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Yeah well the local Red Guard has printed enough to balance it out.

Didn't bother reading the ABC article linked above, so it may mention it, but the U of O's AD facilities, for the football team at least, are world class in terms of amenities and creature comforts. The local commun(ity activ)ists regularly bleat about the unfairness of the sports team having such fancy digs while the state budget shortchanges the academic end in terms of dollars available to put in represented employees & their union bosses' pockets.

It's as though Phil Knight's 60-some million in private contributions to athletics somehow take away from academics. Which it doesn't.

Of course Knight's contributions to sports aren't the half of it. On the U of O campus you will find academic facilities bearing his name and they carry that name because he paid for them. He is without a doubt, U of O's single largest donor.

I happen to work for the second largest donor. He and Knight have adjacent skyboxes at the newly upgraded Autzen Stadium (and why not, they paid for most of it). Being a U of O sports booster is almost a job duty at our company, and you would find our ranks well represented on game days at both Autzen Stadium and Mac Court. I think the boss would consider what he kicks into those programs worth every penny, for the morale boosting and camaraderie it generates. But just as Knight does, the boss kicks in to the academic side as well. And that's worth it too. Regardless of the backwards ideas that come from some of the academia at that university, it does turn out some good grads that make sensible and meaningful contributions to the region's economy, and what's good for the economy in general is usually good for our corporate group and the varied businesses in which we are engaged.

But the donations don't come without strings. We are talking about a couple guys who can bark an order to "get me the Governor" (or the President), and reasonably expect a return call.

It actually is a good article, perhaps because, as another poster suggested, it was written by a sports reporter.

Oregon really has come a long way since Autzen Stadium was opened. I remember people talking about the old facilities at Hayward Field, where players didn't even have a locker, just a peg or two on the wall.

Even after Autzen opened, I used to go to games and pay $2.50 for a ticket in the end zone. After the first half people would go sit almost anywhere in the stadium they wanted, and nobody cared. After all, from 1975 through 1988 25,000 people was considered a big crowd.

I bought season tickets in 1980 for around $100. The stadium was nearly full that year, for a season that finished at 6-3-2, I think it was, and everyone thought it was a great year.

This past season, I took my mother to the USC game, and there was yet another record standing-room only crowd. My mother is the one buying season tickets, lately. She has turned into a huge fan at 81 years of age.

I haven't decided yet if I'll join her for the Oklahoma game in Sept. or the UCLA game in Oct. The Okies will be a huge, huge game, but airline ticket prices from Maryland are cheaper in October, and UCLA is always good for a fun game.