10/8/2011: Rachel Bachman of the Oregonian has written a long string of fascinating articles on the business of college athletics. The UO athletics department has been very, very good for her: two weeks ago the Wall Street Journal hired her for their national desk. On her way to NYC she stopped by the Eugene City Club to give a talk. I’m sure the UO athletic department hopes it will be her last visit to Eugene. Kenny Ocker of the ODE has a summary, here’s a quote:
During the Q&A session after her speech, Bachman fielded questions from City Club members, the first of whom — former Oregon offensive and defensive lineman Michael Rose — asked how the University could get out of the cycle of big-budget athletics seeming to loom over its academics.
“I think it begins with what you’re doing today, educating yourself,” Bachman replied. “The power of money has become overpowering in college athletics.”
After the event, Rose commented on why he chose to take part in the discussion.
“I personally believe that the academic part is very important, and I am concerned about some of the changes that are happening in athletics that detract from the students’ ability to be a student,” Rose said.
Rose lauded Bachman’s speech, saying “I thought she gave a good background of what’s been going on the last 10 years, and I think she’s very thoughtful about the subject. I don’t think there’s any easy solutions. We all want easy answers, but there aren’t any in this question — it’s too complex.”
I’m guessing Ms Bachman is not quite done with the goldmine of Duck athletics.
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