RUMOR: Uncle Phil making BILLION dollar donation tonight

[dotcomse]

A $2B campaign will help the school out a lot. However, $700M of that is for athletics, which is, frankly, kind of absurd. Also, if I'm a faculty member, I'm DEMANDING a halt to University subsidies to the Athletic Department at this point. There is NO WAY tuition money should go towards the Athletic Department with the RIDICULOUS revenue they're making, and it has to stop. Now if I might step off my soapbox for a moment...

UO's endowment is ~$550M. UW's is $2.3B. Even with that money, the UO would be FAR behind the prestige of UW. It would help raise the quality of the University, but I don't think UW is worried about UO surpassing their reputation ANY time soon.

[lukeyrid13]

^ Our athletic department profit margin is relatively small actually. Title 9/Olympic sports bring that number down drastically.

I think you bring up a valid argument, to play devils advocate though, is that a great amount of money would not be going to academics if not for athletics.

[dotcomse]

If the margin is small, it's not for lack of revenue, it's because of high spending. We spend 13% of the University's budget on athletics. UCLA spends 2%. http://www.uomatters.com/2014/10/oregon ... y-650.html

There comes a point of diminishing returns. Regardless of whether athletic success drives academic donation, right now, the AD doesn't need to be taking money from professors and students. That may not be the case were the football team to regress to 1960s-level of success, but right now, it's irresponsible for the University to jack up tuition and give any of that money to a department that absolutely doesn't need it when there are WOEFULLY underfunded departments that those students are paying to take classes in.

^ Our athletic department profit margin is relatively small actually. Title 9/Olympic sports bring that number down drastically.

I think you bring up a valid argument, to play devils advocate though, is that a great amount of money would not be going to academics if not for athletics.

[ducksvb6]

OK I am call some of you out. You are either Beaver, Huskies or not informed. Here are fact that can be verified with UO or the UO Foundation.

1. The athletic program is self supporting. Neither your tax dollars or tuition goes to athletics.
2. The endowment is not the UO endowment it is the UO Foundation endowment for advancement of UO. They are total separate entities.
3. The Foundation endowment is not $550m. All funds held by the Foundation total over $900M and may be closer to 1B.
4. Get off the misbelief that a dollar to athletic takes a dollar from academics. It does not! Those interested in academics, scholarships, research and capital campaigns give there. Others have an interest in athletics and they give to DAF.
5. The total academic, research and operational budget for UO is over $800M annually. The UO athletic budget while high is about $90M. That's not 70% it is closer to 10%.
6. During the four year silent campaign the UO raised in cash or pledges $700M. Pledges are given over time or as a bequest as part of estate planning. They are nor realized until the passing of the donor. We will not instantly have 2B.
7. Not all of the 2B goes to endowment. A large part constructs new buildings or refurbishes worn out buildings and infrastructure. Yes we have to replace sewers and other non-academic things. This campaign will build a Career Development Center, major science laboratory, and a new AA&A building. Deduct those construction cost from the $2B
8. Someone remarked that we are going to have a lot of money to spend. Not the case. If we are fortunate we might receive 60% of the 2B as cash rather than deferred. The remainder again is in the future or for construction of new projects.
9. The goal of almost every foundation in the US is to generate 4% per year for the intended purpose. Do the math assuming we finish with a $1.5 endowment. Compare that to the state contribution of $38M.
10. Someone compared us with UW. Really? Seattle is a corporate headquarters center and has a much larger population. Of course they have a large endowment. If we create a billion dollar endowment we move into an elite group of public institutions.

Please stop hammering the athletic department and its donors. If you feel strongly about UO funding contact your state congressional person and demand that the support for K-12, community college, and university returns to the state fund level of the past. UO has gone from $80M annual to $38M. We receive the least amount per student of the seven state universities.

Another idea is push back one weekend and skip the beer and pizza and write a check to the campaign. Trust me, any amount is welcome. When you have skin in the game it makes a difference. If your not going to give then don't complain about how others donate.

Finally, don't post rumor or something your buddy told you. Worse yet some from UO Matters. Post facts.

[greenyellow]

I'd like it if people stopped posting from UO Matters. It's a joke of a website with very questionable goals/idea/axes to grind. The professor who runs it is probably one of the most disliked professors on campus, by both students and faculty.

[duckfan96]

TY for posting fact. post of the year

[dotcomse]

I've have a undergraduate and a graduate degree from Oregon. I hold my alma mater to a high standard. Drop the ad hominem attacks, please. I'll respond to some of your points in order.

1. This is a canard that the AD likes to trot out to make us marvel at their success, but the numbers do not bear this out. USA Today reports a $2,475,860 subsidy for 2013. Part of this comes from mandatory fees that students must pay in exchange for "free" tickets to sporting events which they may have no interest in attending. I've learned that this is somewhat of a rare phenomenon, as students I've spoken to at peer institutions report having to buy tickets to the student sections of their games.http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/co ... s/2142443/ http://www.uomatters.com/2011/06/quacks ... bsidy.html
2. I don't know what your point is here.
3. The endowment closed fiscal year 2013 at $553 million, achieving top-quarter returns in the most recent National Association of College and Business Officers rankings. The Foundation’s 13.8 percent annualized rate of return placed it in the top 16th percentile of more than 800 universities. Its 10-year performance (7.9 percent) also garnered a top-quarter ranking. http://www.uofoundation.org/s/1540/foun ... calcid=960
4. This debate is, pardon the pun, academic. We'll never know, so, please, if you can, donate to the school that helped you forge the career and critical thinking skills that make you who you are. (Although if we consider a finite money supply, then anyone who pays thousands of dollars to the DAF truly has less ability to throw a few bucks at the College.)
5. I guess I haven't seen all the posts, but anyone who thinks the AD spends 70% of the budget is not really worth listening to on matters of any significance, sporting, educational, or otherwise.
7. This is clearly a capital campaign. Although, there are concerns about the space that the University has to build new buildings on. There are lots of older buildings that could use renovation, but piece-by-piece, the campus has been dramatically upgraded in the last 10 years, and spending a ton of money on capital projects would at this point I think require demolition of existing buildings. There are plenty of candidates, sure, but I think it's not simply a case of "We have the money, and the space, let's get to laying foundation!"
8. An endowment of $1.5B would place us at about 52nd in the nation. UW came up because we were playing them the next day - regardless, if we use them as a comparison, the fact of the matter is they would still have more money, and that's not even factoring in the more developed campus (Read: $$$), and bigger budget (Read: $$$) that they have that allows them to churn out world-class research and students so that they may be referred to as a Public Ivy. Oregon will NOT get to that level in the next 25 years, and probably never. That's pie in the sky, because UW is in Seattle.

You're projecting a little bit. You clearly make donations to the athletic department, and are sensitive to those who say doing so is irresponsible. I'm not one of those people. I simply want the Athletic Department to take YOUR money, that you use to enable yourself to buy tickets to the games that you want to attend, and stop taking money from the General Fund. I realize that athletic subsidies were necessary when college sports weren't Big Money. Well, they are now. Particularly Oregon Football, and Oregon Basketball, in spending if not in revenue. So those subsidies should stop, but I don't begrudge you your right to donate where you see fit.

OK I am call some of you out. You are either Beaver, Huskies or not informed. Here are fact that can be verified with UO or the UO Foundation.

1. The athletic program is self supporting. Neither your tax dollars or tuition goes to athletics.
2. The endowment is not the UO endowment it is the UO Foundation endowment for advancement of UO. They are total separate entities.
3. The Foundation endowment is not $550m. All funds held by the Foundation total over $900M and may be closer to 1B.
4. Get off the misbelief that a dollar to athletic takes a dollar from academics. It does not! Those interested in academics, scholarships, research and capital campaigns give there. Others have an interest in athletics and they give to DAF.
5. The total academic, research and operational budget for UO is over $800M annually. The UO athletic budget while high is about $90M. That's not 70% it is closer to 10%.
6. During the four year silent campaign the UO raised in cash or pledges $700M. Pledges are given over time or as a bequest as part of estate planning. They are nor realized until the passing of the donor. We will not instantly have 2B.
7. Not all of the 2B goes to endowment. A large part constructs new buildings or refurbishes worn out buildings and infrastructure. Yes we have to replace sewers and other non-academic things. This campaign will build a Career Development Center, major science laboratory, and a new AA&A building. Deduct those construction cost from the $2B
8. Someone remarked that we are going to have a lot of money to spend. Not the case. If we are fortunate we might receive 60% of the 2B as cash rather than deferred. The remainder again is in the future or for construction of new projects.
9. The goal of almost every foundation in the US is to generate 4% per year for the intended purpose. Do the math assuming we finish with a $1.5 endowment. Compare that to the state contribution of $38M.
10. Someone compared us with UW. Really? Seattle is a corporate headquarters center and has a much larger population. Of course they have a large endowment. If we create a billion dollar endowment we move into an elite group of public institutions.

Please stop hammering the athletic department and its donors. If you feel strongly about UO funding contact your state congressional person and demand that the support for K-12, community college, and university returns to the state fund level of the past. UO has gone from $80M annual to $38M. We receive the least amount per student of the seven state universities.

Another idea is push back one weekend and skip the beer and pizza and write a check to the campaign. Trust me, any amount is welcome. When you have skin in the game it makes a difference. If your not going to give then don't complain about how others donate.

Finally, don't post rumor or something your buddy told you. Worse yet some from UO Matters. Post facts.

[dotcomse]

Yes, the guy is clearly an advocate for the faculty, and to a lesser degree, for students and GTFs. He HATES the administration, and I can't really say that I blame him. He does give credit where credit is due - he seems to like Lariviere and Coltrane. He also was willing to say something positive for Uncle Phil in light of the rumored donation: "The gift announcement will be made in the giant white tent being erected in Hayward Field. Presumably this will be the largest higher education donation in history, and a game changer for UO’s ability to perform its academic mission. Good for Uncle Phil."

But if you can suggest a better source for on-campus information, I'd love to hear it.

[ducksvb6]

dotcomese

Other way around. I have a 25 year history of giving to AA&A at UO and none at DAF. I just get tired of people ripping athletic donors. That's there passion and there is no question that the big sports run we have enjoyed has helped on the academic side.

I've seen the new university branding and it is FANTASTIC. The move from about $100k a year to $3M to advance public awareness of the university will dramatic enhance our ranking since our points of excellence are not well known nationally.

Before anyone jumps on us spending $3M a year..it came from donors that are passion about academics, research, faculty, and students. $3M is way below the amount our peers spend. I think UW is about $5M.

[dotcomse]

I've seen the new university branding and it is FANTASTIC. The move from about $100k a year to $3M to advance public awareness of the university will dramatic enhance our ranking since our points of excellence are not well known nationally.

Can you talk more about this? I'm not sure what you're talking about.

[Duck07]

I've seen the new university branding and it is FANTASTIC. The move from about $100k a year to $3M to advance public awareness of the university will dramatic enhance our ranking since our points of excellence are not well known nationally.

Can you talk more about this? I'm not sure what you're talking about.

I'm pretty sure he's talking about the UO doing things like letting others know we've got a great Architecture program for example. Warsaw gets hyped a lot because of its natural relationship to the AthDept we've also got a stellar Education program and raising more awareness so we can bring in more 5* Architects and future teachers/administrators helps raise their profiles even more.