Billboard puts Ducks back in the Big Apple.

Byline: ROB MOSELEY The Register-Guard

Oregon football's presence in New York City this fall won't be limited to simply a billboard.

A year after Joey Harrington's image graced a billboard in New York to promote his Heisman campaign, a second billboard was erected Monday to help advertise the university's agreement with the Yankees Entertainment and Sports (YES) Network to replay all 12 of Oregon's games on the East Coast this fall.

"With the success we're enjoying right now with Oregon football, we felt it could be beneficial for us to follow that up with something innovative that involves more than just a billboard," UO director of athletics Bill Moos said. "Last year's effort, which I think was a tremendous success, stimulated curiosity about Oregon football and about the university in general.

"Rather than let that dry up and blow away, we wanted to refuel it."

To help announce the agreement with YES, Oregon erected a billboard featuring senior wide receiver Keenan Howry and the slogan "We're Back." The billboard is located at 47th and Broadway in Times Square and measures 53 feet by 172 feet, compared to the 80-by-100 dimensions of the Harrington billboard.

"We made a big splash last year and fortunately were able to back it up," Moos said of Oregon's 11-1 Pac-10 Championship season of a year ago, when Harrington was a finalist for the Heisman trophy. "It's not a repeat of what we did last year, but a continuation."

Moos, who along with UO football coach Mike Bellotti and other Oregon administrators, is traveling to New York today to announce the agreement with YES, said the billboard was funded by the same group of donors who financed the Harrington billboard.

The cost of the billboard plus the production costs for the Oregon Sports Network to produce the replays for YES total $300,000, 20 percent more than last year's billboard.

Moos called the location of the Howry billboard "prime territory," saying: "We thought we had a good one last year, but the one we've been able to acquire this year is pretty premier."

The goal of the billboard and replays, Moos said, is to strengthen the image of the university and its athletic department in what he called "the media crossroads of the world."

"You've got to realize that the greater New York area does not have a major-college football program," Moos said. "If we could be so fortunate as to be adopted as their team, we would love it."

As to the idea that replaying all 12 Oregon games might help eliminate any sort of East Coast bias against the Ducks, he said: "That wasn't really an intent, but if it works that's great."

YES, which broadcasts mostly New York Yankees and New Jersey Nets games, will replay Oregon games each Sunday from 2 to 6 a.m., network spokesman Bob Davis said. The cable network, which began programming in March, is available in all of New York state and Connecticut, most of New Jersey and parts of Pennsylvania.

YES, which also broadcasts games featuring one of Europe's premier soccer teams, Manchester United, is seen in approximately 8.3 million homes, Davis said. The agreement with Oregon is part of an attempt by the network to increase its college sports programming.

"There are a lot of Oregon alumni in our area, and it's good football," Davis said.

After a year without replays locally, OSN affiliates - including KEZI in Eugene - will broadcast same-day replays of Oregon football games this season, most likely late in the evening.

The billboard was originally scheduled to be erected today, according to UO assistant athletic director Jim Bartko, but went up a day early due to concerns that inclement weather could delay the work until after the Oregon contingent arrived in New York.

Bartko said plans for the billboard and replays got rolling last year, facilitated by OSN and ESPN Regional. When the framework for the agreement with YES was set, Oregon began searching for billboard locations, about six months ago.

"It's just a different twist," Bartko said. "I guarantee tomorrow and the next day, people will be talking about it."

Last year's billboard, though questioned by some for its cost, became a success in Oregon's eyes when Harrington became a Heisman finalist. Davis, who works in Manhattan, agreed.

"From an Oregon perspective it was worthwhile, because it created a lot of talk," he said. "When all was said and done, the talk was good for them."

Now, Moos and the Ducks are hoping for a similar reaction on the heels of Oregon's best football season in school history.

CAPTION(S):

A billboard featuring Oregon's Keenan Howry was erected Monday in Times Square.