Baseball cometh, and UO wrestling’s pinned

Despite fundraising hope, athletic director says sport must go

By kerry eggers

The Portland Tribune, Feb 29, 2008, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (12 Reader comments)

The Save Oregon Wrestling campaign is wasting its time.

At least that’s the way Pat Kilkenny sees it.

“Bottom line, no, we’re not going to wrestle next year,” the University of Oregon athletic director says.

Kilkenny has made the decision to restore baseball, add competitive cheer and drop wrestling after the current school year.

A group of former Duck wrestlers and coaches are leading a drive that has raised $2.5 million in gifts and pledges toward maintaining the sport at Oregon. Ex-Duck wrestling coach Ron Finley said last week the goal is to raise $6.5 million to endow the program.

With operating costs at about $650,000 a year for wrestling, that would mean a 10 percent interest rate to keep the program’s budget stable.

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