Omaha Wold Herald: In Nebraska’s push for $50 million to fund its new football complex, Athletic Director Steve Pederson continually has said every dollar counts.

That was put into perspective Tuesday when billionaire Boone Pickens slipped $165 million into the pockets of the Oklahoma State athletic department.

Asked how Nebraska could contend with such gifts, Pederson said the university would just keep needing to find other ways.

“I don’t think we’ve ever thought anything was easy at Nebraska,” Pederson said. “We’ve always been a program that’s tried to work hard and work smart to get things done, and I think that’s why we’ve had success. We haven’t had too many things fall into our lap.”

The donation from Pickens, an OSU alumnus and Texas oil tycoon, is the largest single gift ever given to an NCAA athletic program. Pickens has provided significant donations before, and said Tuesday that his latest gift “won’t be the last.”