Oral Roberts U. to Quit NCAA, Appeal to NAIA

Evangelist Oral Roberts said today that his financially troubled university is withdrawing from the NCAA and will seek membership in the National Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics.

The decision will affect 14 men’s and women’s sports teams at Oral Roberts University.

Roberts, the 71-year-old television evangelist, said in March that his ministry had to raise $11 million by graduation day, Saturday, or creditors would “start dismantling” the 24-year-old school and the City of Faith Medical Center.

Decline in Contributions

Contributions to the ministry have declined from $5 million a month to $2.7 million a month in the last two years, Roberts said. He blamed scandals in other television ministries for the erosion of giving.

“This is a financial decision,” Roberts said in a prepared statement today. “We have been in a life-and-death struggle to maintain the university with financial integrity.

“In line with other necessary cutbacks in other departments to safeguard the academic quality and spiritual commitment of ORU, the Board of Regents and I, the president, feel we cannot justify the expenditure for athletics at the Division I level.”

Roberts called the decision “heart-wrenching” but said it was necessary for the survival of the school, which has an enrollment of about 4,000.

Officials released no information about the savings expected to be realized from switching from the National Collegiate Athletic Assn. to NAIA competition but said lower travel costs and the possibility of dropping some sports required for NCAA competition could save money.

Former NAIA Member

Oral Roberts University was a member of the NAIA from its founding in 1965 to 1971, when it joined the NCAA as an independent. In basketball, the Titans participated in the National Invitation Tournament in 1972 and 1973 and reached the final eight of the NCAA tournament in 1974.