Oklahoma State Athletic teams to honor Boone Pickens throughout 2019-20 season
STILLWATER -- The passing of T. Boone Pickens on Sept. 11 affected not just his family, close friends and the business world, but it greatly affected the Oklahoma State family. As a token of love and appreciation, all of the OSU sports teams will be wearing a "Boone" patch or sticker on their uniforms for the entirety of the 2019-20 seasons.
Pickens, a 1951 graduate, love Oklahoma State deeply and had donated $652 million to the university over the years, with roughly half going to academics and half to athletics. In fact, the $165 million gift he gave OSU back in 2005 still remains the single largest gift to an athletics program in NCAA history. There's no question that Boone catapulted Oklahoma State football into what it is today.
We all know that his name is synonymous with football, but Boone Pickens had an impact on nearly every sport on campus. He helped build the GIA Athletic Center, obviously Boone Pickens Stadium, he's helped the golf program for decades, he was best friends with Sherman Smith and had a hand in helping build the Sherman Smith Training Center. And while he didn't directly donate, he acquired the land for the track and field complex, the new baseball facility O'Brate Stadium and the Michael and Anne Greenwood Tennis Center.
He also spurred hundreds of donors, including Michael and Anne Greenwood to donate to Oklahoma State.
So, while it's a small gesture, there's no question that honoring Boone Pickens with excellent play on the courts and fields trying to win a championship is what he would've wanted.
"I can't even really put it into words," said head coach Mike Boynton on what Boone Pickens meant to the basketball program. "I never got to go out to his ranch, but I did spend some time with him in Dallas and a couple of times that he came to visit Stillwater the last couple of years. He just had so much passion for this university and wanted us to be excellent at everything and really stepped out there to give us a chance. So, we're eternally indebted to him and we lookI w forward to representing him every time we go out onto the court with his name on our jersey and by the way we play as well."
