The introduction last Wednesday of longtime prominent donor Pat Kilkenny as Oregon’s new Athletic Director rightfully raised quite a few eyebrows around the community, the state, and even the country.
At first glance, the situation appears just a bit fishy and perfectly demonstrates the way that athletic departments everywhere have turned into big businesses.
There’s the obvious conflict of interest with Kilkenny donating nearly $6 million to the athletic department, including $1.8 million of the $2 million buyout of outgoing athletic director, Bill Moos. Essentially, though he and Oregon President Dave Frohnmayer were hesitant to make the connection – he paid for his predecessor to leave early.
Kilkenny also lacks any athletic director experience – Frohnmayer admitted no current athletic directors were granted interviews – though Kilkenny did build an insurance business into a multi-million dollar profit, which he sold last August.
Additionally, the new man leading the University’s athletic department lacks a college degree, having attended the University without ever graduating.
On the surface, this hire appears catastrophically bad for the image of Oregon athletics.
But underneath that, there’s no questioning the positives Kilkenny can provide Oregon even in two short years.
Call me naive, but I believe Kilkenny, a very personable and humble man, when he said outright he didn’t consider himself a candidate for this position during the time of Moos’ buyout. To fend off allegations that he bought his way into the position, Kilkenny will not collect on his salary, choosing to return it for academic and athletic purposes.
While his lack of experience is certainly perplexing, there are benefits of hiring a prominent donor like Kilkenny, which major universities like Purdue and Michigan have done previously.
When Moos accepted the position to become athletic director back in 1995, he’d boasted considerable experience with the job having served in a similar post at the University of Montana. But, what he made up for with experience, he lacked in familiarity, at least early on, with Oregon’s top donors.
Who knows, maybe that lack of rapport led to the lack of financial backing for the new basketball arena project from prominent donors such as Phil Knight, who was reluctant to provide funds for a project that was originally projected to be complete by Fall 2006.
Kilkenny is essentially the opposite of Moos. He boasts no experience but is very knowledgeable with Oregon’s donor base, being a donor himself.
Now maybe in two years – coincidentally the length of his contract and the anticipated duration of construction for the new basketball arena – the project may finally come to fruition. Kilkenny admitted that the basketball arena, which he’s already donated $1.5 million to for planning and design, is his “pet project.”
“It makes me excited,” Oregon men’s basketball coach Ernie Kent said Wednesday following the announcement. “But not just personally for me, it’s for this community and this university. We need a new basketball arena.”
Another factor not to be overlooked is simply Kilkenny’s passion for Oregon athletics. He’s a regular at home and away games, including a game on his wedding day, and I liken him to NBA owner Mark Cuban of the Dallas Mavericks. Cuban was certainly a shot in the arm for that organization, much in part to his passion and desire to bring a winner, and I sense that with Kilkenny, too.
We’ll have to wait and see what happens in his two short years in office, but my guess is many of the current skeptics may turn into believers.
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