Brent Venables' answer on no Oklahoma spring game broadcast only angers fans more

There was an announced 31,407 fans at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on Saturday for the Oklahoma Sooners' spring game, and those were the only ones able to watch the first preview of OU's 2026 team.

The Sooners' spring game, like many across college football over the weekend, was not televised or streamed in a move that irritated fans, especially those too far for a quick trip to Norman, no matter how much was happening on campus Saturday. After the game, SoonerScoop's Carey Murdock asked head coach Brent Venables during the press conference why the event wasn't broadcasted, but Venables completely failed in providing a valid reason why the decision was made.

Sooners didn't broadcast their spring game and there's still no valid reason why

"I'm thankful for the group of people that came," Venables said. "I thought it was awesome. This is an amazing weekend. If you're ever a Sooner fan and you can think about making the trip, this is the weekend, for lots of reasons. ...

"Why wouldn't you come is what I would say. But, boy, that was a great crowd out there today. You're seeing a lot of other programs around the country that are having spring game days, and I don't know what the numbers are, but I thought that was a great crowd. And again, for our players, getting in front of them being able to simulate a game day was great."

It was definitely a great weekend for OU fans to be in Norman. Four different sports hosted events on campus Saturday, including football, baseball, softball and women's tennis. OU hosted the 2026 SEC Women's Tennis Championship, but the Sooners were upset in the quarterfinals on Friday so didn't get to compete in Saturday's semifinals during the busy day on campus.

Baseball hosted Missouri right after football's spring game at 3 p.m. for Game 2 of an SEC series. Softball had a top-10 SEC clash with No. 6 Arkansas at 7 p.m. at Love's Field.

Read more: Oklahoma fans give Owen Heinecke hero’s welcome after NCAA battle in must-see moment

However, no matter the draw to be on campus, that still doesn't mean all fans could get to Norman, even if they really did want a preview of the 2026 football team. It's also worth noting that every other event mentioned was available for viewing for fans anywhere. Fans at home could also watch the men's and women's gymnastics teams compete for national titles in the NCAA Championships.

It was head-scratching in today's time with so many broadcast options why the spring game wouldn't be at least streamed somewhere, but even after Venables tried to somewhat defend the decision, it still doesn't make sense to exclude the largest portion of the Sooners' fan base.

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