Oregon athletics have been VERY good lately but that is largely because of the financial and other support of one VERY wealthy alum who happens to be 80+ years old. Phil Knight isn't going to live forever and there is no guarantee that Oregon's athletics will continue to perform at their recent level without his backing.
We we added a school from a fairly low-population state that has dubious long-term athletic prospects and terrible academics. WTF?
Phil Knight's age is a great point. Does Nike’s bankrolling stop after Uncle Phil's ashes are sifted over a Kaepernick jersey?
Guessing Knight leaves a sizeable portion of his estate to Oregon's athletic department?
Another point where Oregon is more than fortunate is with coaching hires given how often they leave:
-Chip Kelly 4 years;
46–7; 2009 - 12
-Mark Helfrich (fired) 4 years;
37–16; 2013 - 16
-Willie Taggart 1 year;
7-5; 2017
-Mario Cristobal 4 years;
35–13; 2018 - 21
-And Dan Lanning (10–3) is a goner once the first big Southern job calls
None remained beyond the graduation cycle of their first recruiting class yet despite those self-sustaining W/L trends, it's asking a lot to continue hiring as routinely well once Oregon takes on the B1G.
And beware, Duck (and Huskies) fans make for a thinned skinned, overmedicated, plant-based, neurodiverse, infantile, and insufferably whiny fanbase:
