Take One: Oregon's Basketball Success Matters Now More Than Ever
In the landscape of college athletics, football is the driving force behind most realignment moves. It drives television contracts and pays the bills at most schools. In many ways, that’s why success in other sports, like basketball, is more important than we often acknowledge.
In a recent message to season ticket holders and donors, Oregon Athletic Director Rob Mullens outlined major changes on the horizon — changes that could put significant financial strain on Oregon Athletics. With the recent House settlement, the NCAA will shift from scholarship limits to roster limits, giving universities control over how many scholarships they allocate per sport, as long as they don’t exceed the new roster caps. For Oregon, this flexibility is a double-edged sword. While it allows for more athletic scholarships and expanded opportunities for student-athletes, it also brings substantial new costs, especially since Oregon is responsible for paying the full in-state and out-of-state scholarship costs. If Oregon were to fully utilize the NCAA’s new roster limits, it could nearly double the number of scholarships it offers, adding another $14-$15 million annually to its budget.
In addition to these scholarship costs, the proposed revenue-sharing model could bring further financial challenges. Under this model, institutions may provide direct payments to student-athletes for NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness), starting at an estimated $20 million annually and likely increasing each year. For a self-sufficient program like Oregon, one of only 20 in the country that doesn’t rely on taxpayer dollars or student fees, these expenses require strategic planning and, ideally, diversified revenue streams.
Basketball success can help bridge this gap. Although it doesn’t generate the same level of income as football, a strong basketball program can make meaningful contributions to Oregon’s financial stability through tournament earnings, sponsorships, and merchandise sales. Basketball revenue is particularly valuable because it adds financial stability during the football offseason, giving Oregon Athletics more flexibility to support all its programs in the face of rising costs.
Beyond just being a source of revenue, basketball can reinforce Oregon’s commitment to excellence across all sports. Success in basketball, along with other so-called “non-revenue” sports, signals that Oregon is invested in offering its athletes the resources they need to compete at the highest level. This level of commitment strengthens Oregon’s brand and creates a balanced, sustainable model for its athletic department, ensuring that the university can adapt and thrive, even as the landscape of college athletics continues to shift.
In the new era of college sports, where financial sustainability is more challenging than ever, Oregon’s push for success beyond football isn’t just strategic; it’s essential. By building a strong foundation across multiple sports, Oregon can maintain its status as a self-sufficient athletic department, remaining competitive while meeting the growing needs of its student-athletes.
Take Two: It’s not the money
We have kept the Jahkeem Stewart recruiting information mostly premium. But I will say that his visit to LSU should leave Oregon fans very excited about the potential here. He has visits left to USC (11/16), Oregon (11/23), and Ohio State (11/30) before he makes his final decision. He has already been to Oregon for a gameday environment and that was a home run visit. The visit on the 23rd will be more about a time to really dig into the plan for him at Oregon. Without knowing the specifics of the plan you can be sure that the Ducks will go into that meeting well prepared. Every recruit we talk to is pretty honest about the reality that this staff is detail oriented when it comes down to planning. I know folks from the outside will make their assumptions because that is what they do, but this will not be solely a monetary thing and Oregon is not simply buying players. Let’s face it, if that were the case, and the Ducks had an unlimited amount of money to spend (as has been suggested), they would sure as heck have a lot more elite players on this team. It’s easy for others to say ‘well, the player that chose the other school did so for culture’ because that is what those fans want to hear. I get it, we are fan centric websites and sometimes there are things fans don’t want to hear like “he just liked the other school better” because to many fans, such a thought is unfathomable.
Let's talk about Oregon and the way other schools see the Ducks when it comes to recruiting top talent. Jahkeem Stewart is a prime example of how narratives get spun and assumptions are made. We've kept a lot of the recruiting details for Stewart behind the curtain, but here's what I'll say: his recent visit to LSU should actually make Oregon fans feel pretty good about where things stand. He's still got three big visits lined up—USC, Oregon, and Ohio State—before making his final decision. And if you're reading the tea leaves, Oregon is right there in the mix.
Stewart's first visit to Eugene was a hit, a home run in fact, and the upcoming visit on the 23rd is going to be more about going deep—digging into Oregon's plan for him, mapping out his potential fit and future. And look, while I don't have the exact specifics of what that plan entails, I can promise you that the Ducks staff is going to be ready. Oregon is known for their meticulous approach to recruiting—every recruit says the same thing: the staff here is on another level when it comes to preparation and detail.
But here's where it gets interesting. From the outside, there's this easy narrative, right? People love to say Oregon is just out there buying players, that NIL is the only reason top recruits consider the Ducks. But if Oregon truly had some mythical, unlimited NIL fund, wouldn't they have stacked their roster with even more five-star players by now? Wouldn't they be fielding an NFL-level team every week? The idea that Oregon just throws money around without substance ignores the real work this staff puts in.
Meanwhile, fans from other schools are quick to say things like, "Well, the player that chose our school did so for the culture." It's an easy out, a comforting thought for those fanbases. And I get it—as fans, we like to hear that players are choosing something intangible about our school that makes it special, rather than admitting the possibility that, sometimes, the player just liked another place better. Maybe he felt a better connection somewhere else, or maybe Oregon's vision for him just clicked a bit more. It's not always about dollars and cents or even culture—sometimes it's as simple as a player feeling at home in one place more than another.
And that's what Oregon's banking on: that their vision, their preparation, and their culture will speak for itself.
