4/7/2010: From Rachel Bachman in the Oregonian: “This institution did not follow acceptable business practices in the past,” Lariviere said. “That will not be repeated under my administration.” and Greg Bolt in the RG: The university’s legal department late last month said it didn’t realize that there was no contract…
UO Matters
4/6/2010: There will be a lot of attention paid today to the unusual verbal contract which, apparently, Frohnmayer and Kilkenny negotiated with Bellotti with the help of UO General Counsel Melinda Grier – leaving President Lariviere holding the bag. Here’s another case of the sort of sweetheart deals that have…
4/6/2010: From reporter John Hunt in The Oregonian: Are you a donor with money still burning a hole in your pocket? Do you feel those nine months went by so quickly that you haven’t adequately thanked Mike Bellotti for his work as athletic director? Well, for $75 a plate, you…
4/5/2010: College athletics produces millions in revenue, and all the profits go to the coaches and athletic directors. This happens because the NCAA acts as a hiring cartel, preventing the athletes from negotiating a better deal – even on such basics as living and medical expenses. The National College Player’s…
4/4/2010: From Bill Graves in the Oregonian: SALEM – Higher education officials today reviewed options for dealing with a shortage of money for need-based state college scholarships next year, the results of miscalculations that led to too many grants this year. … The commission expects to have about $32 million…
4/4/2010: Lots of hits and lots of comments on the payoff stories, some from people who sound like they know something. Lariviere will have a news conference Tuesday, and maybe he will tell the truth about what happened. George Schroeder of the RG has a column calling for more transparency…
4/3/2010: A reader points us to this devastating analysis of the Bellotti payoff, by Ted Sickinger of the Oregonian. I think it’s unfair to blame this on Lariviere, it’s got Frohnmayer’s fingerprints all over it. The University of Oregon’s $2.3 million golden handshake for resigning athletic director and former football…
4/3/2010: Apparently Larviere gets back from his trip on Tuesday. People are expecting some fireworks. Meanwhile, Frohnmayer’s proposed new funding model for UO is a likely casualty of the Bellotti misadventure. UO needs more adult supervision, not less. I’m not saying that the OUS Board is qualified to do this,…
4/2/2010: It’s hard to keep up with the plethora of stories on the Bellotti payoff. In the RG David Steves and Christian Wihtol have a long detailed story that concludes with a partial list of the contradictions in Melinda Grier’s everchanging stories. Whitol has another story looking at contracts for…
4/1/2010: So far no reporter has been able to get Dave Frohnmayer to comment on the Bellotti payoff. Weird, because Dave obviously had a central role in the “verbal agreement,” and loves talking to reporters. But maybe he’s realized that since he’s still on the books as UO “President Emeritus”…
4/1/2010: From Mike Tokhito in the Oregonian: “In light of these circumstances and disclosures, I’ve requested the director of internal audit, Patricia Snopkowski, to review the agreement and the circumstances surrounding its execution, in order to assure that all applicable laws, rules and board policies have been met,” George Pernsteiner,…
4/1/2010: At this point I think the most likely version is that Lariviere fired Bellotti for mismanagement (the AD deficit, players gone wild, and other things that haven’t yet made the papers). The $2.3 million is Bellotti’s buyout package. A commenter points me to this Ken Goe story in the…
4/1/2010: From the RG letters: What do administrators do? So what could be worse than some Duck football players who beat up their girlfriends, steal stuff, get drunk, do drugs, etc.? I mean, really? What could be worse? Well, I think I know: certain people who get $2.3 million in…
3/31/2010: FWIW, UO General Counsel and Oregon Special Assistant Attorney General Melinda Grier tries to explain things to the OUS Chancellor and Board President, prior to the board meeting tomorrow, which now has this item as #1 on the agenda. Her letter below is courtesy of the Oregonian. From my…
3/31/2010: The RG editors have endorsed Attorney General Kroger’s review of UO’s $2.3 million payment to Bellotti: … One thing seems clear before justice officials begin their review: The manner in which the university handles its athletic department contracts and other financial dealings is disturbingly informal and secretive. Head coaches…