Byline: Curtis Anderson The Register-Guard

Just how unhappy are Sacramento track officials about Eugene snagging the 2012 U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials?

So unhappy that they are threatening to file a grievance against the track officials who late last year picked Eugene for

The Pacific Association of USA Track & Field, a group based in the Sacramento area, has threatened to file the complaint against individuals involved in the award procedure for the Trials and other U.S. championship events to Eugene.

John Mansoor, executive director of PA/USATF, wrote a letter on behalf of his organization to USATF president Bill Roe last week, expressing the Sacramento group's intent to file the grievance unless numerous questions about the process are answered.

Sacramento has been a major player in U.S. track and field, playing host to the 2000 and 2004 U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials, and the NCAA Outdoor Championships in '03, '05, '06 and '07.

Eugene stole Sacramento's thunder when it won the rights to host the 2008 Trials, and the championship baton was officially passed last December, when USATF awarded Eugene the 2009 and 2011 U.S. Outdoor Track & Field Championships, along with the 2012 Trials.

Mansoor wants to know why the USATF felt compelled to give Eugene the 2012 Trials before it had seen how the city handles the 2008 Trials; what, if any, potential conflicts of interest existed among those who finalized the deal; and did the national track leadership follow the rules and bylaws already in place during the process?

He said the general consensus of the PA/USATF board of athletics was that the process that took place was similar to some of the problems that occurred during international bidding for the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

"Our biggest concern is to bring all of what has taken place out into the light of day," Mansoor said. "Nobody seemed to want to take that first step. Well, we're going to do that ... Were there votes for sale? I don't know, but I want to find out."

In the past, the USATF has followed two different paths in awarding the rights to host championship meets: either a formal bid process or a business deal.

Jill Geer, USATF director of communications, said a bid process was used to award the 2000 Trials to Sacramento and the 2008 Trials to Eugene, as well as the U.S. outdoor championships in 2006 and 2007.

On the other hand, she said USATF reached business agreements with various local organizing committees that hosted the U.S. outdoor meets in '01, '02, '03 and '05, in addition to the 2004 Trials in Sacramento.

"I concede that awarding the 2012 Trials before the 2008 Trials was an unusual move that raised eyebrows," Geer said. "I don't know the specifics, but the (Eugene) bid was deemed so strong and provided such financial support for our athletes and events, that the decision was made to move forward."

Vin Lananna, director of track and field at the University of Oregon, and co-chair of the Eugene '08 LOC, said the Eugene contingent originally crafted a "business recommendation" to extend its deal from 2008 to include U.S. championship meets in '09, '11 and '12.

It was presented to the USATF leadership - Roe, Craig Masback (USATF CEO at the time), women's track and field chair Stephanie Hightower and men's track and field chair John Chaplin - at the annual USATF convention in Hawaii last November.

Lananna said they first approached USATF by saying, "we want to make a business proposal, but we don't want to jump through all the thousands of hoops that we jumped through last time," and asked if that was possible.

Upon learning there was ample precedent for such a process, they went ahead with their presentation.

"The reaction was positive," Lananna said. "It was a great deal for both parties, it makes all the sense in the world. It doesn't necessarily make all the sense in the world just because it went to Eugene. It makes sense to know where our Olympic Trials are, and where our national championships are, way in advance."

Lananna and Geer both indicated that any implication that there was something improper about Masback taking a job with Nike shortly after the championship events were awarded to Eugene were unfounded. Nike co-founder and chairman Phil Knight is a big fan and financial supporter of Eugene athletics.

Geer pointed to USATF bylaws which put the job of site selection for major events into the hands of sports committees.

"In our bylaws, the CEO has no role in making those decisions," she said. "He works to put the business deal together once the selection has been made, but he doesn't have a vote in the selection process.

"I can understand how people might look at it, but I can assure you there is no connection between Craig's new job with Nike and Eugene getting the Trials. I think that does a disservice to the Oregon Track Club and the University of Oregon. Those are the people who bid for the Olympic Trials."

Mansoor said the next move is up to the USATF national board of directors. He said the Pacific Association Board of Athletics will meet again in March.

"This is less about moving backward and more about moving forward," he said. "We're waiting for a response from the national board, and if that response is adequate, and we can investigate (the process) without a grievance, we will proceed in that manner.

"But if the response is not adequate, we will proceed with the grievance, and if necessary, make an appeal to the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) to step in a take a look at this organization."

Sports editor Ron Bellamy contributed to this report.