7 responses so far ↓

• 1 Richard // May 5, 2008 at 7:49 am

  Something I found interesting on the internet. Wonder if this is truly being buried and maybe the reason why everyone is really trying to bail after this year.

  “Please attend the hearing on May 7 at 5pm at the Eugene city hall council chamber and testify against the UO getting to bypass all the normal land use rules and procedures. The media is really trying to bury this hearing because they know its the achilles heel of the whole nike trojan horse plan to control and re-engineer uo campus into a nike facility(buildings and governance style). All nikes dealings with UO are on the line with this hearing. Make what you know part of the public record. Community t.v. will be recording and rebroadcasting the event .”

• 2 shakemysherlytemple // May 5, 2008 at 10:19 am

  I think you put it best when you said he should stay if he is ‘concerned about the direction of the university.’ I think he can do a lot more for the program if he stays longer. While he may not be everyone’s first or best pick for AD, the additions he has made have been beneficial and aside from the cut of wrestling, he has been a very positive leader. If he rolls out on the program we may be in quite the pickle with too (two) many openings to fill each with quality personnel.

• 3 Hank Hosfield // May 5, 2008 at 11:31 am

  While Kilkenny enjoys the option of calling it quits whenever he’s had enough, if he’s still around when the next president arrives, it’s my great hope that Kilkenny’s tenure will cease or continue at the pleasure of the new president. It shouldn’t be Kilkenny’s call at that point. The degree of tolerance the new guy/gal has for Kilkenny will tell us much about what kind of leader the next president will be.

  Schroeder called Kilkenny an unorthodox choice whose hiring should have drawn more controversy. That doesn’t sound like a ringing endorsement. Yet he, like Canzano, also said the UO sold out years ago, and apparently reasons that this Faustian bargain with boosters should be grandfathered in–seemingly for the sake of continuity (read: the comfort of Phil Knight).

  Hardly one for continuity, Kilkenny has authored much change in a short amount of time, but the full impact of those changes won’t be realized within his likely reign. He may not even make it to see the new arena open, let alone see it become profitable. Likewise, baseball may prove to be the huge money suck that experts predicted and that Kilkenny is learning to be far more expensive than he hoped. Meanwhile, the Oregon brand is becoming more well known, and more scorned, and fans are expected to pay more dearly during ever-more uncertain economic times to support an athletic program that seems increasingly further removed from their core values and experiences. You might not want to be too bullish on this.

  As for Kilkenny’s concern for the direction of the university as a whole, it seems to me his charge is much more narrowly confined to athletics, and their influence on the public face of the university. Considering that his very improper hiring is a slap in the face to academic principles, and that the UO is gaining more attention for its acquiescence to the whims of a benevolent billionaire who is branding the UO with his swoosh (I know many fans think it’s cool that the UO is becoming famous as Nike U, but how would we feel if Daddy Swooshbucks owned Exxon or Halliburton instead?), the academic reputation of the UO is taking a significant hit. I’m guessing this isn’t going to help us recruit or retain top faculty or top students in the future.

  So, should we stand Pat and embrace our sell-out identity? It seems to me that guys like Schroeder have already made their cynical peace with this issue. Like the negotiation with the gal who will sleep with us for $1 million, but indignantly asks what we think she is when we offer her $20, we’ve already established the nature of the character in question, and now we’re just haggling about price.

• 4 Todd // May 5, 2008 at 11:58 am

  I do like his “take charge” attitude toward getting things done. His friendship with Phil Knight removes road blocks as well. I think a longer stint from Kilkenny is warranted, as well as Frohnmayer (although that won’t happen with the latter).

  If there’s only one concern I have, it would be that every year, I wonder where the money is going to come from to pay for tickets, parking, and DAF. That’s one thing that Kilkenny has disregard for is “the common fan”.

• 5 Richard // May 5, 2008 at 12:26 pm

  But I think his concern is no longer for the common fan, but rather what Phil wants. Whether or not if it makes sense or will be a huge money drain for the Oregon taxpayers.

• 6 Todd // May 5, 2008 at 4:28 pm

  Oregon fans whom are taxpayers will contribute, to a point. It’s the “blue-collar” fans, like me, who wish to have the all-access pass (like Knight), but are slowly being squeezed to the point that they’re not able to even attend games, for much longer.

  The intellectual taxpayers, it seems, are never in favor of paying for college or pro sports, especially for new arenas.

• 7 Curtis Sexton // May 8, 2008 at 3:46 pm

  Kilkenny may be a big thinker, but there is a great difference between big thinking and deep thinking. While risk taking leads to big gains some times, shallow thinking consistently leads to major disruption and serious setbacks. Kilkenny’s time at Oregon will be a major blow to the orderly growth of academic and athletic excellence at Oregon.