The student section at Autzen Stadium during a football game, pre-pandemic.
Members of the student government at the University of Oregon were reviewing their $17 million annual budget last summer when they came across a decades-old contract with the athletics department, which gave students access to tickets for football and basketball games. About 10 percent of the student government budget, or $1.7 million, was going to the athletics department each year in exchange for “free” student tickets to athletic events, according to members of the Student Senate’s Athletics and Contracts Finance Committee.
The discovery immediately raised red flags. The university had canceled athletic events during the spring term because of the pandemic, and students were not attending any sporting events on campus. The Ducks upcoming fall football season was also in question.