University of Oregon trustees discuss Ducks joining Big Ten, UO's new Portland campus

Significant changes are coming to the University of Oregon this school year as the university prepares to transition to the Big Ten athletic conference and fully open the new UO Portland Northeast Campus.

The UO Board of Trustees received updates on these changes and their potential impacts during their quarterly meeting Monday and Tuesday.

Impact of Oregon moving to the Big Ten

During Tuesday's trustee meeting, Rob Mullens, director of intercollegiate athletics, and Eric Roedl, deputy athletic director, gave a presentation on UO athletics and the projected impacts of joining the Big Ten.

In early August, the Board of Trustees unanimously voted to leave the Pac-12 after 60 years in the conference. Starting in the August 2024 season, UO will be among 18 members of the Big Ten conference. University of Washington, University of California Los Angeles and University of Southern California will also be joining the Big Ten in 2024.

"Football is the economic engine for Oregon athletics," Mullens said during Tuesday's meeting. "We are essentially self-supported and so that football success, largely tied to ticket sales and donations, which you know, some is transactional and connected to those tickets, others just straight philanthropic, are extremely important to fund 500 student athletes and the other 19 sports.

"Membership in that conference is something that will benefit all of us," he said, highlighting anticipated national exposure.

UO officials expect the transition to the Big Ten will bring more recruitment opportunities.

During Monday's Finance and Facilities Committee meeting, Roger Thompson, vice president for student service and enrollment management, said UO is expecting this change will bring in more out-of-state and international students.

In particular, he said, he expects increased recruitment success in Chicago and the surrounding "heartland area" in the Midwest.

The current split between Oregon residents vs. non-residents is nearly equal with 50.1% of all UO students being non-residents, according to fall 2022 enrollment data. UO also recorded 4.3% of their students as international.

Mullens said that 85% of their student-athletes are non-Oregon residents.

Bringing in more out-of-state and international students means more money for the university.

The average tuition for Oregon residents is $15,669. The average tuition for non-residents is $43,302. Adding in costs of living, supplies, fees and transportation, the price to attend UO is $35,720 for residents and $64,302 for non-residents.

Notably, Mullens said, UO Athletics will be providing 242.3 full scholarship equivalencies, which is broken down into 175 full-ride scholarships and 226 partial scholarships. UO Athletics projects an expense of $18.9 million in scholarships for the 2023-24 school year.

Roedl said all athletic scholarships are paid for by UO Athletics and do not come out of the university's general fund. Scholarships make up about 13% of the $145 million athletic budget.

Mullens mentioned a Big Ten move will also open up opportunities for new academic collaborations.

UO Portland Northeast Campus updates

Jane Gordon, vice president for UO Portland, gave an update on the progress of construction and student life on that campus during the Academic and Student Affairs Committee meeting Monday.

Since buying the former Concordia University campus in June 2022 for $60.5 million, the Portland Campus has been coming together. Over the summer, some programs and students moved into the buildings, with some classes beginning at UO Portland for the fall term.

Gordon said it is primarily graduate students right now with some undergraduates. Fields of studies that have begun to transition include architecture, sports product design, psychology, multimedia journalism and third-year law.

To prepare for additional programs, including the Ballmer Institute for Children's Behavioral Health, the team has been working to clear out the buildings, auctioning off and giving away items to prepare for construction.

Gordon said engagement has been a big part of their work over the past year. More than 50,000 UO alumni live in Portland, and about 20% of students in the incoming class are from Portland. Gordon added that UO Portland has hosted four "community connection events" to help engage with Portland residents.

"We were really, really welcomed into the neighborhood because they didn't know what's going to happen to that campus," Gordon said. "They were very afraid that it would become something that wouldn't be really in sync with their neighborhoods. So they were very, very happy when it was announced the UO was purchasing it."

UO Portland tentatively plans to have all its programs in session by fall 2024.

Miranda Cyr reports on education for The Register-Guard. You can contact her at mcyr@registerguard.com or find her on Twitter @mirandabcyr.

This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: UO trustees discuss Ducks' Big Ten move, new Portland campus