Today the Ducks go to work for the first time in their new building and practice fields, and the anticipation and optimism is popping like the last thirty seconds of a bag of microwave popcorn.
The Death Star assembled: The Hatfield-Dowlin Complex is an astonishing achievement and a monument to a philosophy of winning both the day and the future. (goducks.com photo)
Phil Knight built a company around the idea of winning and excellence. His vision made him a rich man, rich in a way ordinary people can barely contemplate. Imagine being so successful you can give away 67 million dollars and still be rich.
But that is far from all Mr. Knight has done for the University and the state. He and his wife built the library at Oregon and the law school. They donated $225 million to create cancer research and cardiovascular centers at OHSU. Clearly his social responsibilities have been more than met, and he can do whatever he wants with the rest of his fortune.
The new Ops Center is a tremendous recruiting tool and a fabulous weapon in Oregon’s pursuit of football excellence. The Ducks have claimed the future, and no one is more responsible than Phil Knight.
Last week during his media conference call, Mark Helfrich talked about the H-D FPC and what it will mean for his team:
We had a lot of guys who worked on the Jaqua Center that made note of how our student-athletes took care of the Jaqua, they were honored and worked toward that because of how nice it is,” Helfrich said. “If you look at the results, our grades have been better, APR is better, and I anticipate the same to be true here. If you can’t get inspired by this place, you have a problem. We will certainly talk about how this is the best football performance building in the world, but that doesn’t mean anything if you don’t come to work each day.
Today the Ducks go back to work. Mark Helfrich has every possible advantage as a beginning head coach. He succeeds a brilliant innovator who leaves an intact culture and a powerful vocabulary for doing things the right way. If Helfrich is a diligent caretaker, Oregon will continue to win games. If he has the substance within him to continue to innovate and demand excellence, the Ducks could win their first coveted, elusive national title.
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