OSU Baseball is Coming Soon!

In just a little over one month the OSU Baseball team will be in Portland for the Pape Grand Slam against Tennessee. Can't wait for the sound of the ball hitting the bat to start all over again.

Here is a little something to get you fired up for the upcoming season. GO BEAVERS!

Fundraising Takes You Out of Your Comfort Zone

I enter the north side of Reser Stadium before each Oregon State Football home game even though my season tickets are on the south side of the stadium.

The first time I did this was right after the completion of the renovation of the north side in 2005. Now it has become my tradition. I enter the center gates and proceed straight threw to the student section and walk around the inside of the stadium to my seats on the south side. I marvel at how cool the north side of Reser looks from the inside and outside and think back to the days when the north side of Parker Stadium was so small that it could have been confused for a Texas High School Stadium.

For me the walk around the inside of Reser Stadium is a great way to get a feel for the excitement of the day and get pumped up for the upcoming game. I appreciate the efforts of so many who were involved in bringing these improvements to the football stadium.

Historic Gill Coliseum is just finishing up a renovation of the exterior and interior. I have not yet seen the inside of the renovated Gill and plan to attend a game soon. I have heard many positive comments on the new look and feel inside Gill and I look forward to seeing the improvements first hand.

The latest conversations I have heard revolve around the completion of the Gill Annex on the West side of Gill to provide practice facilities for the basketball programs as well as other programs in search of practice facilities. Also, many would like to see Reser Stadium completed to the planed 54,000 seat capacity that would bring Oregon State onto a level playing field in stadium capacity with other PAC-10 schools. The Softball team wants lights on their field as well as locker rooms. Other Oregon State Athletic teams need room to practice, new equipment and transportation.

All of these things take money and much of it has to come from people like you and me. As generous as the Reser family and Valley families have been it takes the continued contributions of everyone in Beaver Nation to keep Oregon State at the forefront of Pac-10 schools in recruiting top athletes to our sports programs.

I do not know how many current living alumni Oregon State has, but if we say there are 50,000 alumni out there and each one gave $10 a year, that is a half million dollars towards these projects. But if only 6,000 alums give then it takes $84 a year to raise the same amount of money.

Now obviously these projects would take far more money then that to accomplish. But we can also give more then $10 per year to our athletic programs. When you realize that the Gill Annex expansion might cost $10 million or more to complete the need for more alumni and fans to give is even more obvious.

If you buy a short case of beer every weekend that is $12 to $15 a week. If you don’t buy that short case one weekend every month and donate that $15 a month to the Athletics program. That $10 per year suddenly becomes $180 per year per person. Multiply that by 50,000 alumni and that equals $9,000,000 per year to the athletic program.

With that type of involvement and contribution from alumni the Beavers could really get their wish list done in a short amount of time. Especially if you add in the money that comes from the major donors.

Asking people to give money to programs is something that none of us like to do. It takes you out of your comfort zone. Smiling at people while you ask them to give to a cause that they might not support. But the fact is if you take the time to talk with them and explain how it will help. Most people will give if you approach it the right way.

I am involved in our high school boosters program and I am constantly fundraising to raise money for new seating, new championship banners, field improvements and more. I am constantly forced to go back to the same people who continually give to our programs. But in the end I get the project done.

How much easier would it be if everyone made a single small sacrifice and gave to their school? We would not have to write the big checks once or twice a year but just a small check each month or drop that $10 bill in a can at the home game.

Ask yourself the next time you see an ad for Oregon State Athletics, “How can I help support Oregon State Athletics?”

Can I give up two Starbucks coffees a month and give that money to Oregon State?

Why not give the pop can money you take back each fall from tailgating back to the school?

Give that $15 for beer back to OSU Athletics.

If you want Oregon State Athletics to compete at a National Level and be successful, we need to contribute to the process. So the next time a person steps on your toes on the south side of Reser trying to get through to their seats. The next time you wonder why the seat your sitting in at Gill is broken. Or the next time Oregon State loses a mens or womens basketball game. Ask yourself if you have done everything you can to help make it better.

Can Oregon Support Two Marquee Universities Part 2

Part 2

So how does Oregon State University change the current status quo within the State of Oregon?

All 4 of the universities discussed are nationally known and respected in their own right but if you were to go around the nation and ask people to name one college from each state the answer you will receive will be Oklahoma and Oregon.

In my opinion the reason for this is two fold but both reasons revolve around money and who has it and how is it being used.

First, the success of each schools football programs.

Football is the highest profile and most expensive athletic program any school runs. Football is also the biggest revenue producer of any athletic sport. So the school that can get more fans to a game the more money their programs will have.

Oregon’s football program has been successful for a longer period of time currently then Oregon State. Oregon went to the Rose Bowl in 1995, 2010 and has been to 23 bowl games. Seventeen of those since 1989.

Oregon State was successful in the sixties but then went through 28 consecutive losing seasons before finally breaking through in 1999 and going to the Oahu Bowl. Oregon State has been to 16 bowl games with 9 of those coming since 1999.

Each school has one Rose Bowl victory with Oregon State last winning the game in 1942. And each school has one BCS Bowl victory with Oregon winning the 2002 Fiesta Bowl.

Second, how each university markets their programs to the nation.

Oregon has a more aggressive marketing department and has access to more funding in part because of its continued athletic success and also because of contributions from donors. In addition the University of Oregon is famous for the edgier style and glamour of their marketing campaigns. The frequently spend money on large signage in major cities as well as billboard space around Oregon. Multiple Uniform combinations by the football team, as stupid as it sounds to most of us, gets Oregon media attention around the nation. The Duck mascot is regular on ESPN currently. As successful as their football team has been the last 20 years it was the track program and Steve Prefontaine that brought national attention to the school.

Oregon State marketing efforts are less then effective, in my opinion, at getting the best that the school has to offer out to the nation and the state. Part of the reason comes back to funding. OSU’s marketing department may not be as well funded as Oregon’s and the other part is they seem to be not as creative as Oregon. The current “I am Orange” campaign is an example of the typical lack luster campaign that OSU has run in the past. I believe the name “I am Orange” is a good start but the content of the campaign is not fulfilling the need. It does not excite the casual fan that should be the primary goal of any campaign.

Oregon State has many attributes that can be brought to national media attention. The “I am Orange” campaign can focus on what makes OSU a great place to attend college from the restaurants downtown to activities around town and on campus. A student’s perspective to go with the “I am Orange” title.

New media campaigns that can compliment the “I am Orange” campaign can highlight the growth and success of not just football but the tradition of basketball, the success of baseball, the facilities with videos that are feature quick cuts and edgy music. Similar to what you see at Reser Prior to football games.

Other ideas for campaigns could feature alumni at games and the fun they have attending games. Perhaps called “AGEnt ORANGE”.

The Bottom Line

The bottom line of this question comes down to one simple fact I think. People.

The school that captures the most fans wins the race. When you look back at all the facts laid out here there is little to differentiate the two schools other then money. Money comes from two sources. The State and the Fans.

Each school receives similar amounts of money from the state so that leaves the fans.

Each school has a similar number of alumni that contribute to their fan base as well as similar student body numbers. At Oregon State the alumni and students need to step up and better attend events. Campaigns, such as those stated prior could help drive more of these fans to the table.

That leaves only one thing - “The Outsider”. Otherwise known as the fair-weather fan or band-wagon fan. The person who has no ties to either school. This is the person that affectively controls which school will sell the most tickets, make the most money and thereby be the marquee school in each state.

The State of Oregon, like Oklahoma, does not have a large population base and what we have is dispersed out over a fairly large state geographically. Given that the majority of the population of any state is not interested enough in college sports to spend the money to buy tickets when they can get all the football they want on TV. That leaves a small percentage of each states population for the schools to try and win over to their side. And with the fair weather fan, that is done by winning games and by being high profile in your marketing.

So where does this leave us? Until Oregon State can capture the attention of “The Outsider” type of fan they will always be considered the other D1 school in the state. It is that 10,000 to 15,000 fans that help buy the extra season tickets to fill a stadium, sell more apparel, donate funds and allow a program to continue to build its athletic programs and the facilities needed to attract the best players. By attracting more fair-weather fans you will also capture back more of your base fans because they too are excited by what they see. This allows the university to spend more money on their marketing to help attract the people who just want to be involved in something exciting.

Now that does not mean that OSU will not be successful at sports. The last ten years have shown that both schools can be successful at sports. Both have won National Championships in sports the last ten years and both continue to contend for PAC-10 championships in football and other sports.

But the simple fact is that until Oregon State can
Finish Reser Stadium,
Put more butts in the seats at Reser and Gill
Bring more glamour, excitement and championships to their Football program and other sports like Basketball & Baseball.

They will continue to be the lower profile program in the opinion of many in this state and around the country.

So we can either accept the fact that we will not be the glamour school and just go about our business and win games and compete or we can change the atmosphere on campus and around the state by being more aggressive in marketing the school and sports programs.

Personally I think Oregon State can be the Marquee School in Oregon but only if our alumni and students want to step up to the table and support the programs at least as well as Oregon does by attending games. We will have to work harder to gain back what we have lost over the last few decades, but Oregon State has what it takes to be that program and I for one will continue to do what I can to support her.

GO BEAVERS!

Can Oregon Support Two Marquee Universities

Part 1 Today, Part 2 Tomorrow

Today I start a 2 part series asking the question “Can Oregon Support Two Marquee Universities and what is Oregon States Future?

As a preface to this post let it be known (if you don't already know this) that I am a true blue, bleed orange Oregon State University FANATIC! I love my Beavers no matter what. I hope for the day when all Oregon State athletic teams can be on the national scene. That we have facilities that rival any in the nation. For our teams to be playing for championships regularly and for everyone to want to be a part of Beaver Nation.

It is not my intent to paint a gloomy future. Just to state the reality that a state can have successful programs but only one marquee program at a time. And the fact that with similar alumni bases each school must contend for the bandwagon fan for additional ticket revenue. Those fans are attracted by winning and by the glamour or stature a program has. Why do the Dallas Cowboys have so many fans around the nation? They have had success and they are glamorous. Same with the Yankees, Lakers etc.

The time has come to take an honest look at the current status of the Oregon State University / University of Oregon situation when it comes to sports and where the Beavers stand with the people of the State of Oregon first and foremost.

To start this I want to make a comparison of Oregon College Sports and Oklahoma College Sports. The two states have many similarities and may render a clearer picture of the current situation in Oregon. In fact the similarities between the two states and universities are surprisingly similar as you will see.

Oklahoma

The State of Oklahoma is roughly the same size as Oregon with similar vast areas of open land. Oklahoma is just under 70,000 square miles in size with a population of 3.6 million. Oklahoma currently has 67 colleges and universities of various sizes within its borders.

The Marquee school in the state of Oklahoma is University of Oklahoma in Norman Oklahoma (population 107,000) with a student body of approx. 30,000. The University of Oklahoma has won 18 NCAA National Championships and 7 National Championships in Football (Note Football National Championships are not Award by the NCAA). The NCAA Records show an additional 9 National Titles won by Oklahoma in football but these are not recognized by the university (according to information online). Memorial Stadium seats 82,112 fans and UO averages 103.61% of capacity at all home games. Oklahoma is considered one of the nation’s premier football programs.

The other major university in the state is Oklahoma State University in Stillwater Oklahoma (population 39,000) and it is a land grant university. Oklahoma State has a student body of approx. 25,000 students. Oklahoma State has 10 conference titles in football and has been to 19 bowl games. Boone Pickens Stadium holds approx. 60,218 fans. The current record attendance is 58,516 and the stadium and never been sold out at its current capacity. Oklahoma State Uni. has won 49 team NCAA Championships. Of those 44 are in Wrestling (34) and Golf (10). None in football.

Accomplishing goals takes money. Oklahoma State University recently received $165 million dollar donation from a single donor and has rebuilt their football program this past decade after years of struggle. Oklahoma does not rely as much on a single donor as many generous donors and has rich history of success to bring in these many generous donors.

Oregon

The State of Oregon is approx. 98,500 square miles in size with a population of 3.7 million people. Oregon currently has 57 colleges and universities of various sizes in the state. Similar to Oklahoma, Oregon has two major Division 1 Colleges.

The University of Oregon is located in Eugene Oregon (Population 154,600) and has a student body of 22,386. By most accounts the University of Oregon is the highest profile college in the State of Oregon. UO has won 16 NCAA National Championships, 1 Basketball, 8 Cross Country, 7 Track & Field. Football is played at Autzen Stadium which has an official capacity of 54,000 and their average attendance for the 2009 season was 58,514. The Stadium record was set this year at 59,597. This is 108% of capacity.

Oregon State University is located in Corvallis Oregon (Population 51,110) and is one of 73 land grant universities in the world. Oregon State is also a Sea-grant, space-grant and sun-grant school. One of only 2 schools to have all four. Oregon State in 2009 has record enrollment of 21,969 students. Oregon State has 3 National Championships, Cross-country in 1961 and Baseball in 2006, 2007. Football is played at Reser Stadium which has a capacity of 45,672 fans and their average attendance was 42,500 for the 2009 season (93% of capacity). The Stadium record is 46,319.

Again money is the issue. The University of Oregon recently received a $100 million donation from a single generous donor and has a longer streak of success with its football and basketball teams. Oregon State is having success at football after many years of futility which depleted the fan base but has several dedicated major alumni donors and the fan base is increasing. The major donors for both schools are very generous and both schools could not compete in todays athletic environment without their generous and continued support.

The point of this information is to compare these schools and try and answer the question. Can a State the size of Oklahoma or Oregon have two Marquee Athletic programs at the D1 level?

Each of these schools alumni number in the 100’s of thousands. Each university has a long list distinguished alumni from athletics to academics and is well respected for the quality of their educational programs.

Can a State like Oregon support two marquee universities? In the case of Oklahoma that answer would have to be no. Oklahoma is clearly the major marquee university in the state. And in the case of Oregon the answer I am afraid would have to be no as well. The University of Oregon is clearly the marquee university at this time. So how do we change that and can we?

See Part 2 Tomorrow.

Pete Carroll to Seahawks, Mike Riley Signs Contract Extension

Pete Carroll made it official that he is leaving the USC Trojans and going back into the NFL to coach the Seattle Seahawks. Reports say the Carroll will have control over player personnel decisions and will make a reported 35 million dollars over the next 5 years.

With the news the Pete Carroll was leaving USC rumors were that USC wanted Mike Riley from Oregon State as their new head coach. This is a worry since USC can play Coach Riley much more then Oregon State can afford to. Late last night it was announced by Bob Decarolis that he had signed Mike Riley to a three year contract extension that will make Riley the Beavers head football coach through the 2019 season. The contract also states that a year will be added to the contract for every bowl appearance making Riley the Beavers coach until he wants to retire basically. Good job Bob. I for one am excited to know that a person of character will be in charge of OSU Football program for many years to come.

Thanks Mike, I look forward to watching your teams for many years to come.

GO BEAVERS!

Beavers Win Last MBB Civil War at Mac Court

For the last 16 years the Oregon State Men's Basketball program just could not find a way to win in Eugene. But on Saturday night in what was the final Men's Basketball Civil War game to played in the historic Mac Court at the University of Oregon. The underdog Beavers pulled off a huge upset by defeating the first place Ducks 64-57 in a game in which the Beavers never trailed.

The Beavers withstood several runs by the Ducks and in the end went 4 for 4 from the line late to seal the deal and win the 332nd edition of the Men's Basketball Civil War.

Thanks in part to the Beavers struggling the last 20 years in basketball the Ducks now hold a 85-70 advantage in the series that was once dominated by the Beavers back in the seventies and eighties.

Now the Beavers face the task of trying to win more games by hosting the Arizona schools this week in Corvallis. The Beavers are currently 9th in the Pac-10 with a record of 7-8 (1-2). Arizona is 8-8 (2-2) and ASU is 12-5 (2-2). This will be a good opportunity for the Beavers to get two big home wins in conference and move up in the standings.

Mora Out at Seahawks, Carroll reported in

The Seattle Seahawks fired Jim Mora after 1 season today and ESPN is reporting that Pete Carroll of USC is first in line for the job and that Pete is interested.

If Pete goes to Seattle reports say that USC is interested in bringing Mike Riley from OUR BEAVERS to USC. More on this story as is developes but I for one do not want to see Mike Riley leave Oregon State until he is at least as old as Paterno.

Go Beavers! Go Bobby D! Keep Riley at Oregon State.

Beavers Crushed By Seattle University in MBB

Well just when you think the men's basketball program is starting to find the corner let alone turn the corner they get blown out at home by a team that is not even a D1 program yet. The Beavers lost to Seattle University in Gill tonight 99-48. From about the 8 minute mark in the first half with a 4 point lead the Beavers were outscored 82- 27.

Perhaps Craig Robinson and his staff were tired from the birth of Coach Robinsons new child on monday but a loss like this is not good. Lets hope the Beavers can regroup real fast as the Ducks are next on the schedule and they are in first place.

Undercover Beavers at the Rose Bowl

My twitter buddy @BeaversFootball went on an undercover mission with his Sooner buddy to the Rose Bowl to watch the Ducks take on the Buckeyes of oHIo State. He has put together an entertainig piece on his day at the Rose Bowl. Enjoy!

Read Article

BEAVERS LOSE UGLY, COLD & WINDY GAME TO BYU

Yes I know it has been nearly two weeks since the Las Vegas Bowl game but I have a good reason for not writing this till now. . . . . The Dog ate my homework??. . . . . I have fallen and I cannot get up?. . . . Ummmm It's my wife's fault ! That will get me in trouble for sure.

The truth of the matter is that I was left so dismayed by how we played BYU that I could not wrap my mind (what little I have left according to my wife) around what I was seeing on the field two weeks ago. Terms like Horrible, Ghastly, Unbelievable come to mind. It was just flat bad.

I have been writing these post and pre-game articles, blogs, tweets. Whatever it is that the savvy social media expert calls it today, for nearly ten years. I like to write, did well in college on all my papers. But I am not of the same stature of say Paul Buker or Ken Goe nor do I pretend to be. But as I get older the more I like to put my thoughts and opinions down in writing in some vain attempt to be heard by someone. Are you there? Hello?

I enjoyed reading Mike Riley's take on the game and that he has trouble letting go of things like that and that he wanted to get right back on the field. I am pretty much the same way. When I played competitive golf and had a bad round I wanted to go right back out and play again the same day. It's kind of cleansing, like doing it again will make what just happened go away.

When I have bad rounds of golf or the teams I coach play poorly I have trouble sleeping as my mind races through all the possibilities that might have been until I finally settle on a course of action at the next practice session. I am pretty sure that Riley is going through something similar that past two weeks. "What could we have done differently?" sort of thing. But then again, when you or your team lays that big of an egg sometimes, no matter how hard it is to do, you just have to put it behind you and move on because you know it really was not your day.

The funny thing about this article is that by waiting so long to put the game out of my memory, I now find myself having to relive it to write about it.

Up to about 8:46 to go in the first quarter I was pretty impressed by how the Beavers were playing. The defense was shutting down BYU's offense and the Beavers had just finished a 4 play 37 yard drive for a touchdown to go up 7-0. That drive of course was helped by the fact that the Beavers had given up the ball at the start of the game to take the wind in the first and fourth quarters. If you don't remember or did not see the game. The conditions at kickoff were 39 degrees and winds of 15 to 25 mph with gusts to 50 mph. I wonder now if one thing that Riley is second guessing himself on is taking the wind to start the game. Because that put the Beavers offense having to go into the wind for two straight quarters.

Following the Beavers first TD at the 8:46 mark the game changed as BYU used short passes and the running game to put together a 14 play 84 yard drive for a touchdown that tied the game at 7-7 and also put the Beavers on notice that BYU was not affected by the wind and was there to win. Sixty seconds later the game turned for good on a questionable call. Canfield threw a swing pass to Quizz behind the line of scrimmage that he never got control of and then was leveled by a BYU defender. The pass was ruled a lateral and BYU picked the ball up and raced 34 yards for a BYU touchdown. So with 1:41 to go in the first quarter the Beavers wind advantage was gone and they faced the task of having to come from behind in the teeth of freezing cold and high winds.

After the Beavers next drive stalled the Beavers punted and recovered a BYU fumble at the BYU18 yard line. But the play was overturned by a holding penalty on the Beavers and they were forced to rekick. Giving BYU the ball on the 20. End of the first quarter BYU 14- OSU 7.

From that point on BYU, playing with the wind went; Field Goal, Touchdown, punt, half, touchdown. While OSU playing into the wind went; punt, turnover on downs, punt, turnover on downs, turnover on downs. End of the third quarter. BYU30 OSU 7.

In the fourth quarter with the wind the Beavers managed to put 13 points on the board but BYU matched every score thanks to a fumble and an interception by the Beavers.

The final score was BYU 44 - OSU 20. A lot of the issues in the game were self inflicted by the Beavers. Penalties at the wrong time. Fumbles and interceptions. But BYU came prepared and had to play in the same conditions. They were the better team on this day and the Beavers were not ready to play in those conditions. Or perhaps the Beavers were still playing with a hangover from the Civil War loss. Either way, it will be a bowl game that will not be remembered by many of Beaver Nation. Just like the 2002 Insight Bowl that I attended, I will not remember this game much past today.

Now the Beavers look toward next season. They return a large number of players from this years team and their main concern is replacing the quarterback position. Ryan Katz played a series in Vegas and threw a picture perfect pass for a TD late in the game. With the Beavers facing perhaps their toughest preseason schedule in many years. Can Katz or perhaps a different quarterback be ready to take on TCU, Boise State and Louisville? We will have to wait 8 months to find out. GO BEAVERS!

BY THE NUMBERS - CLICK HERE FOR POSTGAME STATS