Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy has never been one to hold back, and his latest comments about the NCAA’s decision to deny joint spring practices? Classic Gundy.
Just a week after floating the idea of a spring matchup between in-state rivals Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, Gundy found himself reacting to the NCAA’s firm “no” on joint practices, specifically the recent denial of Colorado and Syracuse’s request. And he didn’t exactly hold back.
“I mean I mentioned it the other day, I just thought of the deal with OU,” Gundy said via On3. “I think it’s a good deal. I would like to do it. I would like to practice against them.”
Sounds harmless enough, right? Two Power Four programs looking to shake up spring ball with a little live competition. It would also reignite the Oklahoma-Oklahoma State rivalry, which fell by the wayside once the Sooners left for the SEC. Still, the NCAA didn't care to make a change.
That didn’t sit well with Gundy, who seems fed up with the inconsistency.
“I’ll be honest with you, I’m not going to waste my time on who’s going to determine what the rules are anymore,” he said during his press conference. “Because essentially there’s not really enough of them to follow. And I’m not sure how they have grounds to say you can’t do it. Like if somebody just goes and does it, what are they going to do to them?”
It was one of those mic-drop moments only Gundy can deliver — raising eyebrows and leaving the room hanging.
Why this would benefit college football programs around the country
His comments didn’t stop there, either. He had already outlined a pretty compelling idea that would benefit both Oklahoma programs — and even hinted at how it could support players financially through NIL.
“That’s something we’ve talked about,” Gundy said. “I think it’s a great idea… Honestly, for us, we should do a home and home with OU in the spring… They should come here on the 19th. I think theirs is earlier in the year, we should go down there and play a home-and-home against each other in the spring. Charge $25 a head, they can use it for NIL, we can use it for NIL. If they don’t want to do two in one spring, we can do one here this year, do it there next year, and split the gate. Because we get tired of practicing against each other.”
It’s hard not to see Gundy’s point. While spring football often becomes a glorified intra-squad scrimmage, the idea of joint practices — especially between natural rivals — could bring real energy, evaluation opportunities, and fan interest.
Instead, the NCAA is putting the brakes on innovation in favor of rules that even coaches don’t fully understand anymore.
So what happens next? Gundy left that question hanging. But if someone “just goes and does it,” like he suggested, it’ll be interesting to see how the NCAA responds. Will they backpedal? Hand out a slap on the wrist? Or double down on their stance?
Don’t be surprised if this idea picks up steam again — especially if more coaches start echoing Gundy’s sentiment and asking the same question: “What are they gonna do?”
By next spring, in my opinion, we're going to see these happening all across the country.