ONCE AGAIN, SPORTS COME FIRST

Billionaire oil tycoon Boone Pickens has made a breathtaking donation of $165 million to his alma mater, Oklahoma State University.

It strains the imagination to ponder the opportunities that such a sum could create for student access and for academic and research excellence.

But it does so only briefly.

For as it turns out, Mr. Pickens' generosity is earmarked strictly for the athletics program -- every penny.

University officials say the money will go toward an upgrade of the football stadium that already bears Mr. Pickens' name and a sports village of practice and playing facilities.

Mr. Pickens says that Oklahoma State is in a tough conference (the Big 12), and he wants his Cowboys and Cowgirls to be competitive. And, no doubt, Texas' national football championship sticks in the craw of the good people of Oklahoma.

But consider as an alternative a gift of $200 million from Eli and Edythe Broad of Los Angeles. They gave their money to a joint Harvard-MIT biomedical research institute that aims to expand the new field of genomic medicine in an effort to discover tools to diagnose, treat and possibly cure diseases.

Yes, Harvard and MIT have different missions from a large public university such as Oklahoma State. Yes, for a variety of reasons, Oklahoma State is going to attach greater importance to sports.

And, yes, Oklahoma State does raise money for academic needs, in some previous instances with significant assistance from Mr. Pickens.

But ultimately, the primary focus of all universities should be unerringly aimed at teaching, research and service to their communities and nation.

Mr. Pickens' huge gift could have underscored the limitless potential of American higher education.

Instead, it exemplified values that, at many campuses, have gone so badly wrong.