Canzano: Donors have tiger by tail in college sports
Is it healthy? Discuss.
Years ago, Bob De Carolis told me he was playing with a disadvantage. The Oregon State athletic director had to make 100 phone calls to raise the same amount of money that Bill Moos, his counterpart at the University of Oregon, made with a single call.
Moos had Phil Knight.
De Carolis had a phone bill.
That said, the OSU AD argued that, in some ways, his model was healthier. More balanced donor funding meant he wasn’t beholden to a single person any more than others. Nobody needed to be consulted before making major decisions. There were still voices in the room, but they were much softer ones, he said.
Cody Campbell’s voice in this Texas Tech gambling mess jarred that memory. The Red Raiders have been mired in crisis-management mode for weeks. Campbell, a billionaire who made his money in oil, issued a public statement on the matter on Tuesday, calling it a “horrible situation.”
He’s also calling for reform in college athletics. He’s not wrong. There are glaring problems. But I find it interesting that Campbell’s voice is so loud in all this. A guy who donated $25 million to rebuild the Red Raiders football stadium has become the Texas Tech athletic department proxy CEO and university spokesperson.
Knight and Moos worked well together for a blink. Things went off the rails in 2004, however. Moos’ name was associated with the AD vacancy at Washington. He was asked about it in a radio interview, and he didn’t shoot it down.
Moos was speaking at an event in Portland for boosters not long after. Knight was in the crowd. As Moos was introduced and made his way to the stage, Knight stood, cupped his hands around his mouth, and let loose with a “BOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooo!!!”