You may have read my blog on Friday when I linked to a story in The Oregonian informing you that the University of Oregon's football team would be practicing at Nike's World Headquarters in Beaverton this past Saturday. Nike founder Phil Knight and his wife Penny were on hand to watch the practice. The real business took place after the practice though and actually had nothing to do with Oregon's football team.

Sources tell me that Phil Knight and his wife Penny, avid supporters of the University of Oregon (athletics and academics - they donated $27M in 1994 for the renovation for what is now known as the Knight Library), hosted a meeting for elite U of O donors on Saturday. At that meeting, Oregon AD Pat Kilkenny and Oregon Associate AD Jim Bartko were present and they outlined plans for a new basketball arena. The current basketball home of the Ducks, Mac Court, was built in 1926 and lacks the modern amentities of many Division I programs. The arena project, which has been in the works for the past few years, has stalled because it hasn't had a signature donor commit to the project.

At this meeting on Saturday at Nike's World Headquarters, there was a multimedia presentation that detailed plans for what a new basketball home for the Ducks could look like. Then Phil Knight spoke briefly to the group and expressed his thoughts regarding a new basketball arena for the Ducks.

At the conclusion of the meeting, Phil and Penny Knight announced to the elite group of donors that they are going to be donating $100M to start an endowment that will kick start the financial campaign to pay for the new arena. This announcement will likely be made public by the University of Oregon in the very near future. The Knights urged the other elite donors to get on board with the effort - the proposed cost of a new arena is slated for anywhere between $180M and $200M dollars.

My sources also tell me that this is only a piece of the vision for the University of Oregon's athletic department over the next several years. In addition to building a new basketball arena, they'd like to continue rennovations to Autzen Stadium (home of the football team) and then build a state-of-the-art indoor track.

Once again, Phil and Penny Knight have stepped up to the plate in a big way in support of the University of Oregon. Phil Knight has reportedly liquidated over $1B in Nike stock in the past 18 months and its very clear to see that during the last third of his life, one of his lasting legacies will be via his donations to the University of Oregon.

The Knights have opened the door to a plethora of opportunities at the University of Oregon. Now we'll see who else steps up to lend financial support.

People ask all of the time why Phil Knight, worth an estimated $7B, doesn't purchase a pro sports franchise. An NFL team. A MLB team. An English futbol club. Why? His passion is the University of Oregon, his alma mater. Now that Knight is no longer involved in the day to day operations at Nike, he has even more time to channel his energy and financial resources towards the University of Oregon.

Lucky Ducks.