ORUalum Posted April 18, 2021 Share Posted April 18, 2021 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUTerry Posted April 18, 2021 Share Posted April 18, 2021 Mike Carter’s impact on ORU’s athletic department cannot be overstated. He has raised a prodigious amount of money to fund/support the various sports - most of it from people outside the ORU orbit. He has had to deal with various administrations with different levels of backing. Several people on this message board have been part of the Golden Eagle Club when we struggled to have $5,000 in the bank account. We now have low seven figures. That is because of the vision and efforts of Mike Carter. I am glad he will still be around to help with fundraising Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theeagleman5 Posted April 18, 2021 Share Posted April 18, 2021 God Bless Mike Carter....a quarter century is a long time......is Tim Johnson another OSU Alum?....if so....ugh...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUalum Posted April 18, 2021 Author Share Posted April 18, 2021 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted April 19, 2021 Share Posted April 19, 2021 I am really happy that, for the first time since the university was founded, Athletic Department personnel may have windows in their offices (there were no windows in the old “Titan Gym” [aka Classroom Center] back in the ‘60’s, either). Also, excited to plant my big ol’ keester in a nice, new navy-blue seat in Section D next season! My particular gold seat has been bearing the brunt of my girth for decades, to the point where it leans to one side (just like my office chair on the telephone side). When is that first home game again?? 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUalum Posted April 19, 2021 Author Share Posted April 19, 2021 I love that the outside of the Mabee is getting updated as well. It has a very dated look. Mart Green and Billy Wilson are slowly getting rid of all the gold and using blue glass to update and tie the campus together. I hope the Prayer Tower is somewhere on the list for an update and removal of the gold glass. With a whole new look inside and out does ORU sell naming rights or does it remain Mabee? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keenan Henderson Posted April 19, 2021 Share Posted April 19, 2021 Great job Mike Carter! He gets to leave with the school at an all time high! Leave as a winner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrueBlue82 Posted April 19, 2021 Share Posted April 19, 2021 So, for those of us keeping score at home, we have now seen two of the three previously discussed Tulsa World articles: 1) a recap of Mike Carter's career upon his retirement, and 2) announcement of the Mike Carter Athletic Center project. Is #3 related to the promotion of Tim Johnson, and a look to his view of the future under his leadership - or is there another earth-shattering positive story still waiting to be disclosed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted April 19, 2021 Share Posted April 19, 2021 1 hour ago, ORUalum said: With a whole new look inside and out does ORU sell naming rights or does it remain Mabee? The Mabee Center renovations will include donations from other charitable trusts in town, including the Mabee Foundation. Donations from organizations such as these in Tulsa have been few and far between in past years, since the run of negative publicity for ORU that started in the late Seventies with the very unpopular (locally) building of the City of Faith, followed by the NCAA violations under Lake Kelly, the botched firing of popular Ken Hayes, Oral's Prayer Tower vigil that resulted in a life-saving donation from a dog track owner, the flight to NAIA status to avoid another NCAA probe, Richard and Lindsay Roberts' years of financial and ethical malfeasance, etc. Many of the charitable foundations in town concluded it was inappropriate to bequeath gifts to what they (and many Tulsans) considered an unstable enterprise at 81st & Lewis. Mike Carter has been a huge part of ORU's renaissance in the eyes of Tulsans, providing decades of stability not only in Athletics, but also "on the hill" in what has traditionally been dubbed "the VP's Council", and all over town by his participation in a wide variety of charitable and civic organizations and events. He's a big reason ORU is now so well-respected in civic circles, and why several of the recent Athletic projects on campus have included donations from local foundations such as Chapman, ONEOK, Case, etc. Mike leaves now in the the glow of the greatest run of positive publicity for ORU locally since the announcement/construction/dedication of the Mabee Center five decades ago. He is rightly to be commended for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUTerry Posted April 19, 2021 Share Posted April 19, 2021 40 minutes ago, TrueBlue82 said: So, for those of us keeping score at home, we have now seen two of the three previously discussed Tulsa World articles: 1) a recap of Mike Carter's career upon his retirement, and 2) announcement of the Mike Carter Athletic Center project. Is #3 related to the promotion of Tim Johnson, and a look to his view of the future under his leadership - or is there another earth-shattering positive story still waiting to be disclosed? Not sure there is another major, planned disclosure beyond Mike Carter’s retirement, Tim Johnson’s ascension and the new athletic building/Mabee Center renovation. The new athletic building & renovation will be a major step for recruiting purposes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted April 19, 2021 Share Posted April 19, 2021 I look at it as four stories; the Mabee Center retrofit is a big deal in its own right, and will effectively have more impact on Tulsa in general - and ORU fans in particular - than the new athletic building. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
titansforever Posted April 19, 2021 Share Posted April 19, 2021 16 hours ago, theeagleman5 said: God Bless Mike Carter....a quarter century is a long time......is Tim Johnson another OSU Alum?....if so....ugh...... No--Arkansas! https://tulsaworld.com/sports/college/oru/orus-next-athletic-director-tim-johnson-this-is-kind-of-all-ive-wanted-to-do/article_d54ac92a-a090-11eb-bae8-3b5a173347b0.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vcboy2000 Posted April 19, 2021 Share Posted April 19, 2021 God Bless, Mike Carter! I know he is technically an "outsider" in the fact that he didn't graduate from ORU, but I'm not sure an "insider" could have done a better job. I was around campus during the Richard Roberts presidential years, and (aside from stepping down when the time came) hiring Mike Carter is looking like the best move he made during his tenure. I grew up in the evangelical, charismatic, word of faith world, and experienced a lot of the flakiness that goes in it. And while it wasn't all bad (we still believed in Jesus), Mike Carter brought a 'worldly' resolve and level-headedness to the athletic department that made at least being a fan of ORU athletics socially credible even when being a student was not. In some ways, I felt the athletic department was the most credible thing about the University until the Rutland years. The work that he has done since he took the job has been nothing short of amazing and inspiring, and the University is right to name the largest athletic department achievement to date in his honor. It takes all types to have a great team, and while I wouldn't mind having an alum leading our athletic program, I would rather have the right man. Mills is not an ORU guy, but he is definitely the right man. I'm excited to give Tim a chance to be that man as well. I remember watching the press conference where Mike Carter and Billy Wilson were being grilled by the media after announcing Coach Sutton's firing, and noticing how President Wilson looked like a deer in headlights. While Mike Carter, with nerves of steel, answered every question with simplicity and directness. Even the questions directly pointed to President Wilson, after brief hesitations, Carter jumped in, took the dagger and answered the question. After Paul Mills was hired, I also remember reading something to the affect that when Coach Mills took the job, he called Coach Sutton. Coach Sutton reportedly told him that as long as Mike Carter was around, he had nothing to worry about. That Mike would take good care of him. Scott was right. Mike Carter took really good care of him just like he has been doing his part to take really good care of the entire athletic department for all these years. I too am glad he is sticking around in an Emeritus role. It gives us more opportunities to show our appreciation. Thank you, Mike Carter. 1 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted April 19, 2021 Share Posted April 19, 2021 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cletus Posted April 21, 2021 Share Posted April 21, 2021 I watched the video. What a great story about the athletic department. Glad he was there all these years! Congratulations, Mike Carter! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texasgrip Posted April 21, 2021 Share Posted April 21, 2021 On 4/18/2021 at 5:11 PM, ORUalum said: I love that the outside of the Mabee is getting updated as well. It has a very dated look. Mart Green and Billy Wilson are slowly getting rid of all the gold and using blue glass to update and tie the campus together. I hope the Prayer Tower is somewhere on the list for an update and removal of the gold glass. I think the look can be updated without changing the unique and historical aesthetic. And I really hope they don't touch the prayer tower. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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