Basketball.15
Biking.28, 29
California football preview.10
Championships.2
Club sports.21
Cross country, men’s.19
Cross country, women’s.18
Emerald Pac-8 football poll .6
Facilities.12
Fall schedules.14
Field hockey, women’s.20
Fishing. 27
Hiking.24
Jogging.26
Oregon football preview.6
Oregon State football preview. 11
Parks.22
Pinball.23
Rich Brooks .11
Southern California football preview.7
Stanford preview.9
Swimming pools.25
Ticket lottery.3
Title IX.\.5
UCLA football preview.8
Varsity sports .18
Washington football preview .8
Washington State football preview .10
Women’s practice schedules.>.21
Women’s recruiting.12
1
UO hosts four
NCAA Events
By DAN LINDAHL
Emerald Sports Editor
Never before has any university
hosted four NCAA championship
events in the same school year. In
1977-78 that will change.
The University of Oregon is the
place it will happen. Beginning in
March with a first-round doub
leheader in the NCAA's western
regional basketball playoffs,
Oregon wiU see four major champ
ionship events contested on or
near campus. Following the west
ern regionals will be the NCAA
gymnastics championships in
April, the NCAA track champion
ship in May and the NCAA golf
championship at the Eugene
Country Club in June.
The impact will be staggering.
“The amount of public relations
value to the state, the community
and the University is hard to quan
tify,” said John Caine, Oregon ath
letic director. “But the worth would
have to be in the millions of dol
lars.
“There will be hundreds of ath
letes and coaches, press and
media men all coming in to see the
various events. You would have to
pay millions for that kind of expos
ure on the open market."
The kind of exposure the Uni
versity wil be getting is just the
variety which could convince a
talented young athlete to come to
Eugene. But not all the coaches
involved agree on just how much
recruiting value hosting the
championships actually carries.
“It’s not that big a thing for us,’’
admitted basketball Coach Dtqk
Harter. “Since we recruit through
out the nation the kids back East
won't even know where the reg
ional are."
track Coach Bill Dellinger con
curs with Harter’s belief that host
ing a championship event isn't the
recruiting advantage it might ap
pear to be. but for a different
reason.
“Any national exposure will
help, but recruiting is on such a
limited basis now that it's not that
big a help,” explained Dellinger.
“We only have 14 scholarships to
offer and until they change things
the days of big dual meet powers
are gone. You can't field a team
with 14 people."
Bill Ballester and Jim Ferguson,
the coaches of gymnastics and
golf respectively, are both much
more excited about the pos
sibilities of national focus on their
programs.
“The effect can only be posi
tive.” enthused Ferguson. "The
program has been going ex
tremely well. It has been easier to
recruit the last few years because
of the success of the program."
Ballester is especially fired up
about the impact the champion
ships will have on gymnastics as a
whole in Oregon.
“It will have a real good effect on
recruiting as far as exposure,"
said Ballester, who added, “but its
real effect will be to strengthen
(Continued on Page 3)
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