Oregon State athletic director Scott Barnes joined me on the radio show to talk about finances, football and the future of Beavers’ athletics.
Listen to the full interview here.
“Ironically, you’d ask me this at a time when we have more strategy, effort and funding behind us for football improvements than ever in our football history,” Barnes said. “We couldn’t be more excited about what’s going on in our investment.”
A US Department of Education report indicates that Oregon State ranked dead last in the Pac-12 when it comes to funding the football program. Barnes called the data for his athletic department and others in the Pac-12, “apples to oranges.”
Barnes said Oregon State reports differently than others.
I thought it was a clever way to attempt to avoid the issue. The study is extremely specific about the way Oregon State and others should report data. There’s no wiggle room. It’s not really an apples to oranges comparison, it’s a Beavers to Ducks comparison — and Oregon is spending about $11 million more a year on its football program.
It’s obvious that OSU needs to increase season-ticket sales, raise donations and invest more money in football. I think Barnes knows it. Still, he spent a lot of time talking in circles, and maybe that’s what college administrators do, but there were some nuggets buried in the conversation.
On whether coach Jonathan Smith has ability to retain assistants:
“That’s the exact question. Look, I got the No. 1 coach I wanted in Jonathan Smith. Jonathan Smith got in almost every instance who he wanted as his assistants… one of our four pillars is football is continuity in coaches. We will be there, absolutely, and we’re planning on ratcheting that up as needed to create that continuity as our program moves forward.”
On Reser Stadium west side renovation:
“It’s a crumbling asset, the west side. It needs our attention. We’ve spent the last 12-14 months hot on the trail on that. We are in a quiet phase in both feasibility and fundraising, more to come on that, and we couldn’t be happier with our progress and more to come on that. When will that come? We will tie a bow around that in terms of exact timing, but certainly we’re thinking in terms of the next few years for sure.”
On Oregon State’s athletic department $40 million deficit:
“Huge obstacle. I’m really proud of our staff and everybody’s involvement in mitigating that deficit… 2020, we’ll be close to, but not there, close to balanced. That’s light years away from where we were years ago.”
On how much more collaborative the Pac-12 has become in the last year:
“This last 12 months has been transformational in that regard… I think we’re all rowing the boat in the same direction.”
Listen to more here:
———
©2019 The Oregonian (Portland, Ore.)
Visit The Oregonian (Portland, Ore.) at www.oregonian.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Like us on Facebook to see similar stories
Please give an overall site rating: