For just the second time in Civil War history, the Ducks and Beavers will square off on the football field in December, and some on campus don’t like it.
The University Senate approved a resolution April 11 that essentially scolded the athletic departments of both schools for scheduling a game so close to Finals Week.
“It’s a huge distraction from what is first, which is academics,” said James Earl, English professor and senate president.
Earl said he is not worried about the short term effects of the decision, but said it could be a problem if games are regularly scheduled this late.
He said senate members were concerned because the University administration had sent a letter to all academic departments reminding faculty to respect Dead Week, and right after this, the date of the game was scheduled at the end of the week.
Scheduling athletic events during important academic times at the University is not always avoidable, said Dave Williford, assistant athletic director of media services for the University. He said the Athletic Department has a policy of not scheduling games during Finals Week, but sometimes it just can’t be helped.
“The University of Oregon, because it is on a quarter system, is handicapped,” he said. “It’s still something that is completely out of our control.”
He said games that are controlled by the NCAA, such as the basketball tournaments in March, cannot be changed to dates that fit the University’s needs. Those dates are decided upon beforehand and do not take into account the schools that participate.
He said if a situation arises where University teams are required to play games on the road during a period of test taking, there are different ways to accommodate the students.
Williford said professors are contacted by the Athletic Department to reschedule tests if possible, and if the student-athlete is not able to, a proctor will travel with the team to administer the test.
He added that freshmen athletes, as well as all athletes who do not have a GPA of 2.0 or above, are required to attend a study hall throughout the year.
Dan Williams, vice president for administration, said the lure of lucrative television rights revenue and national exposure prompted the date change for the Civil War. But, he added, changing the date of the game took serious consideration.
He said he understood the senate’s concern that the game may make Finals Week seem unimportant, but the advantages of playing in December had to be taken into consideration.
“The advantages far outweighed the risk,” he said.
He said athletic directors normally schedule pre-season games, but during Pacific-10 Conference play, the games are scheduled by conference officials.
Earl said the payments made by the networks to push the game to a later date shows that athletics is playing an increasing role in college.
The date change is “a big red flag telling us athletics is so big now it is encroaching on academics,” he said.
Earl said the importance for sports channels to show games on TV every day of the week puts even more stress on student-athletes and has a direct affect on their studying habits.
He said the senate’s resolution is a message to the University to monitor what happens in their scheduling.
“We were sending what we think is a shot across the bow,” he said.