The perfect recipe for an in-state war: Start with a pre-existing college sports rivalry with a long history; have one of the schools be jealous of another’s top-tier sports program that is competitive at the national level and possibly has won national championships.
Stir it all together by having the jealous school try and hire away said top-tier program’s coach. Stand well back, have a fire extinguisher at the ready and be aware of explosive fumes.
This may be partially satirical, but rumors are flying – and all denied – that Oregon offered its new baseball coaching position to Oregon State head coach Pat Casey. Casey is the architect of the team that won back-to-back NCAA College World Series titles, and has turned down offers from other national powerhouse colleges. However, athletic director Pat Kilkenny was spotted talking to Casey at the Eugene Emeralds game Sunday evening. It was reported over the weekend in the Oregonian in a column by Brian Meehan that Casey was offered the job, and a follow-up story yesterday indicated that nobody from the Oregon athletic department had made such offers. Kilkenny apparently called Oregon State athletic director Bob DeCarolis to clear the air, too.
The sports world may not truly be life and death, but I guarantee if Oregon hired Casey to coach the Ducks’ new baseball program, the lynch mobs would come down from Corvallis in droves. Oregon State is starting to hang its hat on its baseball program, and rightfully so – three World Series appearances in a row with two straight wins is a great success. Cynical fans in the audience may even say that Oregon’s move to reinstate a college baseball program was directly inspired by the Beavers’ twin titles.
But Meehan is right: Some things you just don’t do, and the Ducks hiring Casey would be one of them. The Civil War in-state college rivalry has always been just that – civil. The rest of my family (including my sister) graduated from or currently go to Oregon State; I’m the lone Duck, and aside from some teasing now and again, there isn’t a problem. While I might not get strung up by my parents if Casey defected, it would become much, much less safe to wear green and yellow in Corvallis.
Like it or not, Oregon has almost taken over the mantle from Washington of the Pacific-10 Conference team with too much swagger. That was for a long time the reason to hate the Huskies: They thought they were too good, too big-time for the Northwest, on level with the Los Angeles schools as the power brokers of the conference. Now, infused with money, national recognition, and a desire to be innovative at all costs, the athletic department here has taken some unpopular steps – the football uniforms? Check. Hiring a big-time booster whose name graces the football practice field as the athletic director? Check. Cutting wrestling, without telling any people (including University staff members who are on committees for this very reason)? Check.
But hiring Casey would take the cake and drop the bomb. Only Bellotti moving to coach the Beavers in football would cause the state to melt down in such a way. There would be legitimate bad blood from Oregon State fans, and Oregon only comes away looking smug. There are more than enough qualified coaches around the Northwest and the nation. Just don’t do it.
Pat Casey in Duck colors would set off uncivil war
Daily Emerald
August 14, 2007
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