More Bedlam
The expanded Bedlam baseball idea is a fine one. Especially Sunny Golloway’s. The OU coach wants to play two extra games against Oklahoma State next season; neither would count in the conference standings. OSU coach Frank Anderson prefers just one extra Bedlam game.
Golloway’s idea is more preferable, for this reason. It would give both schools a Bedlam home game each year. The three-game series format — Friday night in Tulsa, Saturday and Sunday at Bricktown — has worked well and is a great promotional tool for college baseball. But it doesn’t do what both schools need most. Entice fans to campus.
Pack the stands at Reynolds Stadium and Mitchell Park, and who knows what kind of new fans both schools might develop. Businesses have been using such marketing for years; do anything you can to get customers through your doors, then maybe you’ve got a chance to keep them.
College baseball has been one of the losers in the sports explosion over thel last 20 years, which includes a women’s sports bonanza, increased interest in college basketball and now the NBA. And we haven’t brought up the television and youth sports phenomenons. Something has to be squeezed out, and one of those sports in Oklahoma has been college baseball.
The sport truly shines only during Bedlam and Big 12 Tournament week. Two extra Bedlam games would change that.
-------------Berry Tramel can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including AM-640 and FM-98.1. You can e-mail him here and follow him on Twitter @BerryTramel. Visit Berry's website here.
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Great idea, thanx for bringing it to our attention!!