Paul Finebaum didn’t hold back in his criticism of Oklahoma athletic director Roger Denny.
After the SEC postponed Oklahoma’s home game against Ole Miss from Saturday at 4 p.m. to Sunday at 1 p.m. due to travel complications stemming from the nationwide ground stop, Denny released a statement on X denouncing the decision.
Finebaum later ripped into Denny’s behavior.
“First of all, I understand the frustration, and none of us really know what happened to Ole Miss,” Finebaum said on ESPN’s “SEC Nation” show. “I believe the administration at Ole Miss did everything they could. What I don’t think is correct is Roger Denny, the athletic director there [at Oklahoma], pathetically pandering to his fanbase at midnight to try to cover up whatever. I don’t know.
“But, Mr. Denny, the commissioner of the Southeastern Conference made a decision for the entire conference and for the safety of everyone. He’s not concerned about what you’re doing with your fanbase. And what Roger Denny has been doing all year is pandering to his fanbase.”
Finebaum suggested Denny is trying to score points with Sooners fans amid a disappointing season after his decision to give head coach Brent Venables a lucrative contract extension before the season.
Oklahoma has a 5-4 record and is unranked heading into Sunday’s game despite starting the season as No. 9 in the country.
“He gave his football coach, Brent Venables, a contract extension. They were ranked No. 9 in the country. They have now lost four games, they are out of the Playoff. Why did he do that? Because he’s an impulsive leader. He’s a former tax attorney. I’m not castigating tax attorneys or attorneys in general, but they run differently. And what he did here is really against the code of the SEC, to call out a commissioner during a national crisis and emergency.
“He’s thinking about himself and his fanbase. He was already on tenterhooks because of the season and I think he is dead wrong, and, quite frankly, I think it’s unbecoming of a leader in college athletics, or anywhere, to do what he did.”
Ole Miss was not able to leave Oxford, Miss. until after 4 p.m. on Saturday, which is why the SEC made the decision to move the game to Sunday.
“We recognize the extraordinary circumstances surrounding the stoppage and understand the challenges it created for teams across the country,” Denny said in his statement posted on X. “As soon as we learned of Ole Miss’ travel issues, we immediately began communicating with their staff and our conference leadership. We were told that Ole Miss explored every avenue to travel to Norman and play on Saturday as planned. But, unlike every other team traveling for competition tomorrow, they were unable to find a solution. After multiple conversations with the league office, Commissioner [Greg] Sankey informed us of his decision to move our game to Sunday, over our strong objection. After continued discussions, he further informed us that our failure to play on Sunday at the directed time would result in a forfeit.
“Rescheduling the game has a significant impact, particularly on our fans. Those who have made travel arrangements, accommodations and personal plans around a Saturday game now face unnecessary disruption and hardship. Their time, commitment and investment deserve greater consideration than they were afforded in the conference’s decision tonight.”
Denny later said that the decision “isn’t fair to our athletes, our institution, or to Sooner nation.”
Clearly, that rubbed Finebaum the wrong way.
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