Oregon State University - Beaver Yearbook (Corvallis, OR)

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The sponsoring of the Civil War game by Dodge meant more banners and logos, but brought about no change to students, faculty or fans. Contributed Logo The donation by the Roscr family led to great improvements to the football field, as well as a new name. Photo By John Obon Coach Dennis Erickson brought credibility to the OSU football team, which came to mean more financial support and the team's first winning record in 30 years. Photo By Brody Jackson A donation by the Roser family, long time OSU athletic supporters, led to the renaming of Parker Stadium to Reser Stadium. Photo By Janette le cht 24 • student life

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The Big Brother Big Sister program was rejuvenated and looking for enthusiastic students to join in. The Big Brother Big Sister program had been inactive for over a year because it lacked a director. Throughout the rebuilding year it was under the direction of Christian Greene. Greene took on the task of re-vitalizing the program with enthusiasm and vigor. The program, formed in 1965, was the one only one in the Coivallis area. It was responsible for 91 matches of bigs' and littles. The greatest area of need, according to Greene, was for more male volunteers. Greene believed that the reason for the shortage of male role models was the potential for a male to labeled as a pedophile if they were seen spending time with children that were non-related. Green said that this should not interfere with the decision to volunteer because there was nothing wrong with a male spending time with a child in a big brother role. Greene, who herself had been volunteer- ing for three years, was asking volunteers to commit to at last nine months. This would allow for good bonding between the little and the big and stability for the child. When asked about the kinds of children involved in the program, Greene was adamant that they come from all types of family situations and backgrounds. The common perception is the kids come from broken or dysfunctional families, says Greene. The reasons for kids becoming involved in the program was as varied as their backgrounds. Greene liked to become acquainted with each volunteer to get a better feel for helping match a child with a volunteer. Greene showed the volunteer several potential matches and allowed the volunteer to choose a child from a picture and biographical information. It is ultimately the big's choice in whom they choose for their little, stated Greene. Story by Corey Freeman big brothers big sisters • 23

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 5 Northwest Dodge Dealers regon State University went through many exciting changes this past year. From the renaming of Parker Stadium, to the hiring of a new football coach. Each new step helped the OSU Athletic Department in a positive way. The new Reser Stadium came through a sponsorship from the Reser family. The Reser family owns the corporation, Reser Fine Foods in Portland. As long time supporters of OSU, specifically the HOEC and athletic departments, they agreed to fund this part of the program. It became apparent, that while funds from OSU were not always available, college sports were forced to generate new revenues through sponsorships. Those sponsorship were generated through large corporations. Mitch Barnhart, OSU athletic director said, With those corporate dollars, in return for that revenue, the Reser family gets recognition in places of programs.' Depending on the amount of money donated, that sponsorship can include the renaming of a stadium, or help with the fix- ing up of Parker stadium. The new football coach, Dennis Erickson, also helped OSU Financially and competitively. With a couple of championships behind him, Erickson provided credibility to the football program, the coaching staff, and the players that he has been working with. By bringing existing credibility, Erickson helped the fans start to believe that they could compete. With a great recruiting class and a competitive returning class, Erickson had a very well prepared team on his hands. The Beavers had their first winning record in 30 years, and it was the first time they had gone to a bowl game in 35 years. An exciting change, involving the Northwest Dodge dealers buying rights to the Civil War game, created a partnership between rivals, OSU and University of Oregon. This four-year partnership was a multi-million dollar package, given that each university would receive several thousand dollars each year in revenue. Story By Rachelle Rossman a wealth of change • 25