Major trouble at Oral Roberts

[eddie]

Doesn't look good...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071005/ap_on_re_us/oral_roberts_scandal

[onbison09]

Yet another televangilist getting in trouble. Not exactly suprising but sad none the less.

[AKBison]

This has trouble written all over it. I hope that USD and UND are ready to join the Summit. This would be a huge blow to lose ORU who is without doubt the king pen of the league. Any time you have seniors transferring to other schools because they are embarrased of their future degree your future succcess does not look good.

[99Bison]

I don't think the summit would be enthralled with adding controversial U, especially after this (presuming it turns out that bad).

[UTH]

Somebody else might have more insight into such dealings, but I personally don't see how one individual's legal issues can taint an entire university to the point that it will be compelled to drop its sports programs out of conferences. Has a school been torn down to that point under similar circumstances before? I say this is definitely a serious issue for the alleged wrongdoers, but here the school tiself did nothing wrong and should hopefully be rehabilitated from its victimhood.

Again, somebody else might have much more insight than my kneejerk reaction.

[AKBison]

Well, seeing as it is a private school and the President of the University is the founders son...added to the fact that this Univerisity is proported to be something that God had Oral Roberts Start well, it is just a really bad mix. I actually thought about going to ORU as I take my faith very serious...Starting to look like it was all a hoaxe and another evangelistic money making scheme. What a shame.

[jeffdaryl3rd]

This is not going to end well.

[onbison09]

No doubt about that. I wonder if he thought he was "godly".

[NDSUguy]

This will have no long term effects on Oral Roberts. The school certainly will not drop its athletic program because of one mans actions... Thinking that is borderline ridiculous.

The students and alumni of the school would certainly not allow that.

[heckler]

No long term effects?

[WePharm]

I always thought it should be ANAL roberts!

[Bison bison]

What a travesty!

Our good friend Ned Flanders went to ORU.

[stpaulbison]

Richard Roberts and his wife appeared on Larry King last night. Here is a link to the article at CNN.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/law/10/10/oru.suit/index.html

[bisonaudit]

This will have no long term effects on Oral Roberts. The school certainly will not drop its athletic program because of one mans actions... Thinking that is borderline ridiculous.

The students and alumni of the school would certainly not allow that.

What alumni? They've been around for less than 40 years, it's not like there are 4 generation ORU families out there. If the evangelical community, who are the ones supporting this university and others like it, 'lose faith' in the leadership at Oral Roberts it could literally be 'game over' for the entire institution let alone the athletic department. Now, that's probably not going to happen but certainly isn't a ridiculous notion. The money and the power in that block move as one, think as one, act as one. If it gets bad enough, again not likely, they'll just shut off the lights. More likely he'll repent on national TV, he and his wife and kids will cry their alligator tears and the money will come pouring back in.

[KC Bison]

There could be 3 generations of students from the school. There is plenty of oil money associated with the school but the school has had it's financial ups and downs. I think Richard and Oral can still go on TV, make an appeal, and his supports will keep the money "pooring" in. In my trips to Tulsa, I've seen their television station on cable and it appears to have plenty of support.

[bisoneer]

Looks like some dirt there right?

[Hammersmith]

On top of everything else, the school is $55 million in debt.

Regents Chairman Says ORU $55M in Debt (http://www.salon.com/wires/ap/us/2007/10/24/D8SFTBRO0_oral_roberts_scandal/index.html)


The university reported nearly $76 million in revenue in 2005, according to the Internal Revenue Service, and one former regent said its endowment once approached $60 million. Its endowment today exceeds $34 million, a university spokesman said. Its operating budget for 2007-2008 was more than $82 million.

I don't think we have to worry about them closing up shop in the next couple of years, but you do have to wonder about the long-term health of the university with Oral Roberts almost 90 and Richard Roberts facing disgrace.

[DORMIE]

Biggest challenge for UND and USD is that they won't get a look for about 4 years. By then, the schools in The Summit League will figure out that they won't want to add 2 more schools from up in this area because of the travel expenses. They will find partners that are closer.

[bisonaudit]

Biggest challenge for UND and USD is that they won't get a look for about 4 years. By then, the schools in The Summit League will figure out that they won't want to add 2 more schools from up in this area because of the travel expenses. They will find partners that are closer.

MI to UT, ND to LA. As long as they stay out of the Pacific time zone and the American League East...

Southern Utah has been in the league for 10 years so I think the geography case against us or against a fruther expansion Northwest is pretty weak, especially if there are viable travel partners involved.

[extremerouge]

the link in the opening post has disbanded. what happened at oru?

[Hammersmith]

the link in the opening post has disbanded. what happened at oru?

Basically, the current leader of the university(Oral Roberts' son, Richard) and his wife are accused of fiscal mismanagement and conduct unbecoming. The mess started when someone in-the-know ordered a examination of the liability of the university for the Roberts' rumored actions. This person compiled a list of the allegations and stored it on their laptop. The laptop was given to a student for repair and the student found the document. The student then gave said document to another faculty member, who shared it with two colleagues. The three faculty brought the document to the attention of the board of trustees and were subsequently fired. They've now filed a lawsuit for inappropriate termination and it's all hitting the fan.

The Roberts' are accused of using university funds to remodel their home 14 times in the past 11 years, sending their daughter and her friends on vacations to the Carib and Europe(?) using the university's plane, buying unnecessary luxury vehicles using university funds, and using those funds for other frivolous and personal gains. The most damning accusations are that Mrs. Roberts has been having inappropriate relations with underage male friends of her daughter. There are dozens or hundreds of calls from her cell phone(payed for by ORU) to these male friends, often at 2am. There are reports that she spent nights with them in the guest house at times when the daughter was not at home.

All of this has been happening while ORU has been sliding into debt($50M+) and draining its endowment.

I'm working from memory, so some of the details might be a bit off, but I'm pretty close. If you need more, just do a Google search, you should find it without much trouble. Don't bother going to the ORU messageboard though, they've forbidden all talk not directly relating to sports.

[extremerouge]

Basically, the current leader of the university(Oral Roberts' son, Richard) and his wife are accused of fiscal mismanagement and conduct unbecoming. The mess started when someone in-the-know ordered a examination of the liability of the university for the Roberts' rumored actions. This person compiled a list of the allegations and stored it on their laptop. The laptop was given to a student for repair and the student found the document. The student then gave said document to another faculty member, who shared it with two colleagues. The three faculty brought the document to the attention of the board of trustees and were subsequently fired. They've now filed a lawsuit for inappropriate termination and it's all hitting the fan.

The Roberts' are accused of using university funds to remodel their home 14 times in the past 11 years, sending their daughter and her friends on vacations to the Carib and Europe(?) using the university's plane, buying unnecessary luxury vehicles using university funds, and using those funds for other frivolous and personal gains. The most damning accusations are that Mrs. Roberts has been having inappropriate relations with underage male friends of her daughter. There are dozens or hundreds of calls from her cell phone(payed for by ORU) to these male friends, often at 2am. There are reports that she spent nights with them in the guest house at times when the daughter was not at home.

All of this has been happening while ORU has been sliding into debt($50M+) and draining its endowment.

I'm working from memory, so some of the details might be a bit off, but I'm pretty close. If you need more, just do a Google search, you should find it without much trouble. Don't bother going to the ORU messageboard though, they've forbidden all talk not directly relating to sports.

whoa thats some aweful stuff! so becuase of this their athletic department will disband?

[Hammersmith]

whoa thats some aweful stuff! so becuase of this their athletic department will disband?

No, no, no. It does throw the future wellbeing of the university into question, but there shouldn't be any immediate fallout. Normally, something like this would cause a university to take a hit, but eventually recover. What makes this case so different is the youth of the university(1963) and the heavy link to its founder and namesake. Oral Roberts is almost 90 and probably won't be around for all too much longer. With his son and heir possibly disgraced, can ORU survive in the long run? Will young, religious students continue to choose to enroll? Will graduates choose to donate to their alma mater? Will churches continue to support the university once there is no more Roberts in Oral Roberts University? I don't think anyone has solid answers to those questions. Again, no immediate change, but possible long-term instability for the entire university.

[met1990]

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/11/23/roberts.resignation/index.html

[56BISON73]

Looks like help is on its way.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071128/ap_on_re_us/oral_roberts_scandal;_ylt=AntuVtlb973LDXbiOCfPzlEX Ir0F

[JackJD]

Today's news including the announcement by Richard Roberts that God talked to him and told him to resign (so far he was on a temporary leave of absence).

Assuming there is substance to the allegations,...this "I just talked to God" line offends the heck out of me.

Oh well, he'll get his.

The University will survive. The $70 million proposed donation will definitely help.

[56BISON73]

Today's news including the announcement by Richard Roberts that God talked to him and told him to resign (so far he was on a temporary leave of absence).

Assuming there is substance to the allegations,...this "I just talked to God" line offends the heck out of me.

Oh well, he'll get his.

The University will survive. The $70 million proposed donation will definitely help.


Funny God didnt tell him what he was doing was a no no. I guess he only speaks to the supposed chosen ones when they get caught. PL