Allan Amundson hadn’t even heard the news about Nike CEO Phil Knight yet as he stepped onto the practice field Wednesday afternoon.
But he wasn’t surprised.
“Oh really? It’s good to have him back,” said Amundson, a tailback on the Oregon football team. “He was gone, but he still felt like part of the team, so it’s not like we missed him. He’s always felt like part of the team.
“We call him Uncle Phil.”
Indeed, the news of Knight’s formal announcement that he has reconciled his relationship with the University was greeted by the football team like somebody would a relative who’s been gone for a long period of time.
Knight made the decision to end his relationship with his alma mater on April 23, 2000, after the University joined the Worker Rights Consortium.
All further donations from Knight were halted, including a $30 million pledge to the Athletic Department to help fund the Autzen Stadium expansion. Though the expansion project has continued, despite a year-long delay, the addition of Knight back in the mix guarantees the completion of the stadium by next season.
“This will help not only financially to finish projects, but also his relationship gives us status in the sports world,” Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti said. “The monetary aspect is important, but just his association with us is important.”
Clearly, being associated with Oregon football means a lot to Knight as well. Last fall, while still apart from the University, Knight began attending football games again. He missed the first eight games of the season before making his first appearance on Nov. 4 to witness Oregon’s 27-24 overtime win over Washington State in Pullman, Wash.
After the game, as Knight congratulated the team, quarterback Joey Harrington assumed that the WRC-Phil Knight issue was nearing an end.
“Oh I’m sure things are being taken care of away from our football team,” Harrington said Nov. 4. “They’ll take care of it. But there was no mending that needed to be done between [the players and Knight].”
Nearly 11 months later, Harrington’s hunch came true. The players hold no grudges toward Knight for leaving the team and the school for a few months.
“I don’t blame him for what we did,” Amundson said. “It felt like we bit the hand that fed us [when the University joined the WRC].”
Bellotti, who said he was “overjoyed” by the announcement, has kept in contact with Knight throughout the past months to let him know that whenever he’s ready to return, his team will gladly accept him.
“I’m pleased that he feels comfortable enough to come back,” Bellotti said. “He’s one of the most avid and involved fans. Sometimes he knows the players better than I do.”
Maybe so, but Bellotti knows better than anyone the significance of Knight’s announcement — for both athletics and academics.
“This benefits not only football, but every program in the Athletic Department and the University,” Bellotti said. “Everybody should be jumping up and down and doing cartwheels.”