University of Oregon Athletic Director Pat Kilkenny and his wife Stephanie have made a significant investment in the Lundquist College of Business's Warsaw Sports Marketing Center that will have ripples throughout NCAA athletics.

The Kilkennys made an outright gift of $500,000 to establish a new education and research initiative on intercollegiate athletics that will be operated by the Warsaw Center in partnership with the School of Journalism and Communication and the UO athletic department. The key feature of the initiative will be a unique executive education program to train current or aspiring university athletic directors in business and communication skills needed to lead a college athletics program.

"Stephanie and I talked a lot about the great things the University of Oregon is doing. We found some opportunities to make a real difference. And we wanted to send a message that 'student' comes first in 'student athlete,'" said Kilkenny.

"This gift shows the Kilkennys' commitment to the academic as well as the athletic side of the university," said Charles H. Lundquist College of Business Dean James Bean. "It will enhance our reputation as a leader in sports business and it will strengthen our relationship with both the School of Journalism and Communication and athletics.

"It will be a symbiotic relationship between athletics and academics," added Bean. "We offer our research, and they provide the data, internships, and programs that allow us to use different sports programs as living laboratories."

Paul Swangard, managing director of the Warsaw Sports Marketing Center, said the new athletic director education program will feature short courses and workshops covering all aspects of leading a major college athletic department--from sponsorship deals to community relations.Ultimately, the program will generate tuition revenue to support a variety of programs at the internationally recognized center. It will also benefit students and teachers, said Swangard. Faculty members will conduct sports-related research projects, and students will learn through internships and hands-on projects.

"This is Oregon," noted Swangard. "Sports is in our DNA. This will help turn the athletic department into the ultimate learning lab. Students and faculty will see immediate benefit, and we hope in the long-term that the UO will become the training ground for the future leaders of collegiate athletics."

The gift is part of an overall $1 million donation to the University of Oregon. Of the remaining half million of the gift, $460,000 will establish a new interdisciplinary program housed in the law school that will promote sports as a healthy alternative to conflict and as a vehicle to teach dispute resolution skills. Another $27,500 constitutes the first private donation for PathwayOregon, a new scholarship initiative guaranteeing that qualified Oregonians from lower income families can attend the UO tuition-free. The final $12,500 goes to a fund established by the university's athletics coaches to support UO libraries.