updated 4:58 p.m. ET Oct. 27, 2008

STILLWATER, Okla. - Billionaire booster T. Boone Pickens will give another $63 million to Oklahoma State to finish athletic projects that were supposed to be paid for with a previous $165 million donation that took a hit during the economic downturn. He insisted the donation stay in his BP Capital Management hedge fund.

Pickens announced the gift Monday and also said he would be returning the $125 million remaining in the athletic department’s fund to the university.

Pickens’ $165 million donation in January 2006 was the largest gift to a college athletic program. He intended to grow it through his investments so it would pay for an estimated $420 million in renovations and new construction on the campus.

That plan was going smoothly until Pickens’ BP Capital energy encountered big financial trouble in recent months. The university said last week considerable funds remained despite reports the money had been largely or entirely lost.

“He’s very committed. There’s not very many people that will say, ’I’m going to do this and take care of you,’ and then they’ll back it up,” Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy said. “That’s what he does. It’s pretty simple.”

Pickens’ donations have led to a boom in Oklahoma State football. The team is ranked in the top 10 — at No. 9 this week — for the first time since Barry Sanders’ Heisman Trophy season in 1988.

The Cowboys (7-1) lost at No. 1 Texas on Saturday for their first defeat this season. Still, with a win this Saturday against Iowa State, Oklahoma State would be 8-1 or better through nine games for only the third time in school history.

“I think we have good people here that have good substance and they’re very solid and they’re going to work hard, and now we have some added advantages that we’ve never had,” Gundy said. “It would have never happened without him. There’s just no way. It couldn’t happen.”

Pickens has donated hundreds of millions of dollars to the university in the past five years, starting with a $70 million pledge in 2003 that included $50 million for academics and $20 million to start a facelift of the football stadium that now bears his name.

He followed that with the record-breaking 2006 gift that was aimed at completing the stadium renovation and creating an athletic village that would include new facilities for the baseball, softball, tennis and equestrian programs and a joint complex for the soccer and track teams.

The entire project, which was also to include an indoor practice facility, was to be completed by 2011, and all but the baseball stadium were scheduled to be done by next year. An area of several city blocks has been cleared to make room for the construction, but all the projects are on hold until there’s enough money.

The final portion of the football stadium, which includes a new locker room, offices and training areas, is still supposed to be done before next season.  

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