The University of Oregon is exploring the creation of a sporting goods product-management program at its Portland campus, addressing what officials believe is a glaring need for the footwear and apparel-dominated local industry.
Ellen Schmidt-Devlin, who worked for nearly three decades at Nike and has been an adjunct instructor of sports business the past three years at UO's Warsaw Sports Marketing Center, has been leading the effort to assess demand in Portland.
Interviews with more than 100 people in the industry and academia exposed a gap in the skills sought at companies like Nike, Adidas America, Columbia Sportswear and others, Schmidt-Devlin said.
Portland's program, which is still in a conceptual stage, would prepare students for sports product and sports apparel management, Schmidt-Devlin said.
The Portland area has the highest concentration of footwear distribution and footwear manufacturing in the U.S., Schmidt-Devlin said, presenting an opportunity to provide better resources -- such as access to industry professionals as well as experienced UO faculty -- at the Portland campus. That would make classes more accessible than Eugene for the bulk of the region's sports industry workers as well as others wanting to break into the field.
Schmidt-Devlin, who competed on the Ducks track and cross country teams from 1976 to 1979, joined Nike at the suggestion of company co-founder Bill Bowerman shortly after graduation. She held leadership positions at the company headquarters near Beaverton, and at Nike offices in Exeter, N.H., Hong Kong, Japan, Thailand and Korea. She was the executive producer of We Grew Wings, a documentary about UO women's track and field.
A first step toward growing a UO program in Portland starts Friday with the first of four management workshops planned this academic year. The two-day workshop, "Sustainability: Design through Manufacturing," will be taught by four leaders in the sustainability industry.
"There's a need for people who live and work around here," said Steve Bence, director of transition management at Nike. Bence, a long-time Nike colleague of Schmidt-Devlin's and also a former UO track athlete, has served on an advisory panel for the potential UO Portland program.
"I'm kind of disappointed that Nike or this industry is not as aggressive as they could be in getting Oregon graduates into this industry," Bence said. "They don't' seem to be prepared for the sports product business. A lot of people say, 'I want to work for Nike,' or, 'I want to work in the sports product industry.' Now we're going to have an answer."
Portland State University earlier this year launched an Athletic and Outdoor Industry undergraduate certificate program targeting the industry's needs in the region. PSU also recently announced a non-credit Athletic and Outdoor Industry certificate program through its Center for Executive and Professional Education.
There's room for both programs in the industry, which employs more than 14,000 people statewide at more than 800 companies, said Paul Swangard, managing director of UO's Warsaw Sports Marketing Center.
"One could argue that the University of Oregon was at the birth of this industry cluster through programs like Warsaw," said Swangard. "There's plenty of room for everybody."
"We have had a long-standing history in the sports space and have prepared students for a variety of different positions in the industry," Swangard said. "What we've attempted to do is strengthen the relationship that we have with the cluster in Portland. Our long-range goal is to prepare our students appropriately."
Rob Langstaff, founder of RYZ footwear in Portland, is helping Schmidt-Devlin prepare a potential curriculum.
While Nike has thrived without local education programs, "there are a lot of companies in this town that aren't Nike," said Langstaff, a one-time Adidas America president who also owns a consultancy, RL&A. "It's harder now than 20 years ago. The people we see coming out of management programs are not necessarily geared for this level of competition."
-- Allan Brettman