Sports Editor:
Brad Schmidt
bradschmidt@dailyemerald. com
Tuesday, August 6,2002
Best Bet
Jason Fife, Oregon’s projected starting
quarterback, spent Monday chatting with college
football fans on espn.com’s “Campus Chats.” Visit
http://dynamic.espn.go.com/espn/chat/chatESPN?
event_id=2111 for a copy of the transcript.
College
football
equals
business
‘‘Money, it’s a gas. Grab that cash
with both hands and make a stash.
New car, caviar, four-star daydream,
think I’ll buy me a football team. ”
— Pink Floyd
College football is about excite
ment, national prominence and
the love of the game, there’s no
denying it. But when the bottom line
becomes top dollar, college football is
about one thing and one thing only
— money.
As students, it’s easy to get caught up
in all the fanfare and hoopla surround
ing college football. We’d like to be
lieve it’s being played for our enjoy
ment, for the enrichment of the
community and for the development of
players’ dreams and aspirations.
But it’s not, and that’s the reality.
College football
is a business.
A twofold mon
ey maker, college
football is the No. 1
source of revenue
for most collegiate
athletic programs.
The big money, of
course, comes from
overzealous alum
ni who enjoy ath
letic success. Here
at Oregon, football
success landed the
gargantuan check
book of Nike
mogul Phil Knight. And football suc
cess fills Autzen Stadium, too, at ticket
prices of more than $20.
This past week, news spread about
six former or ineligible Duck football
players who reportedly gave away their
complementary game tickets for breaks
in rent. Apparently, these players decid
ed to do a little business of their own by
profiting off their team’s success.
For a long time now, student-athletes
— many of whom receive University
compensation — claim they’re getting
the short end of the stick.
Brad
Schmidt
Sports editor
“How,” they say, “are we suppose to
live on the measly income the Univer
sity gives us?”
“We,” they acknowledge, “bring in
millions of dollars of revenue for our
University, and we don’t get enough
in return.”
“So,” they figure, “we’ll skim a little
off the top here and there. We aren’t
paid fairly, we bring in the money, so
we’ll equal the playing field a bit.”
The only thing, though, is that col
lege football is a business. Businesses
make agreements and, in theory, those
arrangements should be honored. At
times, it may not seem equitable. But
the business world is rarely fair.
Upon entering school, these student
athletes agree to the terms of the busi
ness. They know what they’re getting
and when they’re getting it. When a
student-athlete steps foot on campus,
they are getting their education paid
for. In full. Free. Free. Free. Further
more, these student-athletes get more
Turn to Schmidt, page 6
Emeralds notch fourth win in a row
Eugene is playing well of late,
leaving players and coaches
optimistic about the season
By Brad Schmidt
Oregon Daily Emerald
As rain began to fall on Civic Stadi
um midway through the fifth inning
Monday night, fans began to leave
their box seats for drier pastures.
Very few left the ballpark, however.
Many of the 3,116 fans in atten
dance braved chilly weather and a
little precipitation to watch the Eu
gene Emeralds — the hottest team in
the Northwest League — add to their
longest winning streak of the season
with a 4-1 victory over the Vancou
ver Canadians.
Prior to Monday’s victory over
Vancouver (25-22), Eugene couldn’t
put together more than occasional
back-to-back wins. But after notch
ing their fourth victory in a row and
the seventh in their past nine games,
the Ems (20-27) find themselves only
seven games under .500 and peaking
at just the right time.
“We finally got to where we’ve
gone out and played solid baseball
for a week,” Ems manager Jeff Gard
ner said. “It’s nothing special. It’s just
making plays, getting hits when you
have to, running the bases smart and
being aggressive. That’s how this
game works.”
The Ems’ winning streak was in
Turn to Baseball, page 6
Adam Jones Emerald
Center fielder Carlos Millan had one hit and scored one run in the bottom of the seventh inning on a teammate’s double.
Ticket negotiations
delay distribution
of sports pamphlet
A brochure listing Oregon’s sporting events and the
corresponding ticket release dates is still being
produced, which may inconvenience some students
By Brad Schmidt
Oregon Daily Emerald
With Duck fever only a meager 25 days away, fan fo
cus has turned toward autumn’s hottest commodity —
football tickets.
Students hoping to watch Oregon open its season Aug.
31 against Mississippi State or see the Ducks battle Fres
no State on Sept. 7 can pick up tickets at the EMU or the
Casanova Center beginning Aug. 19, the University Ticket
Office announced last week.
This year’s announcement comes later than usual, how
ever. While student tickets are typically distributed 12
days prior to a sporting event, a pamphlet stating the dates
of sporting events and the ticket distribution dates for the
events was made available to students in early July 2001.
This year’s pamphlet has not yet been finished and,
once completed, it still needs ASUO approval. Ticket ne
gotiations between the Athletic Department and ASUO
were a major factor in the delay of the brochure, Director of
Athletic Media Services Dave Williford said.
The student-ticket contract — which guarantees stu
dents 2,550 tickets for non-conference games and 6,150
tickets for Pacific-10 Conference games — was not signed
by both parties until July 16, Williford said.
“(The pamphlet) is still being worked on,” said Angie Sit,
assistant director of marketing and promotions for the Athletic
Department. “We can’t do much until (negotiations are) set.”
ASUO Accounting Coordinator Jennifer Creighton-Neiw
ert said the process is a little behind the typical timeline, but
noted that the deadline for completion “is getting close.”
Last year, students were able to pick up the brochure earlier
in the summer because of an Athletic Department error,
Turn to Tickets, page 6 .
Preseason polls pick Ducks
as third-ranked Pac-10 team
Oregon, the 2001 national runner
up, is ranked No. 15 by coaches but
is predicted to finish behind both
Washington Schools
By Brad Schmidt
Oregon Daily Emerald
Over the past year, the Ducks
worked the Big Apple for all its worth.
First it was Joey Harrington’s Heisman
campaign, followed most recently by
a giant poster of Keenan Howry.
But now, it seems, the red fruit is
getting the best of Oregon.
The Ducks are picked to finish no
higher than No. 3 in the Pacific-10
Conference by national coaches and
selected media, and the preseason con
sensus is that the conference champi
on lies north of the Columbia River, in
the state known for its apples.
Washington, the only Pac-10 team
to receive a top-10 national billing, en
tered the preseason ESPN/USA Today
Coaches’ Poll at No. 9. Washington
State ranked No. 14.
The Pac-10 Media Poll, however,
selected the Cougars as the confer
ence favorite while picking the
Huskies to finish second.
Turn to Football, page 6
ESPN/USA Today
Coaches’ Poll
1. Miami
2. Texas
3. Oklahoma
4. Florida State
5. Tennessee
6. Colorado
7. Florida
8. Nebraska
9. Washington
10. Michigan
11. Georgia
12. Ohio State
13. LSII
14. Washington State
15. Oregon
' 16. Virginia Tech
17. Louisville ' '
18. Michigan State
19. Southern California
20. Maryland
21. Marshal!
22. South Carolina
23. Wisconsin
24. Penn State
■ 25. N.C. State
2002 Pac-10 Media Poll
1. Washington State
2. Washington
3. Oregon
4. Southern California
5. Oregon State
6. UCLA
7. Stanford
8. Arizona
9. Arizona State
10. California