FanHouse T. Boone Pickens

It's one thing for a player to stir up some trouble that his play is going to have to get the team out of, and it's maybe okay for the head coach, as well.

But a booster talking noise?

While on-the-record trash talking might be unacceptable from a lot of donors, the rules change when you are Oklahoma State's billionaire benefactor T. Boone Pickens. We are talking the closest thing we have to a personal owner in major college football. Pickens seems to have the run of the place in Stillwater, as he's probably entitled to since his money built most of it.

Apparently, athletic departments aren't immune to the whims of the stock market.

Both Oklahoma State and Texas A&M are feeling the crunch, according to a couple stories this week.

Oklahoma State had to drastically reduce plans for a state-of-the-art Athletic Village it was planning after a facilities fund being managed by the T. Boone Pickens BP Capital Investment Fund lost $282 million during the last year, leaving just $125 million in the fund, according to story in the Tulsa World.

The teams you don't normally want to read about or hear about but since there's no football there's nothing you'd rather do than read this. Please. Not that I'm begging. Although I may be willing to bribe.

NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS

Big Red hasn't been so big lately, although they're certainly a little red (in the face) after the embarrassing collapse last year that led to the termination of coach Bill Callahan.

Like a stiff prairie wind legendary former coach Tom Osborne arrived, taking the athletic director's job and replacing Callahan with former Nebraska assistant Bo Pelini. With him comes promise of a tough defense and a commitment to returning to what makes Nebraska, Nebraska. In-state recruits are getting more favored looks, the walk-on program is being dusted off and hopes for some return to glory are proffered.

That's all well and dandy but Nebraska right now is just another team in the Big 12. Pelini's a winner and has the graces of Osborne, but contending football isn't likely this very moment. Quarterback Joe Ganz showed something last year and we all know about back Marlon Lucky, so there is promise for the offense. Let's just not kid ourselves about a Big 12 Championship quite yet.

Bill Callahan's nationwide recruited boosted the overall athleticism of the program, but Nebraska still has a ways to go at various position groups. Give this one some time.

Travis Ford is leaving UMass to take the head-coaching job at Oklahoma State, ESPN's Doug Gottlieb is reporting:

That's an awfully quick change of mind for Ford, who less than a week ago said he was sticking with UMass. But Oklahoma State has the backing of billionaire T. Boone Pickens, which means the Cowboys can give coaches financial offers that make the six-figure deals of UMass look like chump change.

Ford, who previously turned down LSU, reportedly will meet with his players today to tell them he's leaving. Ford has a 62-35 record in three seasons at UMass and led them to a loss in the NIT title game this year. He replaces Sean Sutton, who resigned after failing to reach the NCAA tournament in 2007 and 2008.

The deep pockets of T. Boone Pickens and the desire to return to his alma mater weren't enough to convince Bill Self to leave the school where he's won the national championship.

Self, whose Kansas Jayhawks won the national championship on Monday, has announced he will not go to Oklahoma State and will be back at Kansas next season.

Ordinarily, it wouldn't even be an issue: Kansas just won the national championship and is a better program than Oklahoma State. Why would Self even think of leaving? But Oklahoma State is no ordinary school.

For one thing, it's the school that Self and his wife attended, and it's closer to his family than Kansas. There could have been personal reasons for him to head to Stillwater. And perhaps more importantly, there's Pickens, the billionaire who practically owns the Oklahoma State athletic department and opens up his wallet any time he thinks he can improve it. He would have made Self by far the highest-paid coach in college basketball history.

As it is, Self will turn down a few million but still be highly paid with a new contract and a pay raise at Kansas. Jayhawks Athletic Director Lew Perkins says the details of a new contract for Self "will be finalized in the next few weeks."

Said Self at his news conference today, "I don't know what the big deal is. ... There was never serious interest in leaving the University of Kansas. " Well, coach, the big deal is that you're the most sought-after coach in college basketball, and you're staying put.