MrAndMrsFish Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 STILLWATER, Okla. ? (AP) ? Billionaire alumnus Boone Pickens will donate $165 million to Oklahoma State, the largest single gift given to an NCAA athletic program. "This isn't just about football or basketball or our major sports,'' athletic director Mike Holder said Tuesday. "It's about every sport, giving every coach here and every athlete here the opportunity to strive for excellence.'' The amount surpasses the $100 million Las Vegas casino owner Ralph Engelstad gave the University of North Dakota in 1998. Only half that sum was initially intended to build a hockey arena, but the project eventually consumed the entire gift. Pickens' donation is aimed at creating an athletic village north of the football stadium that already bears the name of the 77-year-old Texas oil tycoon. The money will go toward completing the upgrade of Boone Pickens Stadium and fund changes in a 20-year master plan yet to be approved by university regents. The plan, with an estimated cost exceeding $700 million, includes an indoor practice facility for football, baseball, track and other sports as well as upgraded facilities for track, tennis and soccer. There also are such projects as a new research building and new classroom building and improvements to other academic facilities. "It'll impact the whole university,'' Oklahoma State president David Schmidly said. "It'll make it easier for us to recruit students, it'll help us recruit faculty. Every aspect of the university is going to benefit from this.'' Pickens gained fame in the 1980s by attempting takeovers of several major oil companies and is now the chairman of BP Capital, an investment group. He was listed in a tie for 207th on Forbes' list of the 400 richest Americans last year with a net worth of $1.5 billion. Pickens, who earned a degree in geology from Oklahoma State in 1951, also made the largest previous donation in Oklahoma State history. In 2003, he pledged $70 million to the school, including $20 million for an array of improvements to the football stadium. "What I keep coming back to is we're in the Big 12 and it's a tough conference. I want us to be competitive,'' Pickens said. "How it impacts me? My name's on the stadium. I don't know what else they could do. I guess they could put it on each one of the seats.'' DAMN that is whole lotta money..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest FishFanInPA Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 upon first glance i thought this was about great NFL receiver Carl Pickens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Fritz Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 Conveniently done before tax season. :mischief2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Tank Frenzy Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 Conveniently done before tax season. :mischief2 Still $165 million is a $165 million. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madman81 Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 upon first glance i thought this was about great NFL receiver Carl Pickens. Same here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest FishFanInPA Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 upon first glance i thought this was about great NFL receiver Carl Pickens. Same here From back when i was a Bengals fan....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugg Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 upon first glance i thought this was about great NFL receiver Carl Pickens. Same here From back when i was a Bengals fan....... His lasting Bengals legacy will always be the subsequent creation of the mandatory "Carl Pickens Clause" in all contracts. And this Pickens guy needs to donate 1 million to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Fritz Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 upon first glance i thought this was about great NFL receiver Carl Pickens. Same here From back when i was a Bengals fan....... His lasting Bengals legacy will always be the subsequent creation of the mandatory "Carl Pickens Clause" in all contracts. And this Pickens guy needs to donate 1 million to me. That being? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarlinFan10 Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 If you're a college that rejected Pickens' for admission, it so sucks to be you right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugg Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 That being? Pickens got himself released by calling a press conference and ripping the franchise and the city to the point where they basically had no choice but to do so. So, in all contracts now, it states if you make comments detrimental to the franchise, as determined by the franchise, the franchise is able to take back your signing bonus. They've never actually used it, but it's there. Numerous franchises have since started copying it, but the Bengals are the only one who absolutely will not do a contract without it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Everlong204 Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 upon first glance i thought this was about great NFL receiver Carl Pickens. Same here From back when i was a Bengals fan....... a...Jeff Blake, I still have a Jeff Blake Jersey....still remeber the game in 97 when he threw 4 touchdown passes in the first quarter against the 49's when a winning season was on the line...but lost......hhhmmm good times :plain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugg Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 a...Jeff Blake, I still have a Jeff Blake Jersey....still remeber the game in 97 when he threw 4 touchdown passes in the first quarter against the 49's when a winning season was on the line...but lost......hhhmmm good times :plain Ah, memories. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest FishFanInPA Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 I have four jeff blake jerseys and am still bitter how they let Boomer take his job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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