Oregon St. should add Tennis

In the Pac-12 only one school does not participate in Tennis. That school unfortunately is Oregon State. Tennis is a nice sport to watch and one that would translate well to the Pac-12 Networks. There are 11 current women’s teams in the Pac-12 and 8 men’s teams. I think OSU should add the sport for both men and women. Oregon St. has an identity that could attract the Djokovic types. Tough and gutsy without all the glitz. Matches held on campus would get some spectators and more importantly we could follow the teams on the PacNets. In my opinion it makes for more exciting viewership than wrestling which is only done by Stanford, Arizona St. and Oregon St. I believe OSU can add tennis for both sexes and satisfy Title IX without any other cuts.

So that begs the question. Is there any great reason WSU can participate in the sport and not OSU? After all, our teams could easily practice with Oregon 4 times a year for some cross-training and to better get the tradition started with each team making a couple short trips to the other campus. WSU does not have that luxury with another Pac-12 program. Men’s tennis can be quite exciting and even women’s tennis at this level can be intriguing. Stanford is one of the premier teams in the country. Them being in the Pac-12 North makes it seem like a relationship OSU could gain from by having its own teams. Maybe we could start recruiting some Eastern Europeans who tend to dominate the sport at its highest level and who would appreciate Pac-12 level education and scholarships.

I think as we continue to get more Pac-12 money, maybe in another 4 to 5 years, OSU should seriously consider it. It is a sport every other institution has seen value in and I believe in time OSU should make it every school from our conference that is represented.

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