athletics

You can watch a clip of UO President Richard Lariviere talk about academics and athletics with reporter Todd Milbourn of KVAL, here. And you can ask Lariviere questions Friday at 5:30 at Cosmic Pizza. Be nice. Remember, Frohnmayer would run and hide, and if you caught him he’d lie. We don’t want to scare the new guy away.

The NYT has a story about the athletics scandal at SUNY Binghampton:

Nobody pushed the vision of athletic success more than Lois B. DeFleur, the university’s president since 1990, and Joel Thirer, the athletic director. They shepherded a move to Division I, college basketball’s highest level, over the concerns of many faculty members in 1991 and spearheaded the construction of a $33 million arena. They dismissed the team’s longtime coach, Al Walker, in 2007 in favor of Kevin Broadus, an assistant at Georgetown, who brought an aggressive edge to recruiting players. … Binghamton admitted one player with an arrest record and others from academically suspect high schools. … When objections were raised, Ms. DeFleur reasoned that Binghamton was undergoing an “experiment,” the report said, and she cast the lower admission standards as part of the university’s effort for more diversity. … The investigation cost $913,381 and was led by Judith S. Kaye, the former chief judge of the New York Court of Appeals.

Only one player with an arrest record? No convictions? Only $33 million on the Arena? These guys are amateurs. The NYT also has an editorial on this today:

College presidents who dream of building powerhouse sports teams should read the new report on the basketball program at Binghamton University. Based on an investigation overseen by Judith Kaye, New York State’s former chief judge, it shows how a runaway sports program can poison campus life, make a mockery of academic values and leave the administration’s reputation in ruins. … Binghamton’s president announced her retirement last month, citing family reasons. College presidents clearly need to be held fully accountable for their sports programs. …

Obviously none of this resembles what is happening at Oregon in anyway.