Oregon scores big with signing of Bill Moos
It was March 17, and the Ore
gon men’s basketball team
was hard at work in their first
round NCAA Tournament game
against Seton Hall.
The Pirates had stormed out to
a 10-point lead against the
Ducks, and the Oregon faithful
were getting nervous.
Among the fans seated in the
HSBC Arena in Buffalo, N.Y.,
were football head coach Mike
Bellotti, Nike CEO Phil Knight
and Oregon athletic director Bill
Moos.
Bellotti and Knight were sit
ting in respective aisle seats in
the third row behind Oregon’s
bench, and Moos was nervously
watching from a seat directly in
front of Knight.
But the nervous anxiety was
momentarily relieved when
Duck guard Anthony Norwood
drilled a three-pointer to cap a 9
0 run and trimmed the lead to
one point with about four min
utes remaining in regulation.
At that moment, it would have
been tough to differentiate Bel
lotti, Knight and Moos from any
other Duck fan in the building.
And that’s the point exactly.
A great coach is a coach who is
willing to cheer on and care
about a team other than his own.
A great alumnus and donor is
someone who truly appreciates
what his money and presence
means to the programs that he
helps.
A great
athletic di
rector is
someone
who goes
the extra
mile —
however
many miles
that may be
— to be
there for
one of his
teams.
But take
one of those important ingredi
ents out of the mix, and there is a
great fear among many that there
would be a Jenga effect, where all
the pieces come crumbling
down.
Obviously there was the possi
bility of that occurring when
Knight decided to pull his finan
cial support from his alma mater.
There were rumors that Moos
would decide to jump ship to
more attractive offers — a rumor
that was further strengthened
when a local newspaper colum
nist asserted that now was the
time to leave.
Also under question was the
tenure of Bellotti, and whether a
potential delay in the Autzen
Stadium Expansion Project
would lead him to pursue other
opportunities.
But on Tuesday, all questions
and rumors were answered —
emphatically.
Oregon vice president Dan
Williams announced that Moos
has agreed to sign a four-year
contract extension that will pay
him approximately $300,000 an
nually.
My response? Job well done!
Moos’ signing is huge, and it
shows to everyone that the Ore
gon athletic program is stable
and committed to a bright future.
When reached on Wednesday,
Moos was his usual humble self,
but it was evident that he is ex
tremely honored by the contract.
“I am very flattered that they
have the faith in me to lead us
into the future,” Moos said.
“This is such a great place to be,
and we’ve accomplished a great
deal. But I believe the greatest
days lie ahead.”
Sure, some may view that last
statement as simply saying “the
right thing,” but I believe he truly
means it.
Yes, Knight’s money would
have helped. Yes, the absence of
Knight’s dough presents a huge
challenge. But it is challenges
like this that Moos thrives on.
“We have the highest caliber of
coaches and student-athletes,”
Moos said. “Now we all have
some challenges ahead of us, but
they are challenges that I want to
be a part of.”
Moos admitted that if it was up
to him he wouldn’t have an
nounced this extension at this
time. He said he accepted the
deal back in January, but he
chose to keep it under wraps un
til it went into effect this sum
mer. President Dave Frohnmayer
and Williams, however, thought
this would send a great message
to everyone: Oregon is putting its
best foot forward.
“Duck athletics is an integral
part of the University of Oregon,
and Bill Moos is an integral part
of Duck athletics,” Frohnmayer
said in his released statement.
He certainly is.
Moos is knowledgeable about
each of the sports teams under
his guidance, and he still is
amazed at the type of year the
Oregon program had.
“This has arguably been the
greatest season in the history of
Oregon athletics,” Moos said.
“Fourteen out of 16 programs
participated in postseason, and
we have a great nucleus coming
back.”
Moos proceeds to mention
how Oregon already has broken
a football season ticket record for
next season at a clip of 26,000
plus, and has set a Duck Athletic
Fund record at almost $6 mil
lion.
He rattles off how great it is
that Rick Gamez has guided the
softball team to back-to-back
NCAA appearances and how ea
ger he is to see Carl Ferreira in
his inaugural season as volley
ball coach.
“We have some great things
happening here,” Moos said.
At the top of that list, most cer
tainly, is the signing of Moos to a
long-term deal.
Congratulations, Bill. We’re
lucky to have you.
This will be a decision you
will not regret.
Jeff Smith is a sports reporter for the
Emerald. He can be reached via e-mail
at smittside@aol.com
Southern Miss pitcher
slices through lineups
By Ralph D. Russo
The Associated Press
HATTIESBURG, Miss. — By the
time Southern Mississippi pitch
er Courtney Blades was 12 years
old, she had worn out her first
catcher.
Sitting on a bucket in the back
yard, Margaretta Blades served as
batterymate to her daughter until
it became too dangerous to stop
the youngster’s array of diving and
jumping pitches.
“The speed wasn’t too bad, but
the ball would break so much,”
Margaretta said. “I said ’This isn’t
going to work no more.’”
Ten years later—now with speed
as nasty as her movement—Blades
has become the NCAA’s K Queen.
She broke her own single-sea
son strikeout record this season,
which stands at 632 in 376 2/3 in
nings heading into Thursday’s
first day of the Women’s College
World Series in Oklahoma City.
Blades also became the NCAA’s
career leader in strikeouts on the
last weekend of the regular season
When she surpassed California’s
Michelle Granger, who struck out
1,640 from 1989-93. That mark is
at 1,742 and counting as Southern
Miss (61-11) and Blades prepare to
face Arizona (57-7).
“She’s up there with a lot of the
best I’ve seen over the years,” said
Louisville coach Sandy Pearsall, a
Conference USA rival who has
played and coached college soft
ball for 16 years.
Blades only had two scholarship
offers after a fine high school ca
reer. So, how did the lanky 5-foot
11 slinger go from practically un
recruited to virtually unhittable?
“I had an awesome coach,”
Blades said.
Southern Miss coach Lu Harris
was heading Nicholls State’s soft
ball team when she signed Blades
out of high school.
Harris left Nicholls State in
1998 to take on the job of restart
ing Southern Miss softball, a pro
gram that had been dropped in
1992, and Blades followed “just to
be with her again. I knew nothing
about the school.”
Led by Blades’ dominating
pitching and Harris’ coaching,
Southern Mississippi went to the
Women’s College World Series last
year.
Harris says the increased move
ment on Blades’ pitches is what
has turned her into an All-Ameri
can. Blades, in turn, credits Harris
with showing her how it’s done.
“She taught me a lot,” Blades
said. “She taught me what a four
seam riseballis.”
Thrown at between 62-65 mph
from 43 feet away from home
plate, Blades’ riseball looks like a
90-mph fastball thrown from 60
feet, 6 inches.
“What makes her very unique is
she comes with so many things at
you,” said Pearsall, whose team
didn’t score and managed just five
hits in three games against Blades
this season.
Blades idolized Atlanta Braves
pitcher Greg Maddux growing up.
Now, she does a pretty fair impres
sion of the four-time Cy Young
award winner.
“She’s going to set you up,”
Pearsall said. “She’s going to get
ahead, and then she’s going to
have you chasing balls. That’s
where she’s got you, ’ ’
Blades’ repertoire also includes
a dropball that breaks straight
down, a curveball that breaks away
from righties, a screwball that
moves in on a right-handed hitter
and a changeup thrown with near
ly identical arm speed but about 10
mph slower than her riseball.
Despite all Blades has accom
plished — her 50 wins this season
ties the single-season NCAA
record — some question whether
she’d be as untouchable if she
played in a stronger league such as
the Pac-10 and Big 12.
Two of Blades’ loses came early
in the season to Pac-10 foes Ari
zona and Washington.
Harris looks at it differently.
“She would have been pitching
at a different level all her life,” Har
ris said. “She would of had the best
level of pitching coaches. I think
she is incredibly talented, and she
could have been incredibly suc
cessful in those conferences. She is
no where near her potential.”
Club Sports brief
Women’s ultimate heads to
nationals
With memories of a hard
fought victory against Stanford
fresh in their minds, members of
the Oregon Club Sports women’s
ultimate team look forward to
playing more tough games at the
College Nationals in Boise, Ida
ho, this weekend. The Ducks sur
vived the hardest competition to
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reach the Nationals since 1998,
said coordinator Michelle Green
berg.
Oregon has several members
from the last trip to the nationals,
and Greenberg says they should
provide a good core. The Ducks,
currently ranked eighth in the na
tion, will be in the same group as
top-ranked UNC-Wilmington.
No. 10 Brown University and No.
30 Notre Dam are in the same
pool.
The challenge is big, but
Greenberg said the team is ready
to play their hearts out.
“We are playing awesome right
now,” Greenberg says. “At Re
gional, we played better than
I’ve ever seen this year’s team
play before.”
Led by Robin Birdsong, who is
nominated for the Callahan award
given to outstanding college play
ers, the Ducks try to win the
whole thing, an accomplishment
never achieved by the women’s
team.
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