Could Congress Force Bedlam Football to Return?

While most people ate lunch on Wednesday, I repeatedly read through several pages of the Protect College Sports Act, a bipartisan bill introduced by Republican senator Ted Cruz (Texas) and Democratic senator Maria Cantwell (Washington), with hopes of answering the very question in the headline.

And the truth is I have no idea.

For starters, the bill, or at least how it’s understood, seems likely to change. I’m no lawyer, but the current wording seemed pretty questionable where rivalry games are concerned. So instead of explaining what the bill says must happen regarding traditional rivalries like Bedlam, it probably makes more sense to explain how the bill defines a rivalry and what the bill seems to want to happen.

But first, it’s important to know that the bill allows schools and conferences to opt into a shared pool pertaining to media rights. If 75% of current FBS schools choose to do so, then media companies like ESPN and Fox will have to negotiate for a piece of one giant college football package instead of doing a bunch of smaller deals.

In theory, it sounds like a more level playing field for everyone so why would the Power Conferences care? Doing so grants them increased legal protection but one of the “costs” is the protection of rivalries.

Finally, we can talk about Bedlam.

The bill defines “traditional rivalry” as one between two teams who:

1. Opt into the agreement outlined in the bill
2. Compete in different conferences
3. Rank amongst each other’s top 10 all-time opponents in games played

Oklahoma State’s No. 1 opponent all time is the Sooners with 118 games played. It was hard to confirm where the Cowboys rank on OU’s list, but Texas’ top all-time opponent is also the Sooners (120 games), so it’s almost a certainty that the Cowboys are well inside the top 5, likely even second overall.

Assuming the Big 12 and the SEC opt into this agreement, which is no guarantee the way the “just means more” conference is talking lately, then both schools would check every box for “traditional rivalry.”

Oklahoma State’s top 1011 rivalries by games played:

Also it’s worth noting that Texas just missed the list at 38 games played.

Although Tulsa’s all-time records also weren’t listed in available media guides online, Oklahoma State did rank inside the top 10 for all the other non-conference schools including the Longhorns.

The Cowboys ranked seventh on Missouri’s list, eighth for Texas, ninth for Nebraska and 10th for Arkansas.

There’s some confusing language surrounding whether any of those teams and the Cowboys would have a legal obligation to play. The bill uses the word “opponents” without any seeming clear definition.

If “opponents” requires those teams to have played a game on the football field (my initial interpretation), then based on my understanding of the legislation, those clauses wouldn’t kick in for Bedlam since the rivalry is currently dormant (but again, I’m not a lawyer or a politician).

However, if opponents just mean other schools competing for resources, essentially everyone, then Oklahoma State would be required to face one of OU or Tulsa each season should all three schools opt into the agreement outlined by the bill which discusses playing traditional rivals twice in a four-year span with one game against a top-five all-time rival each year.

It’s a bit hectic keeping up with non-conference schedules these days, but the Cowboys are actually ahead of the curve here. The annual series against TU runs through 2031, and the Pokes have three more games against the Razorbacks coming up in 2027, 2032 and 2033. A home-and-home with Nebraska is currently scheduled for 2034 and 2035.

The bill also requires conference opponents who fall inside each other’s top 10 to “preserve, to the maximum extent practicable,” games against all current conference opponents. That would definitely qualify for Oklahoma State and would seemingly make it difficult for those teams to change conferences, effectively keeping the band together.

The bill proposes several other things including:

• A one-time transfer rule without sitting out unless certain conditions are met, (graduate school, coaching departures, etc.)
• Prevents head coaches and key personnel from leaving until season concludes (apparently known as the “Lane Kiffin rule”)
• Oversight on agents and a cap on their fees at 5%
• More legal limitation and enforcement on NIL