Reactions
continued from page 1
for the good of the program,” he
said. “She moved on because she re
ally cares about the players and she
cares about the program.”
Senior fine arts major Jeff Anderson
questioned whether the equality be
tween Runge and the players should
have been an issue during the dispute
that became public in early March.
“My view is [Rungej did her job
— she took the players to the play
offs [eight] years in a row,” Ander
son said. “It’s ridiculous for them to
be complaining about their coach.
They should just shut up and play.”
Anderson said he was sorry to see
Runge go, and that Runge, who has
been coaching at the University since
1993, has left “pretty big shoes to fill. ”
“I think she was a great coach,”
Anderson said.
Many other students said they
were surprised by the news, but that
they still did not fully understand
the situation.
“It seems like she was making
some good moves,” freshman busi
ness major Jon DeAsis said. "I was
shocked. I didn’t expect it.”
Hilary Arakaki, a junior psycholo
gy and exercise and movement sci
ence major, said it seemed the Athlet
ic Department took into consideration
both the players’ feelings and Runge’s
contribution to the program when
dealing with the issue.
Junior computer and informa
tion science major Jeff Wong said
he did not know much about the
Runge situation, but he added that
it is typical for coaches to lose their
positions after a disappointing sea
son. The Ducks lost in the first
round of the NCAA Tournament
this season.
Lisa Gardner, a 1996 University
graduate who has held a basketball
season ticket for the past eight years,
said it is hard to say whether Runge
made the right decision by resign
ing. Gardner, who is the capital
grants administrator for Lane Tran
sit District, said the public may nev
er know all the information sur
rounding the situation.
“I’m sorry to see her resign, be
cause I respect her ability to stand
tall and maintain her conviction
that she was in charge of her basket
ball program,” she said. “And by the
standard measuring stick, she deliv
ered what she was hired to deliver
— wins and ticket sales.”
Runge
continued from page 1
met with Moos and criticized
Runge’s coaching methods and
communication skills.
One week after the team ended its
season March 27 with a loss to Iowa
in the NCAA Tournament’s first
round, Moos hired the Kansas City
based law firm Bond, Schoeneck &
King, which is nationally recognized
for investigating troubled collegiate
programs. Moos said at the time that
the move was to provide an “objec
tive analysis” of the Ducks’ women’s
basketball program.
Moos received the firm’s 30-page
report Wednesday and said it re
vealed no major NCAA violations.
There have been several requests to
make the report public, but Univer
sity officials have not decided
whether the report will be released.
“Those eight players were not go
ing to determine the fate of Jody
Runge,” Moos said. “There were
other legitimate concerns. That was
only one component of my con
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cems that needed to be addressed.
One begins to become concerned
when you see a pattern, and in some
regards that may have been the case
here.”
Runge and her attorney, Rohn
Roberts, reviewed the report last
week and were scheduled to meet
with Moos Friday, but the meeting
never took place, Moos said.
“The events of the last six weeks
have led me to the conclusion that it
is in the best interest of the program
to resign at this time,” Runge said in
a released statement. “I regret that I
will not be able to coach the fine
group of women who will enter our
program this fall. I want to express
my heartfelt appreciation to the
community, and I wish the team
well next season.”
In her eight years at the University,
Runge, 38, compiled a 160-73 record
while leading the Ducks to eight
straight NCAA Tournament appear
ances and two Pacific-10 Conference
titles. Her .687 winning percentage
was the best of any basketball coach—
man or woman—in school history.
But Runge’s coaching style often
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conflicted with players’ personali
ties. In the wake of the investigation,
several former players have stepped
forward and accused Runge of emo
tional hardship, including a 1996
incident in which a player was
kicked off the team and had to seek
psychological counseling.
“It wasn’t really her as a coach;
there were other things that also led
to this,” guard Shaquala Williams,
who will be a junior next season,
said after the press conference.
Runge had two years remaining
on a contract that paid her about
$140,000 in base salary per year, but
Moos said a buyout agreement was
reached in exchange for Runge not
filing a lawsuit against the Universi
ty. Moos would not disclose the de
tails of the settlement.
“I’m just glad it’s over with,” guard
Jamie Craighead, who will be a senior
next season, said. “I wish [Rungel the
best of luck, but I think this is a really
good situation for our program.”
University Vice President Dan
Williams was also present for the an
nouncement and said he and Univer
sity President Dave Frohnmayer are
Tom Patterson Emerald
Athletic Director Bill Moos announces Jody Runge’s resignation in a Casanova Center
conference room packed with members of the media.
satisfied with the outcome.
“I want everyone to understand
that the president and I are very fa
miliar with the circumstances sur
rounding this event,” Williams said.
“And we wanted to make sure that
everybody who has an interest in
this issue understands that the pres
ident and 1 are very supportive of
the resolution and the actions that
Bill has taken.”
Moos said the'search for Runge’s
replacement has already started,
and he said he told the current as
sistant coaches — Fred Litzenberg
er, Kirsten McKnight and Dan Mus
catell — that they could apply for
the position. One of the assistants
will be named the interim coach un
til the vacancy is filled.
“I’m hoping that the players, my
staff and the community will support
the future of women’s basketball at
the University of Oregon,” Moos said.
“We don’t know now who’s going to
be leading that program, but it’s going
to be a qualified, talented head coach.
This is a very appealing position. ”
2001
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