June 13, 2005
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>Ron Bellamy: Intentions are clear for Oregon track
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>By Ron Bellamy
>Columnist, The Register-Guard
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The job of head track and field coach at the University of Oregon will be Vin Lananna's to accept or decline.
Oregon made that abundantly clear Sunday, publishing the official job posting for the position in The Register-Guard and setting requirements that are tailor-made for the former Stanford University coach who is now director of athletics at Oberlin College in Ohio.
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In the posting, Oregon has upgraded the position of director of men's and women's track and field and cross country - the job vacated by Martin Smith in March - to the level of assistant athletics director, a position that would report directly to AD Bill Moos, with all the prestige and salary implied in such access.
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Clearly, this position will be less about holding a stopwatch, and more about providing leadership and vision for the sport at Oregon and in the community.
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In a way, this is outside-the-box for Oregon, yet it would also reflect the kind of coach Oregon had with Bill far more than simply a coach.
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The description of the new position, as it will now be defined, signals Moos' intent to invest in the future of a sport that has the most storied past of any Oregon program.
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"I think we have a chance at this juncture to take something that's pretty good and make it great," Moos said Sunday. "With the great tradition and legacy that track and field has, we can be dominant, and we're going to shoot for that."
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Moos said he wants Oregon's next head track coach "to share my vision, which I believe is shared by many, of what we can be. ... I'm concerned that we may be a generation away from being old news in the sport of track and field, and I want to shoot for the moon this time and have no regrets."
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The required qualifications in the job posting - which closes June 27 - demand at least 10 years of head track coaching experience at the Division I level, as well as "college athletic administrative experience."
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Those requirements preclude the candidacy of any of the current UO assistant coaches. They would also rule out the candidacy of former Oregon runner Eric Peterson, who coaches distance runners at UCLA.
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Lananna, who turns 52 on Friday, is completing his second year as athletic director at Oberlin. Prior to that, he spent 11 years as head track and cross country coach at Stanford, where his teams won five NCAA titles, including the 2000 men's track title.
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Prior to his tenure at Stanford, Lananna was the men's and women's track and cross country coach at Dartmouth for 12 years.
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Reached by phone Sunday evening, Lananna declined comment. "I don't have anything to say at this point," he said.
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However, it's not likely that Oregon ran that ad, with that wording, without a strong belief that Lananna is willing to be interested, and to share Moos' vision.
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The end of Smith's tenure, however bitter and expensive for Oregon - the Ducks will pay him $517,000 over the next three years - has given Oregon an opportunity to make a statement about how much it values excellence in track and field.
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Hiring a coach of Lananna's stature would make that statement.
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Among the job requirements: "Cultivates and maintains positive relationships with community members and various track constituencies."
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On the table for Oregon right now is a possible bid for the 2008 Olympic Trials, though time is running out.
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"We're going to need help," Moos said, meaning financial. "It falls into the mix of where I envision track and field in the community going, but ...we're going to need some help. If that appeals to somebody, then that's great. If it doesn't, we're still going to strive for great things for Oregon in track and field."
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On the table, for the new director of track and field, would be the development of compelling new meets at Oregon, improvements at Hayward Field, and the possible construction of an indoor track.
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And the rebuilding of bridges.
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It's all big picture stuff, which reflects that Oregon is thinking big.