I think Les Miles has it wrong about the SEC being the best conference in all of college football. All of a sudden, the Pac-10 has three teams in the Top 10. SEC? Only two (or one, depending on the poll). Granted, USC may now be overrated, but Cal and Oregon have a good shot at a BCS bowl or the National Championship. If the Trojans turn things around after being upset at home to Stanford, they too will be in the mix. The wildcard is Arizona State. They almost blew in Pullman against the Washington State Cougars yesterday. The Sun Devils are good, but I still don't think they're THAT good. Dennis Erickson is a hell of a coach though, so no one should turn their back on ASU.
The next three weeks will be very telling about this year's Ducks. Oregon gets Wazzu and USC at Autzen, but has to go to Seattle to face a pesky Husky team. I have renewed enthusiasm about our Ducks, and I hope, now that the bye week is behind them, that they will too.
1 comment:
Todd:
Once again I thank you for posting my video and comments.
As for your rebuttal, here's my counter. First of all, we indeed do not know what route the athletic department will take toward finding a place for the new Duck baseball team to play. The Civic Stadium speculation on my part represents the cheapest and, at best, an interim arrangement.
Baseball fields are very expensive. Witness the $30 million price tag for Nebraska's Haymarket Park, which includes a softball diamond for the NU ladies. The Lincoln Saltdogs minor league team and the city of Lincoln divided the $18 million that the Cornhuskers did not pony up to build this first-class baseball stadium. What's more, Nebraska pays in the neighborhood of 2/3 of a million per year for both baseball and softball teams to use the complex.
Up the road in Corvallis, where they have tasted a bit of baseball success lately (and want to stay that way), the Beaver Dugout Club is in the midst of a $4.5 million to upgrade Goss Stadium. You can imagine how much it would cost to build one from scratch.
So, thanks for making my point. Yes, we don't know if the Ducks will play initially at Civic Stadium, but such a choice would be the least expensive, although not at all an inexpensive, choice. Check into how much Texas is paying to upgrade Disch-Falk field, and how much Kansas State and Oklahoma State sunk into making their baseball diamonds competitive from a recruiting standpoint recently.
It goes to reinforce my contention that building a collegiate baseball program from the ground up is quite a roll of the dice, one that Mr. Kilkenny got started but may not be around to see to fruition. It will certainly be cost negative from a revenue-to-expense standpoint. Whether his expectations of increasing the donor base to cover the total cost (and that of the cheer squad) is something that remains to be seen.
As for the so-called "Legacy Fund," I had to smile. It reminds me of politicians blowing hot air about the Social Security Trust Fund. Both conjure up the mental image of a pile of money sitting around to insure the solvency of their respective programs.
With regard to the latter, you and I both know that the social security taxes we pay each 15th and 30th go to fund my mother's and father's monthly check. The "trust" has a short shelf life.
Likewise, most of Mr. Knight's recent gift will indeed serve as the down payment needed to justify, under state law, the issuance of those bonds you referred to. The new basketball arena will cost upwards of $200 million, and you just don't issue bonds as a state agency for the entire amount for such a venture.
As for the "legacy," yes an portion, albeit a small amount, will be retained as a rainy day fund for the Athletic Department, which right now operates financially as most Americans do--on a paycheck-to-paycheck basis. Oregon has a $37 million annual athletic budget with no state or student money coming in, and our Ducks consume damn near all of it each year.
Viewed that way, there is indeed no spare change in Phil's gift to pick up the wrestling team's measly $629 thousand per year. But what demand will baseball and cheer place on the budget? For that matter, how much do tennis, soccer, and other non-revenue sports cost? Only football and men's basketball generate revenue and the rest are dependent. We tolerate quite a few revenue-negative sports, many of whom spend more and draw as few fans as wrestling. Why pick on wrestling?
When Bellotti wanted the wrestling room for a treatment facility, and Kilkenny saw he could economize by cutting out a replacement facility in the new basketball building, I certainly understand the economics.
What I don't understand is how the baseball team fits into long-term financial stability of the program. Pat is telling everyone that the hundred or so new boosters will make baseball cost neutral. I'll believe it when I see it.
They'd better have deep pockets. The new coach will draw $400 grand per year, as per a state open records request filed by the Register-Guard. That puts him up there with Augie Garrido of Texas as the best compensated college baseball coach in the land. How much do you think our wrestling coach makes?
Post a Comment