August 31, 2007

Horton leaving CSF
By JANIS CARR
The Orange County Register

Cal State Fullerton coach George Horton has accepted the head baseball coaching positiong at the University of Oregon, where he will try to build the Ducks into national contender after a 26-year absence.

Horton is expected to be introduced at a news conference in Eugene, Ore., over the weekend.

Oregon dropped its program in 1981 because of financial cuts and Title IX restrictions. It will not start playing until the 2009 season, giving Horton a year to recruit and set the foundation for the program, much like UC Irvine did when it resurrected its program in 2002.

This allows Horton a chance to build a program from scratch with a budget and financial resources that surpass those at Fullerton. Nike founder Phil Knight recently gave the Oregon athletic department a $100 million gift.

Initially, the outline for the program called for only four or five scholarships to be awarded in the first year with the full allotment of 11.7 reached over a four-year span. Oregon spokesman Dave Wiliford said that could change, depending on the coach.

Currently the school does not have an on-campus stadium, meaning the Ducks would have to play home games at Civic Stadium, a 6,800-seat facility built in 1938 that is home to the Eugene Emeralds, a Class A affiliate of the San Diego Padres.

Horton leaves behind his own burgeoning legacy. He took the Titans to the College World Series six times in his 11 years, winning the national championship in 2004. They also went in 2006 and this season, when they were eliminated by UC Irvine.