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Opinion: How the ‘enrollment cliff’ is impacting college athletics

As America's education landscape undergoes a transformation due to declining school-age children, colleges and universities are also grappling with declining enrollment. This trend is rooted in various factors, including the aftermath of the Great Recession and changing demographics. Even before the pandemic, cities and states were facing shrinking enrollment in public school systems. The pandemi...

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CommentaryFootball

Sunday Morning Sidewalk: Values and congruence

In January 2016, the Ducks entered halftime of the Alamo Bowl with a 31-0 lead and ultimately lost the game to TCU 47-41 in three overtimes. The following day I wrote a piece I called The Sun Also Rises: A Football Edition. I am reminded of that today as I reflect back on a game that could have turned out much differently. When I first thought about that article last night, I thought to myself...

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CommentaryFootball

Sunday Morning Sidewalk: Balance matters

This weekend played out differently than I had expected for a variety of reasons – not all of which are related to football. Due to some of those vagaries of life that sometimes creep into our days, I decided I needed to take my wife to Bend and spend a night away from home. We stayed within walking distance of the Old Mill District and were able to have a nice dinner at a local seafood restauran...

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CommentaryFeature Articles

Sunday Morning Sidewalk: Chasing Ghosts

I was thinking a lot this week about chasing ghosts. There is an application to sports through individual existence that lends depth to the concept for me. As a middle child, it feels at times Like I have been chasing ghosts for most of my life. What does that mean? Psychotherapist Alfred Adler posited a relationship theory about a child being ‘sandwiched’ between siblings which affects the ps...

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CommentaryFeature Articles

Sunday Morning Sidewalk: Return of the Quack fun

As I prepared yesterday for a perfect fall day full of football, I took a little longer morning walk than normal – to the tune of an 8-mile walk. It was such a perfect morning for a walk and it seemed almost an insult to not enjoy my favorite time of year holed up in a living room watching pre-game broadcasts. I was thinking a lot about that walk as I watched Oregon make its comeback against W...

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Feature ArticlesFootballOpinion ArticlesSports

Sunday Morning Sidewalk: Fall and Hope

I have always loved fall. As a boy, the cool, crisp air came with football and the World Series. Whenever I go outside on a fall evening the smell of wood-burning fireplaces always transports me to football practice as a kid. As I am now firmly in the fall of life, it takes on a unique duality to experience the onset of the season. Last season, as I walked to and from the press box, I knew ...

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Tailgates

Tailgate Thursday: Tennessee 2013

This week as we host a very early tailgate (and do so serving loaded tots for a breakfast tailgate), I was thinking about a different visiting team that really brought out a lot of good fans. I had gone to Tennessee in 2010 and tried to get some tailgating time in, but the shuttle bus from my hotel got me to the stadium too close to game time to find a couple of the tailgates to which I was invit...

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Tailgates

Tailgate Thursday: Episode 1

In 2008 some may remember that I took a sojourn to South Dakota to work as an assistant strength coach for the University of South Dakota as they transitioned from Division II to FCS level in all sports. Interestingly, I did not pay much attention on the drive out there as to the time of year – the first weekend in August. I had no idea why a Super 8 would cost almost $200 for a night until someo...

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CommentaryFeature Articles

Tuesday Tenor: Fan-Centric NIL Collectives

On Saturday I was headed to the grocery store for the basic necessities of a gameday at home with my wife. On my way into the store, a couple of guys in jeans and tee shirts greeted me at the door. As I (almost) always do, I greeted them with a good morning. I knew they were soliciting funds as I had seen their hand-drawn ribbons and poorly designed signs for breast cancer awareness. I did not st...

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CommentaryFootball

Sunday Morning Sidewalk

A few weeks ago, I posted an article via this website. Not sure if anyone noticed the difference, but I created this site at the beginning of the year when there was some uncertainty about what the future might look like. I was very open that I liked writing for Rivals and communicated with our new publisher that I would like to continue writing for the site. But you also never really know how...

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