Sports Editor
Peter Hockaday
peterhockaday@dailyemerald.com
Tuesday, April 8,2003
-Oregon Daily Emerald
Sports
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5:30 p.m., KEVU
Economic
principles
illuminate
Brand plan
The discipline of colleges and uni
versities is in general contrived, not for
the benefit of the students, butfor the in
terest, or more properly speaking, for
the ease of the masters. ”
—Adam Smith,
“The Wealth of Nations”
The great economist Adam Smith
surely wasn’t speaking of the college ath
lete when he wrote that sentence in
1776.
But as Syracuse
and Kansas battled
down to the wire for
the NCAA title
Monday night, as
Gingular Wireless
and Coca-Cola rang
little cash-register
bells for the NCAA
during breaks in the
action, the much
larger issue of aca
demic integrity
loomed over March
Madness.
And the issue is
all economics, baby.
I know, I know. You slept through econ
and filled out all “C”s on the midterm
scantron. And now you’re wondering
what the Nash Equilibrium and Adam
Smith have to do with basketball.
Here it is: Adam Smith would hate the
NCAA for its convoluted view of econom
ics. College athletes are the bearded
ladies at the carnival, used for their en
tertainment value and nothing else.
They’re not paid with the green stuff
so, supposedly, athletes receive an edu
cation as comeuppance for their role in
The Show.
Yeah, right.
According to NCAA numbers, 60 per
cent of all students who entered universi
ties in 1995-96 graduated within six
years. But only 34 percent of men’s bas
ketball players graduated during that
span, and 50 percent of football players
graduated.
Those numbers are skewered like a
shish kebab. When athletes transfer or go
pro early, they’re counted against a
school’s graduation rate. So when
schools like Oklahoma have a zero per
cent graduation rate for their men’s bas
ketball programs, it could mean that of a
three-member recruiting class, one play
er went pro and two transferred.
But in economics you learn numbers
don’t lie, and the numbers are, across the
nation, lower than Christina Aguilera’s
neckline.
So here comes former Oregon and cur
rent NCAA President Myles Brand to the
rescue. Brand wants to put the student
back in student-athlete. For this, some
call him looney tunes. I call him Sparta
cus.
The first-year president has proposed
widespread academic reforms that will
sweep across the plains of this nation,
through the cities and right to the top of
every ivy-covered clock tower at every
university. His proposals call for ham
mering schools that don’t meet rigid ac
ademic standards, forcing them to skip
revenue-raking postseason events or los
ing scholarships, the blood pumping
through a team’s veins.
Turn to Hockaday, page 14
Peter
Hockaday
Two minutes for
crosschecking
GeoffThurner Oregon Media Services
Nicole Feest had success in cross country and is now starring in track.
Freshmen make
early track impact
Oregon has a class of 10
freshmen and three, especially,
setting the precedent for the
future of Duck track and field
Women’s track
Jesse Thomas
Sports Reporter
Amidst the veteran leadership and
dominance, the Oregon women’s track
and field team has some new freshman
in the ranks including Nicole Feest, Whit
ney Gum and Sara Schaaf.
Among the 10 baby Ducks entering
the squad, Feest is considered the team’s
top distance-running recruit for 2003.
Feest was the top newcomer in cross
country, scoring in three meets and run
ning in six of seven races.
The Lombard, 111., native found instant
success on the trails as she won the
Beaver Classic and finished 26th in the
Willamette Invite.
“It’s prepared my physically and al
lowed my eyes to see what Division I is
like,” Feest said of her cross country
experiences.
Feest owns a personal best of 10 min
utes, 59 seconds in the 3,200-meters, ran
in her senior year. She is expected to fo
cus primarily on the 5,000while also run
ning the 1,500.
“She’s really enthusiastic, aggressive
and not afraid to run a lot of miles,” Ore
gon head coach Tom Heinonen said. “It’s
been fun and she’s running well. ”
Gum is Oregon’s top addition in the
shot put and discus and is expected to
add even more depth to the already-deep
throwing squad.
The Billings, Mont., native was state
champion her senior year
in 2002 in the shot put and discus and
owns personal bests of 44
feet, 5 inches and 126-7 in the respec
tive events.
Gum was a team captain in track
and field, a National Honor Society
member and earned valedictorian
honors at graduation. Her experiences
at Oregon have been exciting, yet also
frustrating as she hasn’t thrown her
high school marks thus far.
“I have got close with the throwers and
its been great,” Gum said. “They are my
mentors and also my friends. I wanted to
come out and be stronger but it is a learn
ing experience.”
Schaaf is expected to make an impact
this year in the sprints as she redshirted
the 2001-02 season recovering from a fe
mur stress fracture at the end of the cross
country season.
In her first year, Schaaf focused prima
rily in the distances and it has been a
challenge for her to transfer to the
shorter distances.
“Last year was completely on the
other end of the spectrum,” Schaaf
said. “It’s been difficult because I am
now with the sprints but I am really en
joying myself.”
The Klamath Falls native is a former
Oregon 4A state champion in the 800
and 400. Schaaf won the 800 in 2001
and the 400 in 2000 and owns personal
bests of 2:12 and 55.73 in both events.
She did see some action late last sea
son in the Oregon Invitational and Ore
gon Twilight placing 13th and sixth, re
spectively, in the 800.
Schaaf is expected to focus on the
400,800 and 4x400 relay but could po
tentially move up and down the dis
tance spectrum as needed.
Turn to Track, page 14
Golfers fourth after two California rounds
Senior Chris Carnahan sits tied for eighth overall at the 57th
annual Western Intercollegiate in Santa Cruz, Calif.
Men’s golf
Scott Archer
Freelance Sports Reporter
With a possible bid to the NCAA West Regionals on the line in the next
four Duck tournaments, the Oregon men’s golf season seems to be coming
together at the right moment.
For the first time in the spring portion of its 2002-03 season, the Ducks
are in position to have a top-five finish. Currently, Oregon is tied with Pa
cific for fourth overall, after a 578 combined first and second round score.
The 57th annual Western Intercollegiate tournament is being hosted by
the San Jose State Spartans at the 6,445-yard, par-70 Pasatiempo Golf
Course in Santa Cruz, Calif.
The Ducks were led on Monday by senior Chris Carnahan, who currendy
is in a five-way tie for eighth place after shooting a 72 in the first round, fol
lowed by a two-over-par second round. Junior Mike Sica is currendy tied for
16th overall at four-over-par, but shot a second round even par. Oregon is usu
ally led by senior John Ellis, who shot an opening-round one-under-par 69,
followed up with a seven-over-par 77 in the second round.
Redshirt freshman Kyle Johnson, who is making his first tournament
appearance with varsity since the Oct. 7-8 Club Grove Intercollegiate,
concluded the first and second rounds tied for 50th overall after shooting
an 11-over 151. Johnson was added to the roster after finishing eighth
overall two weeks ago in the Oregon Duck Invitational. Johnson competed
as an independent, earning a spot on Oregon’s five-man varsity squad.
Five Duck varsity members compete at a time.
Freshman Gregg LaVoie rounds out the scoring for the Ducks, currently
tied at 57th overall after scoring a 12-over 152.
Leading the tournament is No. 10 UCLA, which currently holds a 13
stroke lead over current second place leader UC-Irvine, after shooting a
team score three-over-par 563. Texas El Paso sits in third place, one stroke
behind UC-Irvine.
The Ducks are currently two strokes behind UC-Irvine for second place,
as UCLA has distanced themselves from the rest of the field.
Emerald
john Ellis dropped with a second-round 77at Oregon's tournament.
Steve Conway of UCLA carded a 72 and 67 to pace the tourna
ment-leading Bruins. However, Conway is currently tied with Texas
El Paso’s Dan Swanson at one-under-par 139. All 13 competitors that
are in the top-10 individually are only three strokes behind leaders
Conway and Swanson.
Oregon finished last year’s tournament sixth overall and looks to keep
its streak of three consecutive top-six finishes at this venue alive today.
The final begins at 8 a.m.
Scott Archer is a freelance writer for the Emerald.