Former Oregon men’s basketball players Damyean Dotson, Dominic Artis and Brandon Austin have been found responsible for sexual misconduct violating the University of Oregon student conduct code and will be suspended from the school for at least four years, attorney John Clune told The Emerald Monday morning. Clune represents the survivor of a sexual assault allegedly committed by Dotson, Artis and Austin. Clune said the players can be suspended for a maximum of 10 years, depending on how long his client is on campus.

Clune provided the following statement from his client in response to the results of the student conduct hearing:

“I think the word relieved is probably most accurate. It is the right result but it would have been very hard to stay at UO with a different outcome.”

Clune released the alleged survivor’s first statement to The Emerald on June 5.

Clune has represented clients in other high-profile cases involving athletes, including a sexual assault civil against NBA star Kobe Bryant, a civil lawsuit against former MLB pitcher Johan Santana and the Florida State rape case involving Heisman trophy winner Jamies Winston.

The Emerald has contacted the UO and is awaiting comment on the players’ suspension.

UPDATE (4:49 p.m. June 23): UO spokeswoman Julie Brown emailed a statement about the suspensions to The Emerald.

“As in all cases of sexual misconduct, we provide information to the complainant and the accused about the results of our administrative proceedings. It appears that the information released by Mr. Clune is accurate. As has been said before, each young man had previously been given their full release and permission to contact any school. Any inquiries related to transfers should be directed to the individual.

“In all reports of any misconduct including sexual harassment, intimidation or violence, the university works to protect and support the students involved. Student safety is our top priority. The UO is working with the campus community and an expert panel to review our prevention and response practices.”

Brown confirmed that the three players will be suspended for at least four years.

UPDATE: (7:50 p.m. June 23): Artis’ attorney, Greg Veralrud, sent the following statement to The Oregonian’s Andrew Greif Monday evening.

The attorney for Dominic Artis, Greg Veralrud, just emailed this response to the news of his client's UO suspension: pic.twitter.com/MispvoFEh4

— Andrew Greif (@AndrewGreif) June 24, 2014

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As the Erb Memorial Union renovation project ramps up this summer, about 40 trees will become casualties of the construction. While tree removal is a common occurrence during many construction projects on the University of Oregon campus, not everyone feels content.

Whitey Lueck, an adjunct professor in the UO’s department of landscape architecture, has a particular affection for a towering London plane tree that sits on the southeast side of the EMU. The tree — which Lueck estimates is at least 75 years old — is scheduled to be cut down this week.

EMU director Laurie Woodward said the renovation team sent out a notice on April 26 to inform the public of the tree removal, but Lueck didn’t hear about this until last month, which angered him. He felt he should have been included in the discussion about the removal, which he expressed in an email to UO architect Christopher Ramey.

“I’m a respected voice in the community,” Lueck said. “I might have ideas and perspectives that (Ramey) and others on the team don’t have, that might be good.”

Ramey returned Lueck’s email Friday, saying the EMU provided plenty of notice and welcomed input from the campus community. Lueck wasn’t satisfied by Ramey’s response and had issues with the following line from the UO’s Campus Planning, Design and Construction mission statement: “We guide the planning, design, and construction of the campus while preserving its heritage and enriching its environments.”

“What hypocrisy,” Lueck said.

Woodward said she hates the idea of cutting down trees and that it has to happen during this renovation project, but the project couldn’t be completed if trees such as the London plane stayed put. The grassy area where the London plane sits must be leveled to 440 feet for reasons such as disability accessibility.

“The tree is several tens of feet above that 440, so we’d be excavating down to where its roots are,” Woodward said.

The university does have a plan for removed trees. Some of them will be moved to other parts of campus, and the wood from the London plane will be used by organizations such as the Craft Center.

“The university does a really good job of preserving wood and using it in projects,” Woodward said. “They have a drying house on campus, so they’ll dry wood and use it in construction projects across campus as they need it.”

Five other London planes exist on campus, according to Woodward, a figure Arica Duhrkoop-Galas believes is high. Duhrkoop-Galas also teaches in the landscape architecture department and she isn’t angry about the London plane being cut down.

“I think amongst most of the people who work on campus, there’s an understanding that you can’t save every tree,” Duhrkoop-Galas said.

Duhrkoop-Galas stressed that she wasn’t involved in the EMU renovation planning process, but she said in many cases, architects don’t care nearly as much about trees as she does. Duhrkoop-Galas and Lueck are also worried about the future of the UO campus, which currently has over 3,000 trees.

“Our student body is growing so fast that the growth has to be put somewhere,” Duhrkoop-Galas said. “How do you make that decision? I don’t think that’s a job I would want.”

The university is planting more trees than it’s removing from the EMU area, according to Woodward. Durhkoop-Galas and Lueck have been satisfied with the treatment of trees in past UO construction projects, as well.

But they still have concerns. Lueck said this EMU construction project is just a symptom of a larger problem.

“The problem is a university, a community, a culture, a world that will not address the problem of infinite growth,” Lueck said.

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In efforts to decrease sexual violence on college campuses, the U.S. Department of Education announced new steps that would require institutions of higher education to follow proposed rules related to campus safety and security. These requirements are aimed specifically at minimizing sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking.

The proposed rule, published in Friday’s Federal Register, is attempting to make changes to the Jeanne Clery Act under the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 (VAWA), which President Obama signed in March 2013. The summary of the proposed regulations said they “would update, clarify, and improve the current regulations.”

“The Department has the responsibility to ensure that our higher education institutions are creating safe environments for students and are appropriately reporting crimes that occur on or near their campuses,” U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said in a press release. “These new rules strengthen schools’ capacity to provide safer college campuses for students and to keep everyone better informed about campus security policies and procedures.”

On Thursday, a rulemaking panel reached an agreement on a draft detailing the new campus safety provisions. The panel was made up of students who are sexual assault survivors, as well as representatives from colleges, law enforcement and advocacy organizations.

The proposed rules would require colleges to compile statistics on acts of sexual violence on top of the crime data they have already gathered, related to sexual assault or otherwise.

The Department of Education listed several other proposed changes of note, per its press release:

“- Adding gender identity and national origin as categories of bias under the Clery Act’s definition of hate crimes;
– Adopting the FBI’s revised, more inclusive definition of rape;
– Requiring institutions to ensure that their disciplinary proceedings in response to alleged incidents of dating violence, domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking are prompt, fair, and impartial;
– Strengthening protections for victim confidentiality, while helping victims to access the support, services, and the disciplinary and legal options available to them; and
– Specifying requirements for programs to prevent dating violence, domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking, including prevention and awareness programs and campaigns.”

The public has exactly a month from Saturday to comment on the proposed regulation. After those comments are considered, the final rules will be published on November 1.

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The Oregon football program experienced a loss of $689,353 from its appearance in the Alamo Bowl this past December. As part of a public records request, The Oregonian acquired a breakdown of the trip’s expenses, which detailed the total bowl expenses. The figure for these expenses was over $2.5 million.

The largest contributors to the bowl expenses were coach/staff bonuses ($1,058,664) and travel ($836,686). The supplies expense was next largest at $238,895 (supplies included commemorative rings and T-shirts for the Oregon band).

While large, Oregon’s senior associate athletic director for marketing and public relations Craig Pintens told The Oregonian that bowl expenses like these are not out of the norm.

“It’s just something that we budget for, none of this is a surprise to us necessarily,” Pintens said. “Depending on which bowl we go to we adjust our travel size accordingly, our supplies accordingly and so on. We always want to operate on a zero-based budget.”

Oregon’s reimbursements/revenues from the trip to San Antonio came in at $1,839,481, with $1,800,491 coming from the Pac-12 Conference.

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The Oregon softball program received a $10 million gift from Robert Sanders, UO athletic director Rob Mullens announced Saturday. The gift will lead a push towards construction of a new softball stadium.

“I’m thrilled to announce a leading gift to Oregon softball that will pave the way to a new era for our highly successful program,” Mullens said during Saturday’s Women in Flight dinner. “Thanks to Mr. Sanders’ generosity, we will be able to ride the momentum of this amazing season and create a new home for Ducks softball.”

The new softball facility will be named after Sanders’ late wife, Jane, who passed away in June 2013 at the age of 85. Robert, a former fullback for the Oregon football team, graduated from the university in 1949. He met Jane, a cheerleader, while the two attended UO Jane graduated in 1950.

The couple became successful in the lumber industry, with businesses in Oregon, Washington and California.

“We cannot thank Robert enough for his generosity,” UO President Michael Gottfredson said. “The university is grateful and proud to help honor the legacy of Jane Sanders. Our softball team is a tremendous point of pride for this university and this gift will only serve to bolster it.”

The date of opening and location for the new softball facility have yet to be determined. The Oregon softball team currently plays its home games at Howe Field, which opened as a baseball stadium for the Ducks in 1936. The softball team began playing there in 1987.

“I would like to thank Mr. Sanders and his late wife, Jane, for their tremendous donation to our softball program,” said head softball coach Mike White, who was traveling for recruiting on Saturday. “This has just made a great year in Oregon softball even better. I’m so happy for our current and future student-athletes to soon have a new facility that will reflect their hard work and dedication to building Oregon softball into the program it is today.”

Some Twitter reaction to Sanders’ gift:

Mullens said in announcing the gift that "what we will build is a world-class Jane Sanders Softball Stadium." #GoDucks

— Rob Moseley (@GoDucksMoseley) June 8, 2014

Oregon P Karissa Hovinga, who attended the banquet: "He said he had a big announcement, but I didn't think it would be that. This is huge."

— Rob Moseley (@GoDucksMoseley) June 8, 2014

I sat down with Mike White on Thursday. He essentially said he'd consider leaving if no SB stadium built. That seems far less likely today.

— Jake Zivin (@JakeZivin) June 8, 2014

Not a bad week at all for Mike White despite the WCWS loss. His assistants earn raises and he gets closer to a new softball stadium.

— Andrew Greif (@AndrewGreif) June 8, 2014

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University of Oregon Board of Trustees member Connie Balmer is reportedly set to become part owner of the Los Angeles Clippers. Balmer’s husband, former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, reportedly agreed to buy the National Basketball Association franchise Thursday for a $2 billion.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver handed out a lifetime ban to former Clippers’ owner Donald Sterling on April 29 following Sterling’s controversial comments towards African Americans. Sterling agreed to let his wife, Shelly, pursue a sale of the team last week and reports surfaced Thursday afternoon that she had agreed to sell the team to the Ballmers.

Steve’s net worth is $21 billion, according to Forbes.

If the NBA’s owners approve of the sale of the Clippers to the Ballmers, the $2 billion deal would be the highest paid for an NBA franchise in league history. The next highest is the $550 million paid earlier this month for the Milwaukee Bucks.

Connie grew up in Oregon City and graduated from the UO with a Bachelor’s degree in journalism in 1984.

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The Oregon baseball team kicked off the Nashville Regional in explosive fashion, demolishing Clemson 18-1 Friday afternoon.

Besides Oregon’s 20-4 rout of Ohio State on March 9, the No. 2-seeded Ducks haven’t scored more runs in a game all season. Against No. 3 seed Clemson, the Ducks compiled 20 hits, two home runs, three triples, four doubles, five stolen bases, five hit batsmen and three walks. The Ducks even trailed at one point, albeit briefly.

Oregon starting pitcher Tommy Thorpe walked the first batter of the game, Tyler Slaton, who advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by the second hitter. Thorpe struck out the third hitter but cleanup man Steve Wilkerson singled to center to score Slaton and give Clemson an early 1-0 lead.

The Ducks were held scoreless by Clemson starter Matthew Crownover in the bottom of the first but they answered in the second. Tyler Baumgartner (3-for-6, two RBIs, three runs) hit a leadoff triple and scored during the next at-bat on a Kyle Garlick (1-for-4, one RBI) groundout to third. After back-to-back singles from A.J. Balta (2-for-5, one RBI, two runs) and Josh Graham (2-for-2, two runs). Mark Karaviotis (0-or-1, one RBI, one run) laid down a bunt following Graham’s single and Balta beat Crownover’s toss home to make the score 2-1. Aaron Payne came up next and singled to left field, scoring Graham from second.

After a scoreless third, the Ducks piled on the runs in the fourth. Graham led off with a single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt from Karaviotis. Payne then hit an infield single to put runners on the corners and Nick Catalano (3-for-4, three RBIs, two runs) drove in Graham with a squeeze bunt to make the score 4-1.

Payne and Catalano then executed a double steal but Mitchell Tolman (1-for-3, two RBIs, on run) couldn’t drive them in, striking out swinging. The left-handed Crownover was replaced by lefty Zach Erwin, who came in to face the Pac-12 home run leader, Shaun Chase (2-for-5, four RBIs, two runs). Chase squared up for a bunt on a 1-1 pitch but took it for a ball. On the next pitch, Chase blasted a home run to left field, putting Oregon up 7-1. The next batter was Baumgartner, who made the score 8-1 on a home run to right field. It was Baumgartner’s third home run of the season and the first from an Oregon batter not named Shaun Chase since May 11.

Baumgartner's homer was also the first for Oregon by someone other than Shaun Chase in nearly three weeks, on May 11. Payne, of all people.

— Rob Moseley (@GoDucksMoseley) May 30, 2014

The Ducks didn’t stop there. In the bottom of the fifth, Payne led off with a hit-by-pitch and scored on a double down the left field line from Catalano. Tolman drove in Catalano in the next at-bat on a triple down the right field line to make the score 10-1. Tolman came in to score two batters later on a groundball to shortstop off the bat of Baumgartner, who finished a double shy of the cycle. Clemson’s shortstop Jay Baum threw home on the play but it was off-target, allowing Tolman to score easily and giving the Ducks an 11-1 lead.

The Ducks led off the sixth inning with a baserunner again, this time on a single from Steven Packard. Karaviotis then got hit by a pitch and both runners moved up a base on a wild pitch. Payne got hit by another pitch, loading the bases, and Catalano walked to bring home Packard. Tolman followed that up with a sacrifice fly (Catalano was thrown out at second on the play) and Chase doubled down the left field line to drive in Payne, giving Oregon a 14-1 lead. Baumgarter, Garlick and Balta hit three straight singles following Chase’s double to increase the score to 16-1. Packard came up again and completed the scoring with a two-RBI triple.

Thorpe went seven innings, giving up one earned run on five hits and four walks with four strikeouts. Porter Clayton pitched two scoreless and hitless innings in relief.

Jeff Gold will get the ball for the Ducks in game two of Regionals, which will be played Saturday. Oregon will face the winner of Friday night’s game between No. 1 seed Vanderbilt and No. 4 seed Xavier.

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A trash fire ignited behind the Pairadice Apartments at 640 E 15th Avenue between Hilyard and Patterson streets on Friday night around 12:30 a.m. and was extinguished by Eugene Springfield Fire Department personnel. Neither the fire department nor the group of people who called 9-1-1 said they know how the fire started.

Jess Kim, Sun Kim, Kelvin Ho and Minoh Suh were walking through the alley early Friday morning when they saw smoke billowing from a Royal Refuse trash bin locked behind a chain link fence behind the apartment building. Minutes later, the fire went slightly over the top of the bin, according to Suh, prompting the four to call 9-1-1. Suh said it took the fire fighters less than five minutes to arrive on the scene.

“The fire was dying down by the time they arrived,” Suh said.

Lance Lighty, one of the fire fighters on the scene, said the fire posed potential danger because it was right above the trash bin and next to a wooden wall right below one of the Pairadice Apartments. Lighty said a large fire could easily ignite this wooden part of the apartment, putting the property at risk.

The Oregon baseball team lost on senior night, won three fewer regular season games than it did last year and will travel to Nashville for Regionals, Oregon’s first round on the road since 2010. If the Ducks don’t advance to Super Regionals, head coach George Horton and his team won’t look back on this season with smiles.

“The challenge to this year’s group, like the last couple, was to finish,” Horton said after Saturday’s 5-3 loss to California. “So far, we’re on the verge of not finishing again.”

No one can blame the Ducks for their lofty expectations, especially after failing to reach the College World Series the past two seasons. But they should appreciate this season no matter what happens these next few weeks.

“We’re going to playoffs,” outfielder Kyle Garlick said. “That’s where we want to be.”

If anyone knew before this season that Matt Krook would miss a huge chunk of the season and Cole Irvin would miss all of it, few would have predicted 42 wins for this team. Add Scott Heineman’s lost year and those same prognosticators would likely question Oregon’s chances of making the postseason.

Injuries weren’t the only issues, either. In many games, more than half of Oregon’s starters were freshmen and only Krook came in with expectations of immediate impact. Several freshman were practically forced to play right away, given the massive holes left by several key contributors. The Ducks even converted a starting pitcher (Jake Reed) to replace one of the nation’s best closers in Jimmie Sherfy.

But somehow, Oregon replaced seniors and injured stars with quality players, giving the Ducks a chance to achieve their dream of bliss in Omaha.

Jeff Gold became Oregon’s most consistent pitcher — before struggling as of late — after being slotted as a fourth starter at best.

Shaun Chase hit .207 last season and shared playing time with Josh Graham and freshman Jack Kruger at catcher earlier this year. But Chase locked the job down by hitting the cover off the ball (.281 batting average, Pac-12-leading 12 home runs) to go along with his solid defense.

Kevin Minjares started the season at shortstop but ended up a backup due to the emergence of Mark Karaviotis. The freshman posted a .371 on-base percentage, which is gravy considering how masterful he performed on defense.

Mitchell Tolman (.315/.441/.458 slash line) progressed as a hitter, freshman Austin Grebeck played hero multiple times, Tommy Thorpe pitched like an ace, Reed’s move to closer proved to be a success and the Ducks played No. 1 Oregon State tough in nearly every game, winning once.

“I think we’ve done a great job of getting past everything and staying positive with what we have,” outfielder Steven Packard said. “Hopefully, we can carry that into the postseason.”

Oregon’s main goal should be to perform well in regionals and potentially beyond, but success in a 60-game regular season shouldn’t be erased by a poor performance in a few regional games. Even if the postseason ends in disappointment, the Ducks can go into next season knowing they can win the College World Series if the breaks finally go their way.

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The Oregon baseball team gathered at The Cooler Restaurant and Bar Monday morning, eyes glued to the TV, which was showing the college baseball Regionals selection show. As the players finished up their plates full of eggs, bacon, hash browns and biscuits, a graphic for the Nashville Regional appeared on the screen — Oregon’s name popped up right above Clemson’s, eliciting cheers and applause from the restaurant’s crowd, which included some of the team members’ family and friends. The Ducks will face the Tigers Friday at 10 a.m. PST.

“The fact that we’re one of the last 64 standing, I’m very proud of that fact,” Oregon head coach George Horton told the crowd.

This is Oregon’s third straight Regional appearance and its first on the road since 2010. The Ducks went 42-18 during the 2014 regular season, three games worse than last year’s regular season record. They were ousted by Rice in last year’s Regional round, which was held in Eugene. Oregon reached the Super Regionals the year before and lost to Kent State in heartbreaking fashion.

Indiana, Virginia and San Luis Obispo, California were three possible destinations Horton and his staff discussed, and he said he and some of his players had “mixed feelings” about the draw because he and several Ducks have family close to San Luis Obispo. But Horton sees a benefit in traveling east instead of staying west.

“It’s kind of refreshing if you’re not hosting to get out of the west and not play the same teams that are familiar with you,” Horton told reporters after the selection show concluded.

The Ducks are coming off two straight losses to California, which came directly after a dominant start from Tommy Thorpe and a 6-2 win over Oregon State, the No. 1 national seed who beat Oregon the previous four meetings. The Ducks will also be without three of their best players — Cole Irvin, Matt Krook and Scott Heineman — who are all lost for the season due to injuries. Third baseman Mitchell Tolman believes this kind of adversity going into the postseason can be beneficial, though.

“Personally, I like it when people don’t really have a lot of belief in you,” Tolman said.

Horton isn’t happy with how this past weekend turned out, but he pointed out the road defending national champion UCLA took at the end of last season. Before going on their title run, the Bruins won a midweek game but lost two of three to a Bay Area team (Stanford) on the regular season’s final weekend.

“There are 64 teams, everybody has an equal opportunity and the team that gets the hottest and can sustain that over a lengthy period of time is going to be the national champion,” Horton said.

Oregon and Oregon State are two of five Pac-12 schools in the round of 64. Washington, Stanford and Arizona State are the other three and it, like Oregon, are all playing on the road in regionals. Horton said he was shocked when he saw the 16 regional host sites last night and Oregon State was the only Pac-12 team on the list, especially considering the conference’s recent success in the College World Series.

“West of the Rockies just doesn’t seem to quite get the respect that SEC football does,” said Horton, who believes Washington deserved to be a host.

Thorpe has lasted at least five innings and has given up three runs or less in each of his last eight starts, which was capped off by his first complete game of the season Friday. But Thorpe might have a tough matchup Friday in Daniel Gossett, who owns a 1.78 earned-run average and 102 strikeouts against 30 walks.

“If they do throw me Friday against him, I’m ready to go,” Thorpe said.

Horton said Oregon’s pitching rotation will depend on matchups. The Ducks will spend this week determining which gameplans will work best against Clemson, as well as Nashville’s No. 4 seed Xavier and No. 1 seed Vanderbilt. Horton said the slate is now clean, and he hopes his team can make a run like UCLA did last year.

“It’s always nice to be invited to the dance,” Horton said. “Now, we just have to dance.”

The field of 64 bracket can be seen here.

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