Posted 2025-04-01

At an unannounced emergency session held just before midnight Wednesday, April 1, the University of Oregon Board of Trustees voted unanimously to claw back giant pay raises it approved in March for four football coaches. The unexpected action came after board chair Steve Holwerda said he had learned that the Ducks had lost in the Rose Bowl in January.

Instead, the board voted to use the money to fund 20 percent raises for faculty members, and to donate the remaining $10 million to Sexual Assault Support Services of Eugene.

“We are an academic institution,” Holwerda told the board. “And that is where we should be spending our money. Not on a team that freezes up when it matters.”

In an interview shortly before leaving the country on an indefinite leave of absence, Holwerda said the meeting was not announced in advance because he didn’t want Phil Knight or Elon Musk to get word of the proposed change before the board could approve it.