James Andrew Bartko (1965-2020) *54

was an American college athletics administrator who spent most of his professional life at the University of Oregon, also some years at Washington State and UC Berkeley and was later athletic director at California State University, Fresno (Fresno State). Bartko began his career while still a student at Washington State University (Pullman) as team manager of Washington State Cougars football. His first professional job started in 1989 at the University of Oregon as regional director and fundraiser for the Duck Athletic Fund. From 1994 to 1998, Bartko was assistant athletic director at Oregon for the Duck Athletic Fund, then assistant athletic director for community and corporate relations at Oregon from 1998 to 2003. From 2003 to 2006, Bartko was associate athletic director for donor relations at Oregon.

From 2006 to 2007, Bartko returned to the Bay area of his youth to be senior associate athletic director for development at UC Berkeley.

But Bartko came back to his true home at the University of Oregon in 2007 as senior associate athletic director, where among other major projects, given his close collaboration for nearly 30 years with Phil Knight, he oversaw the building of the Matthew Knight Arena in 2011 to be home court for the UO's basketball teams.

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