Oregon strikes gold

The University of Oregon introduced George Horton as its new baseball coach on Saturday, having reached agreement with the two-time national coach of the year who led Cal State-Fullerton to six trips to the College World Series in 11 seasons, including the national championship in 2004.

"The gold standard," director of athletics Pat Kilkenny said of Horton, who has a career record of 490-212-1.

"The bottom line is that the University of Oregon has immediate credibility as a baseball program. President (Dave) Frohnmayer said if you do it, be the best you can be and get the best you can get, and there's no doubt we did get the No. 1 coach in America."

The details of the agreement: A five-year contract that runs through June 30, 2012, subject to state approval, at $400,000 per year - a base salary of $150,000 per year and an additional $250,000 per year in guaranteed income derived in part from Oregon's contracts with the Oregon Sports Network and Nike.

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