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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 6, 2011)
news BY ALAN PITTMAN Booster Bowl It’s Phil Knight vs. Bobby Lowder for championship F orget the millionaire coaches and all those superstar athletes running around, look up to the executive skyboxes. The big championship game between the UO and Auburn Jan. 10 is really a showdown of the two schools’ top boosters: Phil Knight vs. Bobby Lowder. Here’s a matchup of the two public universities’ septuagenarian top power players: POWER Knight — The Oregonian last month gave front- page credit to the secretive Nike billionaire’s “lavish donations” for putting the Ducks in the national championship. The year before, the paper’s sports columnist John Canzano credited the team’s rise to the deep pockets of “Uncle Phil,” saying, “The Knight Ducks could not sustain what they’ve done over the past decade in conference play without Knight.” transparency laws designed to avoid waste, fraud and abuse. Lowder — In 2006, ESPN dubbed the secretive bank Construction of the $250 million basketball arena, the $42 tycoon “the Most Powerful Booster of college sports.” million “jock in the box” learning center and a planned, Lowder “is arguably the most powerful person in the perhaps $100 million new athletic offi ce building, the most state of Alabama, let alone on the Auburn campus.” His expensive and lavish buildings in the state’s history, were all “fi ngerprints have lingered for three decades in the hiring under Knight’s private control without open bids or records. and fi ring of coaches and athletic directors alike — even Knight successfully made a $100 million endowment university presidents.” contribution for the Athletic Department contingent on his demand that the state Legislature quickly vote to approve CONTROL $200 million in state-backed bonds for the new arena. Knight — Knight and top UO offi cials have denied that UO President Richard Lariviere recently warned the sneaker tycoon controls the UO, but in the past two the State Board of Higher Education that the “negative decades, Knight has allegedly used the threat of cutting consequences” to fundraising would be “really, really off contributions to control human rights stands, personnel profound” if it did not immediately approve Knight’s decisions and building construction at the school, according private control of construction of the new athletic offi ce to press reports in The Oregonian and elsewhere. building, The Oregonian reported. After “some of the In 2000, Knight threatened to withhold $35 million starkest ever” warnings about Knight’s power, the state to expand Autzen Stadium because he was angered that board quickly voted yes, according to the paper. student protests had lead the university to join a worker’s Noting the “KGB” secrecy around Knight’s arena rights group critical of Nike sweatshops in Asia. The next deal, Oregonian columnist Steve Duin called the UO year, the UO withdrew from the human rights group and administration “100 percent servile” to Knight. Oregonian Knight’s millions fl owed again to UO athletics. sports columnist Canzano wrote of the UO president, “He’s In 2001 Knight cut off donations to the UO track team got the title, but Knight has the keys.” to protest the coach’s perceived de-emphasis of distance running. The coach soon resigned. Lowder — Lowder and top Auburn offi cials have denied In 2006, Knight criticized the UO athletic director that the banking tycoon controls the public university, but for decisions regarding track and for not retaining a Fortune magazine reported, “Lowder has been accused of staff member Knight favored. Knight said the director’s making backroom deals with governors and treating the perceived failings made him reluctant to contribute to Auburn football program like a private fi efdom.” a new basketball arena. Four months later, the athletic Lowder’s estimated $20 million in contribution’s director resigned with a $1.8 million severance package, to Auburn pales compared to Knight’s estimated $300 reportedly requiring his silence. million, but Lowder’s power comes less from raw cash The AD was replaced by a booster friend of Knight’s than political gamesmanship, ESPN reported. Lowder who quickly rehired Knight’s favored staffer. is Auburn’s longest serving trustee, at 28 years, and Knight has made his private control of building projects chairs the board’s powerful fi nance committee. When a a condition of his donations, evading state open bidding and governor tried to remove him from the position in 1995, “FEED YOUR CRAVINGS!” he contributed $25,000 to a replacement governor who reappointed Lowder and allegedly gave him power over other Auburn trustee appointments, ESPN reported. In 2003 Lowder secretly fl ew the Auburn president and other top offi cials on his private jet in a failed “attempted coup” to recruit a replacement football coach, ESPN reported. The ensuing scandal toppled the Auburn president and athletic director and put the university on probation with its accrediting agency. The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) expressed concern that Lowder controlled the board of trustees through the appointment of his personal and business associates and that the university president did not have “ultimate control over the athletics program,” ESPN reported. When a fellow trustee angered him, Lowder allegedly threatened to have him killed and canceled funding for an economics program he favored, Fortune reported. After the campus newspaper angered Lowder, he allegedly retaliated by moving the journalism department into the communications Lowder school, according to the business magazine. One of the football coaches that Lowder ousted has alleged that Lowder was involved in a pay-for-play recruiting scheme in the past, ESPN reported. Last month, Auburn star Cam Newton was suspended for pay-for-play violations but quickly reinstated (24 hours later, in fact) after the NCAA blamed his father for the scheme. FUTURE Knight — Knight’s power at the UO and in Oregon only appears to be growing. He told The Oregonian last month that he backs a UO plan to create a board of trustees similar to Auburn’s with the power to raise tuition. But he hasn’t given the Legislature an explicit threat that he’ll cut UO contributions unless the plan is approved, yet. Last year, Knight became one of the state’s top political power brokers with more than $600,000 in contributions to Republicans and to oppose taxes on the rich. While the nation suffers record unemployment, Nike’s third world sweatshops are humming with the corporation’s stock up 40 percent in the last three years. Knight’s age, 73 next month, has apparently made him only more powerful as UO offi cials “whisper” about the prospect of getting a large part of his $11 billion estate when the Nike tycoon dies, according to The Oregonian. Lowder — Lowder’s power at Auburn appears to be on the wane, giving Knight the edge in this booster bowl matchup. Lowder recently stepped down from control of Colonial Bank just before federal regulators seized the $26 billion institution in one of the largest bank failures in U.S. history, Fortune reported. The bank and Lowder speculated heavily in the real estate bubble, and Lowder now faces civil and perhaps criminal lawsuits alleging that he mislead investors and regulators, the magazine reported. Lowder lost a personal fortune and $2.8 billion in Federal Deposit Insurance money, but the booster still chair’s the Auburn trustee fi nance committee. ew FEATURING BIG AL’S 20oz PRIME GRADE BONE-IN RIB EYE ED VOT ST BE AK STE 50% OFF A DINNER ENTREE OF EQUAL OR LESSER VALUE WITH THE PURCHASE OF ONE ENTREE & TWO BEVERAGES AT REGULAR PRICE UP TO $15 One Coupon Per Table | Expires Jan. 20, 2011 Not Valid With Any Other Offer ew OPEN FOR DINNER 7 DAYS A WEEK • 683-3108 WWW.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM • BLOGS.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM EUGENE WEEKLY JANUARY 6, 2011 9
