"OTL" Examines Phil Knight's Role In Univ. Of Oregon Athletics

ESPN's "OTL" Examines Knight's Influence On Univ. Of Oregon Athletics

KNIGHT'S ROLE IN MOOS DEPARTURE: Delsohn noted when former AD Bill Moos left the school in '07, he and UO had an agreement that paid him over $1.8M from the university, “which has fueled the speculation that Moos did not leave voluntarily.” Frohnmayer: “I don’t know that Phil Knight even had a conversation with Bill Moos about his departure and so as far as I’m concerned, he didn’t have any role (in Moos leaving).” But The Oregonian’s Rachel Bachman said, "It’s safe to say that if Phil Knight liked what Bill Moos was doing, he would still be at the University of Oregon.” Frohnmayer said that Knight was called “only after I had made the selection of Pat Kilkenny.” Bachman noted of the hiring of Kilkenny, a former booster, was “interesting because the NCAA spends a lot of its time warning athletic departments, warning student-athletes, to be wary of boosters ... and I think those lines have become a little bit blurred.” Kilkenny was asked if he would talk to Knight the next time a new coach needed to hired, saying, “I would probably talk to him about it and I would probably talk to some other donors too.” Knight declined to be interviewed for the report ("Outside The Lines," ESPN, 4/6).

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