Campus buzz
Tuesday
Fine arts exhibit (painting, ceramics,
photography), 10 a.m.-5 p.m.,
LaVerne Krause Gallery, Lawrence
Hall, free.
"Preserving the Sights and Sounds
of Oregon—The Don Hunter Legacy"
(photography and sound exhibit),
noon-5 p.m., Museum of Natural
History, $2 donation, free to
students, 346-3024.
Mike Raymer, Oregon Center for
Optics (ITS seminar), 4 p.m., 427
Willamette, free.
"This is Chiapas" and "The Meaning
of Zapatistas" (video and
discussion), 4 p.m., Multicultural
Center, EMU, free.
Fusion: LGBT and Allies of Color
(meeting), 6-7 p.m., Century B room,
EMU, free.
Author reading (Steven Sher, jour
nalism Assistant Professor Carol Ann
Bassett), 6:30 p.m., Eugene Public
Library, free.
College Republican meeting, 6:30-8
p.m., Century D room, EMU, free.
Deaf Film Night, 6:30-8:30 p.m.,
International Lounge, EMU, free.
Jewish Film Festival, 7-10 p.m., 123
Pacific, free.
Readin' in the Rain Festival (Edward
Miyakawa reading), 7 p.m., Browsing
Room, Knight Library, free, 346-4331,
ext. 228.
"Bread and Tulips" (International
Film Series), 7:30 p.m., 122 Pacific,
free, 346-4011.
Prayer meeting (Campus Crusade
for Christ), 7:30-8:30 a.m., Rogue
Room, EMU, free.
"Ten Top Oregon Backcountry Ski
Tours" (Outdoor Program lecture),
7:30 p.m., 177 Lawrence, free,
346-4365.
"War and the Environment" (meet
ing), 7:30 p.m., Training Room, EWEB,
free, 434-1463.
"Piano with Partners" (Chamber Mu
sic Series), 8 p.m., Beall Hall, $12, $22,
$27, 346-4363.
Athletics
continued from page 1
the project, but on this winter day,
it was discussed in detail.
They scoffed.
How could the University, always
in need of more funding, be willing
to shoulder a portion of the money
needed to make such renovations?
The purpose of a University is to
educate, they argued. How, then,
could this be happening?
Perhaps the business of intercol
legiate athletics was getting too big
for its britches, they speculated.
Pretty soon, the answer seemed all
too clear to the three men: Some
thing had to be done.
And while no one at the table
knew it, the faculty members’ en
suing conversation was going to
turn into something very, very big.
The movement
During the past two years, a
movement aimed at slowing the
“arms race” of big-time college ath
letics has grown by leaps and
bounds, and Earl is considered by
many to have fathered the efforts.
Even before BCS bowl games,
branded athletic apparel and Times
Square billboards, members of aca
demia had concerns. Sports were
becoming too commercialized,
some said. Others believed money
had become the focal point in ath
letics; as stadiums, facilities and
contracts grew and grew, so did the
desire to outdo the next program.
Keeping up with the Joneses had
become a problem.
Moreover, faculty concerns were
going unnoticed and unaddressed
because academics across the na
tion had no unified voice.
Finally, and perhaps somewhat
overlooked, \yas the fact that inter
collegiate athletics was straying
from what it should be viewed as —
a positive feature.
“No one is asking for the elimina
tion or reduction of college sports.
Nobody is trying to do that,” Earl
said. “What we’re trying to do is
control the way in which it fits in
within universities.”
Locally, many at the University
had become overwhelmingly tired
of seeing the Athletic Department
grow while academic services suf
fered. The expansion of Autzen
may have been the final straw for
many faculty members, but the
camel’s back was getting weaker
day by day.
A number of faculty members
took issue with a controversial
move that shifted the 2000 Civil
War game from a November date to
a December weekend immediately
before Finals Week. While the Fac
ulty Senate could not do anything,
per se, about the rescheduled
game, it certainly let the University
know of its displeasure.
Some also questioned the S2 mil
lion subsidy given to the Athletic
Department on an annual basis.
Many wanted to see the funding go,
and athletics officials were not op
posed to the idea. With the faculty
push, something finally happened:
The allocation was rescinded.
“I’m certainly glad it got some
thing going,” Earl said. “But here,
locally, we thought the job was
pretty much done that year when
we got the subsidy cut.”
But that was only the beginning.
In May 2001, the University’s
Faculty Senate — led by Earl —
voted to end the exponential
growth of athletic programs and
budgets. In actuality, all the resolu
tion did was put the topic out for
discussion, but many schools fol
lowed suit. Today, a majority of the
schools in the Pacific-10 Confer
ence have adopted similar stances.
Schools in the Big-10 Conference
have joined the surge as well.
Adding to the surge is Myles
Brand, former University of Oregon
and Indiana University president,
who now heads the NCAA. Brand
was very vocal in the need to slow
the growth of college athletics, leav
ing many to look optimistically at
his appointment.
“The path that we are following
... already has led to a growing
sense among members of the pub
lic and even members of the com
munity, that athletic success is
the main goal of too many institu
tions of higher learning,” Brand
said Jan. 23, 2001, when he was
Indiana University’s president.
“We must get off that path. We
must make certain that academic
concerns are first and foremost.
To do that, we don’t have to turn
off the game. We just have to turn
down the volume.”
Others agree.
“The role that (athletics) are
now playing is distorting the initial
goal and has for sometime been
distorting the goals of academics,”
said Bob Eno, Faculty Senate Presi
dent at Indiana University.
To mute the growth of college
sports, Eno said a plan must be de
vised that will allow ample time for
change. The plan, which he and
others have envisioned, would have
a timeline for various projects and
would likely be formatted on a 10
year scale. Ideally, it would list var
ious changes as steps of the plan,
showing what a refined school
should look like.
Faculty Senate presidents at more
than 60 schools have been contact
ed about starting general discussions
about intercollegiate growth — dis
cussions much like those that began
here at the University. To date, Eno
said he has heard back from all but
four schools.
Despite all the progress, though,
he remains reserved.
“The odds are extremely long on
this,” Eno said. “There are enor
mous forces that want to see inter
collegiate athletics grow at the lev
el of professional sports.”
The outlook
Faculty representatives from
across the nation are expected to
sit down for discussions with
trustees and officials from the
NCAA later this year. The meeting,
likely to be held in Chicago, could
come as early as May.
The idea of big-time college
growth will more than likely
resurface locally in upcoming
months, too; University officials
are currently eyeing several loca
tions for a new, multi-million dol
lar basketball arena.
Perhaps it is fitting that dialogue
will circulate once again on the
streets and in the buildings of the
campus area, perhaps a little hum
bling as well.
“It’s a nice feeling, actually,” Earl
said of the movement he began.
But, he acknowledges, there is
still work to be done.
“If there’s a meeting in the
spring, I hope to be there,” Earl said.
Because as all good sagas go,
the quest is never really over un
til it is over.
Contact the news editor
at bradschmidt@dailyemerald.com.
tart
& an evening with Krist Novoseiic of Nirvana
with: Andrea Maxand / DJ Velo / Jade Bassix / Alpha Charlie / Like Breathing
FRIDAY / FEB 21 / 8PM / WOW HALL / EUGENE OR
MUSIC LAW CONFERENCE
TO EXPOSE THE ISSUES THAT CHALLENGE YOUR RIGHT TO HEAR NEW MUSIC
FEB. 21 / University of Oregon School of Law, room 175/ 4-6pm
FEB. 22 / University of Oregon School of Music, Beall Hall / 10am-4:30pm
KRIST NOVOSF.LIC OF NIRVANA
MARK HOSLER OF NEGITVLAND
BOB KRINSKY
LAUREN C. REGAN
CAROL BUSBY
KEITH AOXI
TIM GLEASON
IUDGE KARSTEN H. RASMUSSEN
VINCE CHIAPPETTA
KOHEL HAVER
JOSEPH METCALFE
SEAN HOAR
http://www.law.uoregon.edu/org/self/
Author
Edward Miyakawa
University of Oregon
Knight Library Browsing Room
Tuesday, February 18
7 p.m. * Free
“Tuie Lake”
This historical novel portrays the story of those
Japanese Americans who refused to cooperate.
A free Readin’ in the Rain event.
UNIVERSITY OF OREGON
BOOKSTORE
Information on Edward Miyakawa and other author events online at uobookstore.com
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