NORMAN, Okla. -- The University of Oklahoma Athletics Department lost a member of its family this past weekend as Donald "Skip" Pickens passed away.
Pickens dedicated the last seven years to the University of Oklahoma track and field program and recently completed his third season as an assistant coach, overseeing the women's distance program.
He joined the Sooner staff in July 2005 as the program's director of operations, overseeing administrative duties, student-athlete relations, event planning and travel after joining OU from the University of Oregon.
In 1998, Pickens earned a master's degree in exercise physiology from the University of Oregon, with a graduate thesis on endurance training and its effect on calcium uptake in skeletal muscle.
He received his bachelor's degree from Oregon State University in physical education in 1986 and served as a teaching assistant in the respiratory dynamics lab in addition to authoring various articles on training.
Pickens is survived by his wife, Becky, and two sons, Isaiah and Aiden.
Skip Pickens' Oklahoma Bio | 
Career in Pictures
