On July 13, Oregon brought back baseball to the varsity sports fold at the Casanova Center. In Eugene, the reaction was varied. Wrestlers were shocked, baseball players were excited, and the competitive cheerleaders were – well, they were probably shocked, too.
But in Corvallis, there were some eyebrows being raised at the Ducks’ announcement. After all, only 20 days earlier, Oregon State’s baseball team won its second straight national title by beating North Carolina in Omaha, Neb. Beaver fans were quick to put two and two together, telling anyone within shouting distance that Oregon added baseball because the Ducks’ athletic administration was jealous of OSU’s success on the diamond. The Corvallis Gazette-Times even ran a story headlined “Ducks set to batter up … coincidence?”
And you know what? I don’t blame them for thinking that. Whether or not it truly had anything to do with it, Oregon State’s success has surely brought more of a spotlight to the sport than before, and Oregon had to be at least a little intrigued by the Beavs’ success.
What I am saying, though, is that now that Oregon State has reinstated its men’s track and field team, Oregon fans should be able to return the favor.
Oregon State Athletic Director Bob De Carolis made the announcement on Oct. 26 at Reser Stadium to a group of gathered Beaver track and field alumni. He said he hopes to have the men’s team, which was cut in 1988 – seven years after Oregon’s baseball team was cut – up and running by 2012. Since then, it hasn’t been announced publicly.
It’s almost as if they remember the amusement Beaver fans took at thinking Oregon was finally trying to emulate them, and then realized Duck fans now have the opportunity to do the same. Even if they’ve been planning it for a while, perception is reality, and without a doubt people are going to look at Oregon’s recent success and connect the dots.
“You get egos up at the high level, so maybe that was what pushed it over the edge, but they’d been talking about this for a while,” said Daily Barometer sports reporter Kacy Hochstatter, who covers the women’s cross country and track program. “It’s a questionable thing for sure, but it’s nowhere near what Oregon can produce.”
Even though OSU brought back the women’s program in 2004, the timing of this move seems a little too good. With the hiring of Vin Lananna as director of track and field at Oregon in 2005, the momentum following the program has risen back to the level that made the city the true Track Town, U.S.A. in the 1960s and 70s. Hayward Field will host the 2008 Olympic Trials this summer.
Combined, the Oregon men’s cross country and track and field program has won three conference titles – two in cross country, one in track and field – in the last two years. And that second cross country title? It came the day after De Carolis’ announcement, in Corvallis nonetheless.
I’m not against Oregon State bringing back track. I hope they do get the $5 million in funding administrators want for a new track facility. But announcing it during the middle of the cross country season where Oregon’s men’s team is ranked first in the country? Honestly, what would a Beaver Believer think if we’d announced baseball’s return during their team’s Super Regional?
I’m sure more than a few people read Kilkenny’s statement, which said that OSU’s titles had nothing to do with Oregon baseball’s revival, with a grain of salt back in July. So now that OSU has done essentially the same thing with its men’s track team, I just hope they don’t think they aren’t fooling anyone either.
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