Bacone College Has Survived Many Troubles. Can It Avoid a Court-Ordered Sheriff's Auction?

One of Oklahoma’s oldest institutions of higher education is set to be sold at a sheriff’s auction — and that’s only one of the myriad of issues facing long-troubled Bacone College in Muskogee. Opened in 1880, Bacone has survived a multitude of financial, enrollment and accreditation crises in recent years, when it seemed the four-year school with a history of serving students from tribal nations would be forced to close. But this latest development is unique for Bacone ― it might not own its own campus if the court-ordered auction by the Muskogee County Sheriff’s Office occurs as scheduled on Dec. 14 in order to satisfy what’s now about a $1.6 million judgment against the college.