Oregon State University’s General Manager walked into the Athletic Director’s office on Thursday afternoon and submitted a letter with his formal resignation.
Kyle Bjornstad threw in the keys.
He was previously the founder of Dam Nation — the official NIL collective of Beavers’ sports — and sold the operation to Blueprint Sports last summer for six figures.
The details of the operating agreement between the third-party and the school have raised eyebrows and angst in the fan base. Bjornstad is a former OSU athlete and long-time staff member in Corvallis. His departure after a 20-year relationship with the university is bound to spark additional hand-wringing.
Why is he quitting? Who will assume his duty as the GM of the sports operation? And what does Bjornstad have to say about the revenue split between the new NIL operation and OSU?
I went in search of answers.
“We kicked ass with very little support from the school,” Bjornstad told me on Friday. “Everybody can hide behind, ‘The schools aren’t allowed to help the NIL collectives.’ Please. All the schools do it.”