Texas A&M cut the young man from its hoops team, so he ended up at Oklahoma State. And then he made millions in the oil business. So now he's trying to repay the folks in Stillwater by donating megamillions to their athletic program, and he's figured out an insurance program to help fund it. Read Frank Fitzpatrick's excellent article in The Philadelphia Inquirer about Pickens and how every school wishes they had someone like him.
Now here's the rub: South Florida is #2 in the BCS, and the school is only a year older than the BCS system. They don't have a Pickens, and they're probably the fourth or fifth best known football school in Florida (okay, so they're probably tied with UCF). OK State has tons of money behind it, and the most notoriety that they've gotten this year is that their football coach teed off on a local newspaper columnist.
The money certain will make it interesting at OK State, but can they buy a title? The conventional wisdom among college athletic fundraisers is that they certainly can.
Many Brits lament the notion that Russian oligarchs not only are buying up the mansions in Mayfair, they're also buying up teams in the Premiership, England's top soccer league. Perhaps your school needs a Roman Abramowitch.
Northwestern's men's hoops program?
Temple football?
The possibilities are endless.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Well at least he is doing some good, after all he was a part of the school for some time, so I think he is doing the right thing.
Post a Comment