MR. OKWU – Roger Skelly

On a week dedicated to being Thankful, I can think of nobody I am more thankful for than Roger. Roger’s DNA is OKWU, and OKWU’s DNA is Roger. A university and a man dedicated to bringing Jesus glory in and out of the athletic arena. 

Oklahoma Wesleyan’s current campus opened in 1958, under the name Central Pilgrim College. After a merger, It officially became Bartlesville Wesleyan College in 1968. BWC became a four year college in 1972.

Enter Roger Skelly as a student in 1970. As a member of the first intercollegiate basketball team at OKWU (1971-72), a former assistant basketball coach (1974-80), and former head baseball coach (1981-83) for the university, Roger was and still is Eagles Athletics. He drove the bus, fixed the bus, and today is part of the OKWU radio broadcast crew. 

Without a gym on campus in 1971, the team held their 6 a.m. practices at the Boys Club. Their first game was played against College of the Ozarks, ironically the team that OKWU beat for the 2009 NAIA D2 National Championship. 

I know no finer man. He has been a mentor, my fishing buddy, and a rock for the entire Bartlesville community. He has already been inducted into every Hall of Fame imaginable in the area and it still isn’t enough. 

Roger was on the OKWU hiring committee and was the primary reason I was hired in 2007 as the head basketball coach. He was also the instrumental in bringing me back to OKWU in 2017. The truth is after being turned down more times than I can count for a head college coaching position, without Roger I doubt I would be a college basketball coach today. OKWU was my only and likely last chance. 

Roger even officiated my basketball games both when I played and coached in high school. He was one of the most personable and likable officials I ever known as well. 

Nobody represents and embodies OKWU, OKWU Athletics and the Christian values and faith our university stands for. 

He married fellow student, Donna Brown in 1971, and in the time since, built the successful Skelly Homes business, spent 26 years as a high school referee, served as a well-loved auctioneer for many local charity events, and sat on a number of local boards and committees. He has also been a critical supporter of the National Christian College Athletic Association. 

The Skellys have two adult children, both OKWU graduates, and 14 grandchildren.

When asked what advice he might give his college self today, Roger emphasized the importance of Christian education and being grounded in your biblical beliefs, saying “do it sooner! I spent four years [before college] where I could have been pursuing God wholeheartedly.”

The world would be a much better place if there were more Roger and Donna Skelly’s. I am one of many who are incredibly Thankful for them both! This Thanksgiving find the Roger Skelly in your life and tell them how Thankful You are for them!