Dev Sinha to replace O’Fallon as NCAA Faculty Athletics Representative?

6/14/2013: President Gottfredson has to decide who will replace retired UO law professor Jim O’Fallon very soon. O’Fallon has been the FAR for 23 years – since back when he actually was faculty – without ever going through a performance review. This is a clear violation of OUS rules, and in addition the 2004 UO Task Force Report on Athletics – signed by Dave Frohnmayer and then AD Bill Moos – specifically called for a review of O’Fallon.

Bullet point #2:

This never happened. O’Fallon’s contract is hereHis current deal is set to expire in two weeks: 


The FAR job is a pretty sweet one for a professor who likes sports and junkets to the UO games – paid for out of the academic budget of course. Rumor down at the faculty club horse barn is that the jockeying to replace O’Fallon has begun in earnest. Prominent among likely contenders would be former Intercollegiate Athletics Committee chair Dev Sinha, who recently demonstrated his loyalty to the Ducks with this impassioned 32 page powerpoint to the UO Senate, opposing the motion to get the athletic department to follow Task Force recommendation #1 on contributions to the academic side (posted with permission):

You can catch Dev’s lengthy speech to the Senate, cut short by President Kyr out of mercy to the Senate and Prof Sinha, here:


Unfortunately for professor Sinha the motion to end the subsidies and start the contributions passed 19 to 4, so it seems unlikely the Senate would be happy with his appointment. 
Other likely contenders include UO law professor Rob Illig, in his second year on the IAC, and biology professor and former IAC Chair and UO representative to the Coalition on Intercollegiate Athletics Nathan Tublitz. Or President Gottfredson could appoint longtime Duck booster Lorraine Davis, an AD designee to the IAC who never shows her face, and whose current contracts are also set to expire in a few weeks: