OSU AD Denies HBO Report Saying Job Tied To Pickens' Donation

Holder Denies HBO Report That Job Tied To Donation

Oklahoma State Univ. (OSU) AD Mike Holder is disputing a report that will air on HBO’s “Real Sports” tonight that the $165M donation made to the school's athletic department by Mesa Petroleum Founder T. Boone Pickens “was contingent upon Holder getting the AD job,” according to Mel Bracht of the DAILY OKLAHOMAN. Holder:  “I have not seen the HBO story. However, if that is a quote from [HBO’s Bernard] Goldberg, it is not an accurate statement. Boone didn’t promise a donation of any amount based upon my being named [AD].” Bracht notes Holder was hired in September ’05, while Pickens' donation was announced in January '06.  The report states the initial $165M "has grown to about" $300M. The show includes interviews with OSU professors Lionel Raff and Bob Darcy -- two Pickens "detractors" -- and mentions the “satirical comic strip, Boone State, by Garrett Hellman and Chris Stellman, which suggests the school should be renamed for Pickens” (DAILY OKLAHOMAN, 11/20).

FROM THE PIECE: Goldberg reports tonight, “Despite the critics, thanks to his huge gift, Boone Pickens is a very big man on campus with a ton of influence. In fact, he only agreed to give the $165(M) if his old quail hunting friend, Mike Holder, ... was named (AD), which of course he was.” Goldberg said to Pickens, “I’m guessing these guys don’t go to the bathroom without picking up the phone and saying, ‘Boone, is it okay if I go to the bathroom?’” Pickens: “No, that’s not the way it is.” But Pickens acknowledged "there’s no question I’d be involved” if the school chooses a new football or basketball coach, or a new president (“Real Sports,” HBO, 11/20).