The University of Oregon Athletic Department seems to be operating under a different “Golden Rule” than was taught by my parents or grade school teachers.
I learned that you treat others as you’d like to be treated; however, the athletic department and Pat Kilkenny seem to be following the maxim, “He who has the gold, makes the rules.”
In the context of an institution of higher education like the University of Oregon, is that how an athletic department should be allowed to operate? Should the Casanova Center be allowed to act unilaterally, beholden to no one? The actions taken in the last year suggest little accountability and a lot of irresponsibility.
The athletic department should be allowed such utter freedom – and that’s why the execution of Oregon wrestling matters. Out of the research I’ve done, interviews I’ve conducted, and everything I’ve seen surrounding the end of the program, not one of the athletic department’s arguments holds much water.
Funding? The team has raised more than $2 million in pledges and cash, and lest the athletic department spin “pledges” into a negative, remember that Phil Knight’s huge $100 million donation was also contingent on public financing for the new basketball arena. Competition? Though there are only four true Pacific-10 Conference teams in wrestling, it’s been that way for about 20 years. Why is that an excuse now?
Facilities shouldn’t be a problem, as that’s part of what Save Oregon Wrestling is working toward. Lest we forget, the team was bumped out of the Casanova Center for the new athletic training area, too. So much for that sacrifice. A loyal fanbase could be found through better, active marketing of the sport, not to mention moving youth wrestling meets to avoid conflicts with Oregon meets.
Pat Kilkenny wants baseball, and damn the facts or rationality standing in his way. Is an athletic director acting like this good for a university community?
As sweet as the situation might be for fans of men’s basketball and football, the other teams at the University shouldn’t be forgotten. They might not wear the newest, flashiest uniforms, but they still wear green and yellow with an ‘O’.
Sports like tennis and golf aren’t going to get many people through the turnstiles, and they aren’t generating any sort of revenue; does that mean we should cut them, too? No. Why? Because they provide the opportunity for college students to participate in NCAA sports. Outside of men’s basketball and football, that’s the point of college athletics; what makes the wrestling team such a different case, being held to a different standard?
The sad thing is, all of the wrestlers I’ve talked to – including Oregon coach Chuck Kearney – welcome baseball with open arms.
“When we first heard the rumors they were going to add baseball, some of us got pretty excited about it,” junior wrestler Jeremy McLaughlin said. “I was pretty excited about coming to a baseball game wearing my own UO colors.”
I’m excited, too. I’m frustrated that Oregon’s finally getting baseball after I’m graduating. I know others have considered extending their stay in Eugene to watch Duck baseball; I don’t blame them.
But that isn’t reason enough to cut another program, especially not with the amount of money floating around the athletic department right now.
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