I also went to OU.
Athens is a really pretty town but its also a big party town (and so is the school) so it is easy to get distracted from your schoolwork.
Its a good school and the flight program is descent. At least when I was their they had 7 Warriors with the Avidine, a pair of 172 and a pair of 152. The bad part is they have no back ups for complex or multi since they only have one bonanza or maybe it was a debonair (BE33) and one baby Barron (BE55). Everyone I worked with in the department were nice and willing to help. I had some really cool instructors but I did meat a few their that seemed like they were way to serious and would not be enjoyable to fly with, luckily I never had to fly with them. That being said it is way over priced! Not only is the flight fees overpriced but out of state tuition at OU was considerably higher than other out of state schools (I am a NC resident).
I had already completed my private elsewhere before going their and after staying for a year I realized I was getting myself in far to much debt for what I was getting in return so I transferred out and completed my degree elsewhere while gaining the rest of my ratings at the local FBO. This proved far cheaper both for the flight training and completing my B.S.
On cool thing about OU, they do have a really cool DC-3. I don't no what they use it for as the entire time I was their I only saw it pulled out of the hanger twice and saw it actually fly once.
Bottom line I would say if you are getting in state tuition their it would not be a bad school but I don't think its worth it for out of state because of the cost. My personal opinion is that you are always going to get a better value for your money training at your local airport as long as you get a good CFI. As for the degree I would highly recommend one in a field not related to aviation, you will be far more marketable in fields outside of aviation and airlines want to have a degree, They really don't care if it is in aviation or not.
Good luck in whatever he decides.