Wednesday, October 2,2002
Since 1900
University of Oregon
Eugene, Oregon
Volume 104, Issue 24
Oregon icon Len Casanova dies at age 97
Former football coach and Athletic
Director Len Casanova left a rich legacy
at the University^ sports department
Peter Hockaday
Sports Editor
Len Casanova, one of the most successful
coaches in Oregon football history and a beloved
icon in Eugene, died late Monday night at a local
nursing home. He was 97.
Casanova was the Ducks’ football coach from
1951-66, and he stepped down as the winningest
coach in Oregon history. The next year, Casano
va became the second athletic director for the
Ducks and served until 1970, when he retired
but continued to be active in the Oregon sports
community until his death.
“He brought respect, dignity and integrity to
Oregon athletics,” Athletic Director Bill Moos said.
Casanova was inducted into the National
Football Foundation College Football Hall of
Fame in 1977, and received the highest honor of
the American Football Coaches Association, the
Amos Alonzo Stagg Award, in 1990.
In 1991, the Oregon Athletic Department
honored the former coach and athletic director
by naming its brand new office and training fa
cility after him. The facility stands today as a
landmark for Oregon sports.
“I think of Cas every day as I drive in here,”
Moos said from his office in the Casanova Cen
ter on Tuesday. “I look at his picture every day
before I go up the stairs; it’s just a ritual. I’m
glad that we built the tribute that we did in the
entryway, so that people can read and learn
about this great man and what he did for the
University of Oregon.”
Casanova started his head coaching career at
his alma mater, Santa Clara, where he coached
for four seasons before moving on to Pittsburgh
for one season. In 1951, he took over a 1-9 Ore
gon squad and slowly turned the team around,
producing a 6-4 record in 1954 for the Ducks’
first winning season in six years. Casanova went
to his first of three bowl games in 1957. In that
game, Oregon nearly upset No. 1-ranked Ohio
State in the Rose Bowl, the last time the Ducks
would play in the Rose Bowl until 1994.
Casanova finished his Oregon career with an
82-73-8 record, and finished his overall head
Turn to Casanova, page 6
RIOT
restitution
The city of Eugene says the University
is partly responsible for the weekend
damage and should help pay the costs
Brad Schmidt
City/State Politics Reporter
Eugene city officials called on the University
on Tuesday to shoulder some of the responsibil
ity for the weekend’s riot and said a “Party Pa
trol” could be reinstated to prevent future riots.
Making his first public statement since the in
cident, City Manager Jim Carlson said the Uni
versity — and not just its students — are re
sponsible for last week’s riot that cost the
Eugene Police Department upwards of #20,000.
“This activity happened because of the Uni
versity of Oregon,” Carlson said. “They were
getting ready to start classes again. There is a
relationship between this activity and the Uni
versity, and we need to work with them to
make sure they help us in preventing this in
the future.”
Vice President and Dean of Students Anne
Leavittrefused to blame the University for the
actions of students off campus.
“Certainly the University would not take
any responsibility at all for (the riot) occur
ring,” she said.
To prevent future riots from occurring, how
ever, Leavitt said the University and city need
to establish a partnership.
Will Shaver for the Emerald
The University says it is n't to blame for riot-related costs, like the cleanup of a charred golf cart carcass (above).
City officials hope the University supports
them so future riots can be prevented.
“I believe the administration of the Univer
sity understands the importance of being a
good neighbor,” Eugene Mayor Jim Torrey
said. “At this point, we haven’t received any
funds. We haven’t received any commitment
of funds. But I can assure you, they are going
to be working very strenuously to see how we
can spread the cost of these activities.”
Historically, the University hasn’t accepted
responsibility for riots in the past. But city of
ficials remain optimistic.
“We intend to press for this,” Torrey said.
Turn to Riot page 8
Summer blazes heat
up new initiative
The severity of recent fires draws attention
to future forest health and the
development of a controversial initiative.
Jody Burruss
Environment/Science/
Technology Reporter
A combination of unfavorable weather condi
tions and forest management practices boosted
the 2002 fire season to nearly double the 10
year average, burning more than 1 million Ore
gon acres and costing more than $318 million,
a spokesman for the Northwest Interagency Co
ordination Center David Widmark said.
Because of the seriousness of this fire season,
President George W. Bush visited Oregon in Au
gust and announced the Healthy Forests Initia
tive, something he says is designed to restore
the health of our forests.
Under this initiative, federal agencies will
work with Con
gress to create
and enact legis
lation directed
at preventing
extreme fire
Bureau of
Land Man
a g e m e n t
spokesman
Doug Hunting
ton said that
short- and long
term weather
patterns played a
key role in creating
the right weather
conditions for a severe
fire season.
It started with an extended
period of below-normal precipi
tation and above-average tem
peratures, he said. Then a potent
storm front in July ignited several fires in
remote areas, making the initial response
very difficult.
Hundreds of fires were ignited by one light
ning storm and many merged together to be
come huge blazes, Huntington said. This was
followed by six weeks of no rain in western Ore
gon, accompanied by easterly winds. The
warm, dry air helped the fires to spread.
Because fire season started early in the year,
many Oregon firefighters were already in other
Turn to Fire, page 8
Tuition
rates are
higher in
Oregon
OUS schools are graded V
for affordability by a leading
national education group
Brook Reinhard
News Editor
Public universities in Oregon are less
affordable than schools in almost every
other state, a leading education group an
nounced Tuesday.
The National Center for Public Policy
and Higher Education released a 200-page
report evaluating college systems in all 50
states. The group rated states “A” through
“F” in five different categories — Oregon
received an “F” for affordability, but posted
improved results in other areas compared
with its scores two years ago.
The failing grade means Oregon Univer
sity System schools are some of the most
expensive in the nation when compared to
the income of an average Oregonian. The
news comes at a time when the University
of Oregon instituted a variable rate struc
ture, with tuition for the 2002-03 school
year rising an average 3 percent but as high
as 9 percent for some students.
Nancy Goldschmidt, associate vice
chancellor for performance and planning
for OUS, said education funding should be
a priority to improve future scores.
“We need to be earning higher grades
Turn to OUS, page 7
Weather
Today: High 65, Low 43,
fog turning to clouds
Thursday: High 60, Low 45,
light rain developing
Looking ahead
Thursday
Missing, lost or stolen:
Theft trends on campus
Friday
To the net for another
Civil War — volleyball-style