Save Oregon Wrestling Podcasts

The Agenda

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 12:47:18 -0500

Two Oregon journalists, Matt Smith of KPTV and Dwight Jaynes the Portland Tribune, wonder: Is there an unrevealed agenda behind the University of Oregon's decision to drop wrestling as an intercollegiate sport? This video dispels many common myths associated with the planned discontinuance of this popular high school sport at Oregon's flagship university.

Holiday Greetings from Save Oregon Wrestling

Sun, 30 Dec 2007 17:49:38 -0600

Almost six months have passed since that dark day in July, when Athletic Director Pat Kilkenny announced the impending demise of Oregon Duck wrestling. The team, coaches, alumni, and fans--as well as the entire collegiate wrestling community--have fought back courageously. Despite a depleted roster, the Ducks went into the holiday break with a 9-3 record. Meanwhile, the Oregon wrestling family has been engaged in a nonstop campaign to save this storied collegiate wrestling program. View this mid-season progress report and join our struggle.

Oregon's Team

Sun, 25 Nov 2007 21:37:40 -0600

In the first part of the 20th century, native Oregonians filled the rosters of University of Oregon sports teams. When intercollegiate athletics became all about winning and money, the opportunities for Oregonians to play for the Ducks dwindled. Only one varsity team at the U of O relies primarily on Oregon high school graduates to fill its roster: the wrestling team. On July 13, 2007, athletic director Pat Kilkenny announced suspension of Oregon's proud, 54-year-old wrestling tradition. We think it was a strange choice for a native of Heppner, Oregon. Do what's right, Pat. Honor your roots. Save Oregon wrestling!

Sacred Ground, Broken Trust

Sun, 21 Oct 2007 19:35:46 -0500

When University of Oregon athletic director Pat Kilkenny announced elimination of Duck wrestling on July 13, 2007, he cited lack of facilities as one of several justifications. Here's the story of what happened to Oregon's expansive wrestling practice facility, which it enjoyed for 16 years, but which the athletic department remodeled into a 12,000 square foot luxurious treatment room two seasons ago. Juice bars, water falls, and wide-screen televisions seem a sacrilege on sacred ground, a concession to the money-grubbing collegiate arms race and a kick in the teeth to those wrestlers who earned so much sweat equity there.

Ordinary Men, Extraordinary Determination

Sun, 7 Oct 2007 00:00:00 -0500

For 54 years, young athletes have come to the University of Oregon, where they excelled on the wrestling mat and in the classroom, and in the process, learned the lessons of life. Now one of the nation's storied collegiate wrestling programs is threatened with extinction. Two championship Duck wrestlers from the 1970s argue that Oregon wresting must be saved.