September 2, 2007

Horton signs five-year deal to build Ducks' program
He led Fullerton to six College World Series in 11 seasons
GARY HOROWITZ
Statesman Journal

EUGENE -- George Horton has been to the highest level of college baseball, now it is his job to get Oregon to the pinnacle as well.

Horton was named Saturday as Oregon's baseball coach, and he has the challenge of building a program from scratch.

The Ducks dropped baseball in 1981 because of budget cuts and Title IX consideration.

'We expect to be competitive right away," said Horton, 54, who led Cal State Fullerton to the College World Series in six of his 11 seasons.

Oregon, which reinstated the baseball program in July, will not play until the 2009 season.

The Ducks do not have an on-campus baseball facility and are expected to initially play at Civic Stadium, the home of the Eugene Emeralds, a short-season A Northwest League affiliate of the San Diego Padres.

In signing Horton to a five-year contract that calls for a base salary of $150,000 and additional guaranteed income that will push his annual salary to $400,000, Oregon has landed one of the most successful baseball coaches in the country.

Horton led Fullerton to the CWS in four of the past five years, and the Titans were national champions in 2004.

"The bottom line is the University of Oregon has immediate credibility as a baseball program," said athletics director Pat Kilkenny, who added "there's no doubt that we did get the No. 1 coach in America."

Fans in Corvallis likely would dispute that claim.

Oregon State coach Pat Casey has led the Beavers to back-to-back national championships, and defeated Fullerton en route to the 2007 CWS title.

"Pat's done a good job of proving that Northwest baseball is at the highest standards," Horton said.

"Our mission will be to dominate the Northwest in recruiting and that will be no easy challenge."

Horton called Casey's accomplishments at OSU "phenomenal," (but) "that is not one of the reasons I chose to undertake this challenge."

Oregon's return to baseball will give the Pac-10 its full complement of 10 teams.

Even with the daunting task of turning Oregon into a contender in one of the nation's premier baseball conferences, Horton expects to "get to Omaha in very short order with this leadership and this opportunity."

College baseball teams are permitted 11.7 scholarships, but Horton does not expect to fill that quota in his first year.

"It will be a master plan based on what's best to get the program up and running as quickly as possible," Horton said.

So why would a veteran coach with such a successful program in place at Fullerton want to start over?

"You look at anybody that's been to Omaha four out of the last five years, they're not moving institutions," Horton said. "I'm an alumnus of Cal State Fullerton and they probably thought they couldn't get me out of there with a stick of dynamite. Well, this is beyond a stick of dynamite."

Horton plans to play a Pac-10 schedule in his first year.

"Our program will be based on throwing strikes, playing catch, and putting the ball in play," said Horton, who had a career record of 490-212-1 at Fullerton. "We'll be one of the smartest teams on the field that you've ever seen play."

Joining Horton's staff is Fullerton assistant coach Jason Gill, who will earn $120,000 annually.

The Horton file

WHO: George Horton, new baseball coach at Oregon.

AGE: 54

SALARY: Signed a five-year contract. Base of $150,000, with additional guaranteed income of $250,000.

BACKGROUND: Spent the past 11 seasons as coach at Cal State Fullerton. Led the Titans to the College World Series six times, and won the 2004 national championship.

OF NOTE: Two-time national coach of the year. Five-time Big West Conference coach of the year.