Pat Kilkenny: Nice Man

For those of you not a part of O Nation, the University of Oregon recently hired a new athletic director to replace outgoing AD Bill Moos. More on that in a second, but first I want to pass along this story regarding Kilkenny's inexplicably generous gesture to the student body. Apparently, a good number of U of O students were camping out outside the Casanova Center the other night to get their hands on the 55 tickets for the NCAA tournament made available to students (a tenth of the total alotment, per policy). Kilkenny showed up in the morning with his wife and not only presented them with an insane amount of donuts and coffee, he also announced that all of the tickets would be paid for...by him. Not only that, Kilkenny would foot the bill for a chartered bus to take the students to Spokane for the Ducks' first round game against Miami (OH) and, hopefully, their second round game against the Domer/Winthrop winner. All told, that's about 6 grand out of his pocket, and another 3 grand if the O advances to the second round.

Granted, this isn't that big of a deal for a guy as well off as Kilkenny. He sold his San Diego-based Arrowhead General Insurance Agency in 2006 with premiums upwards of $1 billion. He also happens to be one of the U of O's biggest boosters. The south plaza at Autzen Stadium is called the Pat Kilkenny South Plaza. This may get you wondering: how did Pat Kilkenny, a booster with no AD experience, get the job at Oregon? Well, it started when he paid outgoing AD Bill Moos $1.8 million to step down. Nobody really knows why exactly but it probably has something to do with Moos' inability to make headway when it comes to the basketball program's new arena project. For about 5 years, Moos has been trying to get money together to build the new arena but fundraisers have left for greener pastures and planning has stalled. Kilkenny has stated that the arena project is one of his main focuses.

So if you followed that correctly, you will realize that our biggest booster was pissed that Moos wasn't making progress in regards to the arena, so he paid Moos to leave. Then he was hired by UO President Dave Frohnmayer. Some may call this shady. The guy essentially pays for the job. And he's a booster nonetheless. Shouldn' t the NCAA be a tad bit concerned that a booster is leading the athletic department at a major institution, especially in an era where boosters have been known to pay high school coaches to get their kids to go to, say, Alabama? When boosters have more control over what goes with a team than the AD himself? And now one of these evil-doers has the keys to the mansion? Yes, some would call it shady. What would I call it? Brilliant!

And how could you not? Who has a more vested interest in the success of the program than the guy who has paid boatloads of cash to get practice facilities and stadium additions and locker rooms built? This is like having a fan in the driver's seat. It's perfect and I am a big proponent of the move. Kilkenny has a chance to really shake things up. What does he have to worry about? His future as AD? He was only given a two-year contract. And what's going to happen if it isn't extended? What does he care? He has millions and millions of dollars in the bank to play with.

This really seems like an owner situation. Bob Toledo, while coaching at UCLA, once said that Phil Knight was the best owner in college sports. It was meant to be humorous, and it was, even to people here at the O who have witnessed the transformation from a simple University in Eugene to Nike U. Now, someone may make the comment that Pat Kilkenny is the best owner in college sports and it won't be humorous. It will be true! He footed the bill for student tickets. What's to stop him from footing at least part of the bill for the new arena? Moos couldn't get it done, so Pat will do it himself, with his own cash! That would probably be the dirtiest situation in the history of college sports. Think about it: the athletic director single-handedly paying for a new arena. Frankly, this could really get ugly. Or it could be a home run.

How many of us have thought to ourselves: if I were running things we would be sooooooo much better? That's right, all of us. Now the University of Oregon has a fan, not just a bureaucratic hand-waver, in charge. He represents us, even if we can't relate to his fabulous wealth. But we can relate to his love of Oregon athletics, and I can't wait to see where this goes.