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With Altman's tenure, is Rob Mullens prepared to force Altman into something that the coach doesn't think he needs? A lot of assumptions in this question, no doubt. Perhaps Dana asked for a GM, and Rob said no? Even without a GM, I cannot imagine that Dana is not receiving help on the direct payment and NIL fronts. I look at where Dana is in his career, and I think of Michigan State's Tom Izzo, another veteran coach who is not happy with the state of college athletics. While I am certain Izzo receives help on the transfer and NIL front, from what I can determine using a modest search engine being deployed by a guy with modest tech skills, Michigan State basketball does not have a GM. Thanks for another thought-provoking article, Darren. Are you or any of us certain that the money for a GM is available? The cash king is football. Rob Mullens says football ticket prices are going up in 2026 because the athletic department needs more money. This is happening at Oregon, one of twelve B1G athletic departments that is in the black. (Private schools USC and Northwestern do not have to file a financial statement with the Department of Education.) But dig deeper: many profitable programs, mostly due to football, student fees, and state support, are revenue-wise in the black but carry significant debt and debt service obligations. From a liquidation analysis, many of these 'profitable' athletic departments are functionally insolvent. According to Big Ten Network, across the Big Ten and its panoply of varsity sports, one team outside of Football and Men's Basketball is profitable. The Minnesota men's hockey team. The injuries are troubling. Are the strength and conditioning programs for varsity sports at Oregon and elsewhere across the conference operating at the top level? Perhaps it is generational, but athletes today seem to be injured and unable to play more than back in the day when boo-boos were cured by rubbing some dirt on them. GM or not, the majority of B1G Men's basketball teams have not had their full complement of athletes available this season, including OBD, UCLA, USC, and UW. You can bring players in with NIL, but with bigger bodies banging together at faster speeds, can you keep them healthy? A GM would likely help with the roster, but would be of no help with keeping the roster at full strength. Win the opening game in the B1G CBB tournament on Tuesday, March 10th, and advance. The team is down this year, but the team has not given up, a testament to Dana Altman. Thanks again, Darren, for the terrific and timely article. The cost of fielding varsity college programs is unsustainable. But can this problem be fixed?

YES! This progrum needs all the help it can get . Seems to be treated like the redheaded stepchild of a dead beat dad as of late.

For the women, the 1 point loss to UW yesterday was a drop from No. 8 to No. 11 in seed. And, the No. 8 seed in the bracket would not have been cozy either. 2026 Allstate Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament Bracket Announced

As usual, good article Darren . . . but a GREAT point to cover. I hope Mullens has a subscription to the Forum.

I'm with you Darren...I never could have imagined the program declining like this. I was encouraged to see the Women get 20 wins, and then I see that they are the No. 11 Seed in the B1G tournament? Wow. How far we have fallen...

Oregon Ducks Baseball Turns Heads With Live Like Lou Vegas Classic VictoryWith the Oregon Ducks undefeated entering the Live Like Lou Vegas Classic, they leave victorious with only one loss of the tournament, their first against UC Irvine. Plus, eight Ducks made the all-tournament team. Oregon Ducks On SIOregon Ducks Baseball Turns Heads With Live Like Lou Vega...Only 11 games into their 2026 season, the Oregon Ducks baseball team is on a roll in an attempt to capture the College World Series glory that last years' squad

What's new with the Oregon Ducks' QB room ahead of 2026 spring season? https://duckswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/ducks/football/2026/03/02/oregon-football-spring-quarterback-preview/88933898007/

STACKED: Oregon’s Dante Moore, Dylan Raiola, Brock Thomas Lead ELITE College Football QB Room

YES! Agree to getting a GM for basketball. Dana needs help! Oregon should have been at the forefront in this matter. Thanks Darren

Has it really been nine years since Oregon’s 2017 Final Four team? Dana Altman is in Year 16, and as steady as the program progressed from his first year in 2010 to the high point of the Final Four in 2017, the program has steadily, and equally, regressed. Injuries have decimated the Ducks this year, and when one of the ... Does Oregon Need a Basketball GM?

OREGON ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | SUNDAY, MARCH 1, 2026 BASEBALL | @OregonBaseball Ducks Finish Las Vegas tournament With a Win over Vanderbilt LAS VEGAS, Nev. — Devin Bell bounced back from a tough outing on Saturday getting the final two outs with the bases loaded to help Oregon clinch a 6-4 win over Vanderbilt at the Live Like Lou Las Vegas Classic on Sunday at Las Vegas Ballpark. The Ducks (10-1) went 2-1 in the tournament, while Vanderbilt (7-5) finished 0-3. Cal Scolari (2-0) picked up the win after giving Oregon a quality start. He did not allow a run while surrendering just two hits with two walks and eight strikeouts. Five Oregon pitchers combined to strike out 14 Commodores. How It Happened: Maddox Molony gave Oregon an early lead belting his third home run of the season, a solo shot in the second inning. The Ducks added to the lead, scoring a pair of runs in the third inning. Angel Laya led off the inning with a base hit before moving to second on a sacrifice bunt and scoring on a Ryan Cooney double. Jax Gimenez followed with a run-scoring single plating Cooney for a 3-0 lead. Oregon tacked on another urn in the fourth with another long ball. Burke-Lee Mabeus went the opposite way lofting a ball over the left-field wall for a 4-0 lead. Gabe Miranda Oregon pushed the lead to 6-0 in the sixth inning with back-to-back home runs. Dominic Hellman pulled one to left field 396 feet for a five-run lead. Gabe Miranda followed with a 398-foot shot to right-center field. Vanderbilt cut the lead to 6-4 in the eighth behind three home runs. Box Score Notes: Molony moved into solo possession of fourth on Oregon’s career home run list with his 28th … He needs two more to tie Tom Dodd (1977-79) for fourth … Oregon’s last back-to-back home runs came at Texas A&M on June 9, 2024 … Hellman’s homers in consecutive game marked the first time a Ducks’ hitter homered in consecutive games since Anson Aroz did it on June 8-9, 2014 at Texas A&M. On Deck: Oregon returns home for its first of three games against in-state rival Oregon State on Tuesday (3:05 p.m./B1G+) before hitting the road again for a three-game series at Purdue in the Ducks’ Big Ten Conference opener.

The Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament starts on Tuesday, March 10th. The games will be played at the Chicago United Center. As of March 1, 2026, No. 16 seed Oregon would open against No. 17 Maryland. Seedings for the entire field as of March 1st are shown below. Oregon suffered a bad beat at Northwestern on Saturday. Down by one point, the conference's leading scorer, Northwestern's Nick Martinelli, overcame solid Oregon defense and scored the winning basket with 1.5 seconds left to be played. Martinelli's winning bucket came on Nick Martinelli Bobblehead Night. Martinelli leads B1G scoring and is odds-on to be only the 5th B1G men's CBB player to win back-to-back scoring titles. If Oregon wins six games in a row, the Ducks would win the championship and advance to the NCAA Tournament. So, you're saying there's a ... 😁 On32026 Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament Bracket: Updated...With just one week remaining in the regular season, the latest seeds/bracket for the 2026 Big Ten Tournament in Chicago has been revealed.

Ducks win 6-4. Blake Crawford was brought into the most intense situation...and this was his first college appearance? He walked a batter, as did Luke Morgan before him. Devin Bell, who had horrible control issues yesterday comes in, and I'm rummaging through drawers looking for stronger blood-pressure medication. He walked a batter to load the bases....three walks by three different pitchers, but Bell, this time, got the save with fly-balls generated. Wow!

6-4 Ducks after eight innings. I wrote too soon about relievers being OK, as Toby Twist gave up a HR, and then another that scored two runs. But wait! There's more as Luke Morgan comes in and gives up an HR before finishing the inning. Oregon strands two on base...

6-0 Ducks after seven innings. After the disaster with relievers yesterday...I was holding my breath when Oregon's reliever Toby Twist came in, but he did fine and kept them scoreless. Aaarg! Ducks had bases loaded and left them stranded.

6-0 Ducks after six innings. Cal Scolari returned and put them down! Dominic Hellman hammered a homer so hard that it hit the scoreboard, and then Gabe Miranda is getting his confidence back with a RF home run!

4-0 Ducks after five innings. Cal Scolari has 75 pitches, not what I reported before, and he may yield to a reliever.

4-0 Ducks after four innings. Cal Scolari has given up some hits, but kept them scoreless! (41 pitches after four innings) Burke-Lee Mabeus hit to the opposite side...for a homer!

3-0 Ducks after three innings. Cal Scolari discards the Vanderbilt batters 1-2-3 again! Angel Laya zings it to RF for a hit, and moved to second on a ground-out. Ryan Cooney hit deep into the RF corner to score Laya and got his double. Maddox Molony got a double, and Jax Gimenez gets a base hit up the middle to score Cooney!

1-0 Ducks after two innings. Cal Scolari has five KOs in just six outs? Whew! Maddox Molony got the scoring going with a homer over the LF fence!

CBS Sports' Brad Crawford has identified 26 of the college football (CFB) games in 2026 that will have the most impact on which teams are chosen for the 2026-27 CFB Playoff (PO). https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/college-football-2026-miami-notre-dame-ohio-state-indiana/ The folks at B1G HQ in Chicago should remind Brad that CBS is no longer an SEC broadcast partner. 13 games on his list are of the it Just Means More variety. Hmmm. Eight B1G games are on the list in the order of ranking below. The No. 1 game does offer Brad a measure of hope for absolution. No, 22 - 10/17 - Penn State at Michigan - A battle of experienced coaches new to the B1G. No. 13 - 9/12 - Oklahoma at Michigan - Payback for the Wolverines? No. 12 - 10/31 - Ohio State at USC - In year three of an 18-team Big Ten, these two teams that battled in eight Rose Bowl games, going 4-4, meet as conference opponents. No. 10 - 9/26 - Oregon at USC - Ranking this game above TOSU at USC gives Brad's list a modicum of credibility. No. 8 - 11/28 - Michigan at Ohio State - Will Ryan Day close his 2-4 gap versus the Wolverines? No. 5 - 9/12 - Ohio State at Texas - Unlike the 2025 opener between Texas and Ohio State in Columbus, the two QBs come into the game as experienced starters, with a Week 1 cupcake chomping: Ohio State vs. Ball State and Texas vs. New World 😁Texas State. This game will not kick off at Noon Eastern - Plan on watching the game on ABC at 7:30 PM Eastern, 4:30 PM Pacific, with Herbie and Chris on the call. No. 3 - 10/17 - Ohio State at Indiana - Both the Buckeyes and the Hoosiers brought in solid transfer portal hauls. 247 Sports ranks Ohio State as the 5th-best portal picker, with Indiana ranked 8th. Will transfer QB Josh Hoover approach the numbers Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza put up last season? Many of the players Curt Cignetti brought with him from JMU are out of eligibility. How will a younger Indiana team perform in 2026? Indiana is odds-on to be undefeated when this game is played. Ohio State is a +2.5 underbuck against Texas, but will be favored in the rest of its games. Unfortunately, this game will likely kick off at Noon Eastern, and draw millions fewer viewers who would watch the game in prime time. Number 1 - 10/17 - Oregon at Ohio State - Coming in at No. 1 makes 13 SEC games on Brad's list, a venial and not a mortal sin. Coming into this Week 10 game, even with Ohio State and Oregon having difficult schedules, there is an excellent chance for both the Ducks and the Bucks to be undefeated or to have only one loss. Ohio State will be coming off a Week 9 game against USC in Los Angeles. In Week 9, OBD hosts Northwestern. Both teams will be traveling from the Pacific to the Eastern time zone. Possibly a scheduling break for Oregon. But don't overlook a motivated Chipper and Northwestern. This game should have a significant influence on PO seeding, and will also most likely be a Noon kickoff on Fox. Nevertheless, an ESPN College GameDay Week 10 showing in Columbus is likely. Is it September 5th yet?

0-0 after one inning, as both pitchers look great. Cal Scolari threw a number of 98 mph pitches, and mixed them with a nasty drop-curve? Whew! The 'doors went down 1-2-3...

It's a looooong wait to 9/5/26, but spring ball has already sprung on some campuses, and on 3/12/26, Oregon begins Spring Practice. https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/biggest-spring-practice-lane-kiffin-lsu-michigan-storylines/

Photo Caption: Why is B1G HQ bucking me like this! 🤬 YardbarkerDaunting Ohio State schedule could be toughest in Buckeye...After an undefeated regular season record in 2025, Ohio State will be going into 2026 with possibly one of its hardest schedules in the program’s history.

Thanks for the post. Kudos to Dan's portal picking. Get out of that helmet ASAP! The Gopher might be taken for a beaver.🤬 Oregon Ducks On SIDan Lanning Continues Key Transfer Portal TrendOregon Ducks coach Dan Lanning is continuing a trend of bringing in impact playmakers from the transfer portal. A season after inserting safety Dillon Thieneman