On Sept. 28, University of Oregon President John Karl Scholz, Oregon State University President Jayathi Murthy and University of Oregon Athletic Director Rob Mullens all spoke about UO’s transition to the Big 10 conference before a house committee.
Scholz said that he believes UO’s move to the Big 10 was the right thing to do, but also said he is “sad” that the changing national landscape of intercollegiate athletics has “disrupted” the Pac-12.
Scholz said that he “recognizes and values” OSU’s role in Oregon, and wants OSU to be successful.
“As the President of UO, my job is to maximize the benefit of higher education to all students on our campus,” Scholz said. “When presented with a value proposition to renew the contract with the Pac-12, or move to a conference providing greater stability which allows us to maintain self-funded athletic programs, the choice was difficult, but clear.”
Scholz said that with the University of Southern California, University of California, Los Angeles and University of Colorado departing, the conference was no longer stable or secure.
“We had only one choice,” Scholz said.
Mullens said that the Big 10 will offer stability and “future resources” needed to thrive in the collegiate sports landscape.
“We accepted the opportunity to join the Big 10 to do what was best for our student athletes and all students at the University of Oregon,” Mullens said.
President Murthy said that the decision made by both UO and the University of Washington to leave the Pac-12 was done quickly and without regard to the fallout of sister institutions.
“The consequences for OSU are devastating,” Murthy said. “There are severe impacts to non-revenue sports, Olympic sports and to women athletes.”
Murthy said OSU believes that public institutions have responsibilities to more than their individual schools and universities must take into account the larger impact of their decisions.
Scott Barnes, Vice President and Athletic Director for OSU, said that he predicts another conference realignment will happen “sooner rather than later.”
Barnes also said that OSU is predicting an over $40 million drop in revenue in one year from “dramatic reduction in media revenue.” He said they are also preparing for a drop in ticket sale revenue.
“While these are estimates, we must plan around the low end given the circumstances today,” Barnes said.
At a Sept. 11 meeting of the UO Board of Trustees, Scholz said that resources “matter” because moving to the Big 10 conference would make it “considerably more likely” to keep Oregon athletics self-funded.
ESPN reports that both UO and UW will receive $30 million annually when they join the Big 10.
“[The board] hired me to take actions that place the university in the strongest possible position five years and 10 years from now in order to do the best to serve our students,” Scholz said later at the board meeting. “I am confident that we have done the right thing.”
The recording of this house committee meeting can be found here.
