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?

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

Thanks Darren

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...

As usual, good article Darren . . . but a GREAT point to cover.

I hope Mullens has a subscription to the Forum.

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

Edited 49 minutes ago49 min by HDuck

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.

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?