OSU $33 Million in the Hole After Death Bets Backfire

Following the advice of Oklahoma State University alum and tycoon T. Boone Pickens, OSU paid $33 million in premiums on $10 million life insurance policies for twenty-seven of the school’s geriatric boosters. The school expected to receive as much as $350 million from the policies following the deaths of the 65 to 85 year old boosters.

The fundraiser plan backfired, however, when not one of the boosters passed away. The athletics department has now taken legal action in an attempt to recover the $33 million paid in premiums, but the U.S. district judge has sided with the insurance company, stating that both the premiums and policies were legal.  

See Ross Kenneth Urken, Death Bets Leave Oklahoma State University $33 Million in the Hole, The Huffington Post, Mar. 21, 2012.

Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse (Professional Legal Marketing (PLM, Inc.)) for bringing this article to my attention.