The university in Athens in southeastern Ohio won't exercise its option to buy the house from university athletic booster John Wharton, said Steve Golding, the university's vice president for finance and administration. Golding said university officials decided against the purchase after learning that Wharton mentioned to an athletic department official that he planned to "continue paying on a previous pledge and to make a future gift to the university." The university's decision to move OU President Roderick McDavis and his wife, Deborah, out of the century-old on-campus house raised the ire of many in the university community who saw it as a waste of precious higher-education resources.