College Football HQ

Mike Gundy questions NCAA's power after spring game ruling: 'What are they gonna do?'

Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy wondered aloud, what's really stopping college football teams from having joint practices and games if they want to?

James Parks

Nathan J. Fish / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Not long after Mike Gundy proposed Oklahoma State meet Oklahoma in a joint practice and spring game, the NCAA said no to Colorado and Syracuse after having the same idea.

Gundy wasn’t thrilled by the NCAA’s rebuke.

“I mean, I mentioned it the other day, I just thought of the deal with OU,” he said. “I think it’s a good deal. I would like to do it. I would like to practice against them.”

In its ruling against Colorado and Syracuse, the NCAA said it had concerns over recruiting advantages not available to other schools that might create a competitive edge.

Gundy doesn’t quite understand where that thinking comes from, and suggested that maybe there isn’t really anything stopping teams from just doing it.

“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,” Gundy said.

“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?”

Criticism around another NCAA decision can’t help but put the organization under more public scrutiny when there’s already plenty of negative opinion of the body to go around.

And as college football and other sports continue to evolve in the transfer portal and NIL era, there remains a legitimate question as to who is really in charge of things, a point that Gundy’s comments can’t help but allude to.

-

Read more from College Football HQ

Published
James Parks
JAMES PARKS

James Parks is the founder and publisher of College Football HQ. He previously covered football for 247Sports and CBS Interactive. College Football HQ joined the Sports Illustrated Fannation Network in 2022.

Home/News