Red River Rivalry: A Clash of Legends Between Oklahoma and Texas

The Red River Rivalry is legendary Okie and legendary Texan. It weaves together history and college football’s greatest moments with a clash of cultures. It is one of the most unique sports showdowns in the U.S. 

This half Texan and half Okie by blood writer believes she has a unique insight that captures the essence of why this beloved contest of muscle, skill, and speed is so exciting year after year. 

What Is the Red River Rivalry?

The State Fair of Texas fairgrounds host this annual college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners and the University of Texas Longhorns. The Red River of the South* is the boundary between most of North Texas and South Oklahoma. It is an intense rivalry named after the Red River and is fought in early to mid-October.

Where Is the Red River Rivalry Played?

Since 1932, the Sooners and the Longhorns have battled it out at the historic Cotton Bowl stadium. The Cotton Bowl is inside the State Fair of Texas. The City of Dallas built the Cotton Bowl as a part of a project to enhance the development of the Texas State Fair. With an original seating capacity of 45,000, the Cotton Bowl seats 92,000 in 2024. 

Dallas first named its iconic stadium Fair Park Stadium and changed the name to the Cotton Bowl Stadium in 1936. Mark Lemmon, a prominent Dallas architect, designed the Cotton Bowl. Financial support from the Dallas business community, which desired Dallas to become a major hub for sports and entertainment, blended with public money raised by the Dallas Park Board funded the Cotton Bowl’s development.  

Is the Red River Rivalry Always Played at the Cotton Bowl? 

Since 1932, the Red River Rivalry has always been played at the Cotton Bowl. When Dallas changed the name of the stadium in 1936 to the Cotton Bowl, it became the home of the Cotton Bowl Classic college football game. The Cotton Bowl hosts and previously hosted a variety of major events, like the Red River Rivalry, NFL games, soccer matches, and concerts. 

Each team and their fans consider the Red River of the South as neutral ground for the Sooners and the Longhorns. The Red River is about equal distance to each college campus from the Red River, which is Austin for the Longhorns and Okie City for the Sooners. No one has ever shot anyone at the game. 

Red River Rivalry 2024

Today, the OU and UT fans sit in separate sections. OU fans sit in the lower sections 1–5 and 24–36, and in the upper sections 101–105 and 129–144. UT fans sit in sections 7–24, and in the upper sections 106–128. Both fan bases share sections 6, with OU fans in rows 1–14 and UT fans in rows 15–28. 

Kickoff is 2:30 p.m., Saturday, October 12, 2024. The No. 18/16 Oklahoma (4-1, 1-1) takes on No. 1/1 Texas (5-0, 1-0) for the 96th straight year at the Cotton Bowl. 

Ghostly Encounters and Rumors at the Cotton Bowl

Like many old stadiums the Cotton Bowl carries some ghost stories. Some long-time visitors and workers at the Cotton Bowl claim to have seen mysterious figures roaming the stands at night. Although unverified, these stories add to the strange atmosphere of this nearly century-old stadium.

Why Did They Change the Name of the Red River Rivalry?

Over the years and today, this fierce and storied rivalry has been known by other names simultaneously. The Red River Rivalry underwent a rebranding process due to word “shootout”, as it was marketed as the Red River Shootout until 2005. The powers that be wanted to distance the game’s association from gun violence. 

In 2014, the game officially became the Red River Showdown. This rebranded name was thought to increase sponsorships. The game has been called the Red River Rivalry for years by fans and media, even when that was not the official name of the game. 

Is the Red River Rivalry Always at 11 A.M.?

The Red River Rivalry is traditionally scheduled for an 11:00 A.M. Central Time kickoff, but this time is recently consistent. Over the years, the game time has varied depending on factors like television broadcasting rights and network schedules. This year, kickoff is 2:30 p.m.

Previously, the game was and still is a major fixture for TV networks that value the early time slot for high-profile matchup. The early kickoff also aligns with the State Fair of Texas, which surrounds the Cotton Bowl Stadium, allowing fans to enjoy both the game and the fair throughout the day.

How Many Times Has Texas Won the Red River Rivalry?

History of wins through 2023:

• Texas: 63 wins
• Oklahoma: 51 wins
• 5 ties

The extremely fierce Red River Rivalry is highly cutthroat inclined. Both the Sooners and the Longhorns have been more dominant than the other team at different periods. This creates brutal excitement between the two states. While no one has experienced a shootout or gun violence at these games, them Okie and Texas boys have been known to brawl inside the Cotton Bowl and outside after the game.  

What Was the Conflict at the Red River?

The Red River Conflict does not refer to the Red River Rivalry. Given the history of the six flags that flew over the land we call Texas that stretched nearly up to Canada and the fact that today’s Oklahoma and Louisiana served as the gateway to the highly sought after resources in Texas after European discovery, there have been several historical conflicts on the Red River of the South. 

The Red River conflict in Texas that most historians consider a key confrontation on the Red River were a series of U.S. military skirmishes and battles with several Southern Plains Tribes and included the Arapaho, SouthernCheyenne, Comanche, andKiowa.

Known as the Red River War, it took place in the Texas Panhandle along the Red River from 1874 to 1875. The U.S. aggressed against the tribes as part of a larger campaign to force the Southern Plains Tribes onto reservations and open the West to American settlers. The buffalo was almost extinct.

Indian warriors had begun raiding settlements and developing settlements. They targeted homesteads, ranches, and trade routes in Texas and Kansas as a result of the extreme decline of buffalo populations, loss of traditional ways of life, and the steady stream of settler traffic. 

By early 1875, most of the remaining Native American forces faced starvation without adequate supplies. They were forced to surrender. The U.S. relocated a large population of Indians to Indian Territory or today’s Oklahoma. This strategy effectively reduced the tribe’s abilities to resist settler expansion. 

Red River Rivalry Personal Anecdote

Relative to this article’s topic, here is my personal anecdote. Historically, the game has been called the Red River Shootout, the Red River Rivalry, and the Red River Showdown. My earliest memory of the Red River Rivalry dates back to 1963.

If the Cotton Bowl seats were not sold out, the OU/UT game was not televised in Dallas. If my Dad could not get us to the game because of time, work constraints, or if my mother’s schedule was not in tune with the Red River Rivalry, my Dad would book a motel room in Denton where the networks did not blackout the televised game like in Dallas—we only had three TV channels. He did the same for Cowboys games. 

Back then, you could shoot up to Denton in 30 minutes from the east side of the White Rock Lake area, where I grew up. When we went to the Cotton Bowl for the big game, it was at the height of the State Fair of Texas’ big shows and exhibits. UT fans occupied, I think, southeast side of the Cotton Bowl stadium, and OU, the northwest side.

I remember the cowboy hats and boots, the back and forth taunting banter shouted across the football field from either side. Depending on the plays of the game on either side, the fans would go off in boisterous cheers. And yes, there were a few fist fights. Before security was as tight as it is today, those Okie and Texas boys would slam down bucketfuls of beer. 

I remember my Dad calling back home to Weleetka, Oklahoma to report on how many Okies and how many Texans ended up in the Dallas jail the night after the game. The next anticipated news after the big game, was waiting for the stats in the Dallas Morning News Sunday morning edition to report on how many Okies the Dallas police arrested.

* The Red River of the North forms part of the border between Minnesota and North Dakota. It flows northward, which is unusual, and empties into Lake Winnipeg in Canada.