The NCAA basketball Tournament could not please all Oregon fans, as the Ducks did not go all they way. The Ducks made a valiant effort, making it to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2002, but they inevitably lost to the University of Florida Gators, the eventual tournament winners.
Still, each win in the tournament means greater exposure for the University and more money for our more-or-less independent Athletic Department. The NCAA does not keep the profits from the lucrative television contract, instead dividing it among the schools involved.
Since last year, though, talk has focused on men’s basketball coach Ernie Kent’s job status. Last year’s performance was shaky at best, as the men’s basketball team did not make it to the NCAA Tournament or even to the less-impressive NIT Tournament.
But Kent clearly made the right decisions this year – including bringing in point guard Tajuan Porter, the Lilliputian player whom no one wanted. Porter drained shots from the perimeter and hustled in the paint, proving that size does not always matter in basketball.
As a result of Oregon’s promising run in the tournament, the outcome of Kent’s contract situation looks promising: Former Athletic Director Bill Moos, for one, directed kind words in Kent’s direction. “These kids are going to go on and be very well prepared for the rest of their lives because of Ernie Kent,” said Moos, after Oregon’s heartbreaking loss to Florida.
Incoming Athletic Department Director Pat Kilkenny also stood by Kent. Nonetheless, nothing is set in stone yet. This is typical for college athletics. University of Arkansas basketball coach Stan Heath, for example, was sacked after the NCAA Tournament, despite taking his team to the tournament (the Razorbacks lost in the first round), and serving as head coach for five decent seasons.
Kent does not deserve such an unceremonious or rude fate. But after rumors surrounding Kent’s possible sacking swirled after last year’s sub-par performance, it is not surprising that there are rumors concerning Kent’s looking for other coaching positions.
Students at the University of Oregon should be proud of their Duck’s basketball team. Even if students believe that athletic programs receive too much exposure, they must also recognize the reality of this and, at the very least, appreciate the class and posture with which the basketball team succeeded. It may not be a lesson for the rest of the student body, who toil in anonymity on term papers and group projects, but it should be heartening that the Oregon Ducks, led by Ernie Kent – the team that sportscasters and sports writers continuously disregarded in the national media – raised the level of its game and proved the detractors wrong.
This is something that the University must strive for – in academics and athletics.