while Oklahoma State's highly decorated wrestling program has amassed a record thirty-four team national titles.[1]
[edit] Wrestling national titles between OU and OSU
- 1928-1931: Oklahoma St.
- 1933-1935: Oklahoma St.
- 1936: Oklahoma
- 1937-1942: Oklahoma St.
- 1946: Oklahoma St.
- 1948-1949: Oklahoma St.
- 1951-1952: Oklahoma
- 1954-1956: Oklahoma St.
- 1957: Oklahoma
- 1958-1959: Oklahoma St.
- 1960: Oklahoma
- 1961-1962: Oklahoma St.
- 1963: Oklahoma
- 1964: Oklahoma St.
- 1966: Oklahoma St.
- 1968: Oklahoma St.
- 1971: Oklahoma St.
- 1974: Oklahoma
- 1989-1990: Oklahoma St.
- 1994: Oklahoma St.
- 2003-2006: Oklahoma St.
[edit] Football
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The first Bedlam game was held at Island Park in Guthrie, Oklahoma. It was a cold, and very windy day with the temperatures well below the freezing mark. At one moment in the game when the Oklahoma A&M Aggies were punting, the wind carried the ball backwards behind the kicker. If the Oklahoma A&M squad recovered the ball it would be a touchback and if the University of Oklahoma squad recovered it, it would be a touchdown. The ball kept going backwards and rolled down a hill into the half-frozen creek. Since a touchdown was at stake, members of both teams dove into the icy waters to recover the ball. A member of the OU team came out with the ball and downed it for a touchdown, eventually winning the game 75-0.[2] Thus was the beginning of Bedlam.
Oklahoma has the lead in the football series, with a record of 77 wins for Oklahoma, 16 wins for Oklahoma State, and 7 ties.
[edit] Recent history
[edit] 2000
Stillwater: OU entered the game with a #1 national ranking and undefeated record. The Cowboys came into the game with lame duck coach Bob Simmons, but still put up a huge fight. OU's prolific offense was shut down for most of the game. OU held onto a 12-7 victory after the Cowboys' pass into the endzone as time expired was knocked down by Derrick Strait. The Sooners went on to win the Big 12 title and a national championship, it's 7th overall.
[edit] 2001
Norman: Under Coach Les Miles in his first year with the Cowboys, Oklahoma State defeated Bob Stoops and Oklahoma 16-13 in the upset of the year in college football. Rashaun Woods caught an touchdown pass with less than a minute to go in the game as the Cowboys stunned the Sooners. This was perhaps the biggest upset in the history of the series.
[edit] 2002
Stillwater: Again Rashaun Woods had a big day for the Cowboys as they rolled past the Sooners 38-28 for the second year in a row. OSU was nearly unstoppable in the first half, taking a 35-6 lead before backing off.
[edit] 2003
Norman: One of the most hyped and anticipated matchups going into the game, the Sooners ended the game with a 52-9 victory. The Sooners were unrelenting on offense in their victory, Heisman Trophy quarterback Jason White finished with two touchdown passes and another score on the ground for OU while the Sooner defense held the talented Cowboy offense in check.
[edit] 2004
Stillwater: OU entered with an undefeated record and the #1 overall ranking to face a Cowboy team determined to spoil another season for the Sooners. In a wildly entertaining game, both teams went back and forth until the end. Adrian Peterson had a big day for the Sooners, and Donovan Woods had a good game for the Pokes. OSU missed a field goal as time expired that would have tied it, and the Sooners escape with a 38-35 victory.
[edit] 2005
Norman: 2005 marked a transition year for both teams with Mike Gundy taking over as head coach for the Cowboys, and the Sooners losing multiple players to the NFL. Despite the transitions, Oklahoma handed Oklahoma State it's third straight loss in the series, 42-14. Adrian Peterson had a season high in rushing yards against the Cowboys for the second year in a row, finishing with 237 yards this year. Freshman quarterback Rhett Bomar threw 3 touchdown passes.
[edit] 2006
Stillwater: Oklahoma defeated Oklahoma State 27-21 in another close, extremely competitive game in Stillwater. The Sooners used a dominant ground game and tough defense to build up a 21-7 lead, then held off the Cowboys at the end again. Oklahoma State's last-second pass to D'Juan Woods fell incomplete as time expired. OU extended it's streak in the series to four straight wins.
[edit] Basketball
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Oklahoma owns the all-time series record in basketball, 121-87. With the rise of coaches Kelvin Sampson and Eddie Sutton at the two schools, the basketball series had been especially intense the last few years, with games rarely being certain between the teams, regardless of ranking. Time will tell how the school's two new coaches, Jeff Capel at Oklahoma and Sean Sutton and Oklahoma State, will affect the heated rivalry between these two schools.
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ History - Past Champions (English) (HTML). NCAA. Retrieved on 2006-12-11.
- ^ Long, Charles F.. "With Optimism For the Morrow: A History of The University of Oklahoma", Sooner Magazine, September 1965.
| Rivalries of the Big 12 Conference |
|---|
| Battle of the Brazos (Baylor - Texas A&M) • Bedlam Series (Oklahoma - Oklahoma State) • Border Showdown (Kansas - Missouri) • Lone Star Showdown (Texas - Texas A&M) • Red River Rivalry (Oklahoma - Texas) • Sunflower Showdown (Kansas - Kansas State) |
| Academics | Academics • College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources • College of Arts & Sciences • CEAT • College of Education • College of Human Environmental Services • Edmon Low Library • William S. Spears School of Business |
|---|---|
| Athletics | OSU Athletics • OSU Wrestling • Bedlam • Boone Pickens Stadium • Gallagher-Iba Arena • Allie P. Reynolds Stadium • Karsten Creek • Sherman E. Smith Training Center • Bullet • Pistol Pete • National Wrestling Hall of Fame |
| Campuses | Center for Health Sciences • Oklahoma City • Okmulgee • OSU Medical Center • Stillwater • Tulsa |
| History | History • Old Central |
| People | List of OSU people • List of OSU Olympians • List of OSU Greeks |
| Student Life | Colvin Center • Daily O'Collegian • Eskimo Joe's • Homecoming • Orange Peel • Student Union |
Categories: Articles lacking sources from February 2007 | All articles lacking sources | Cleanup from February 2007 | Wikipedia articles needing style editing | Articles to be expanded since February 2007 | All articles to be expanded | Big 12 Conference | College sports rivalries | Oklahoma Sooners | Oklahoma State University athletics | Sports in Oklahoma
