SALEM, Ore. — Payments in the sports-marketing contracts of Oregon's two large universities are trade secrets, and the schools can keep the amounts secret, Oregon Attorney General Hardy Myers said this week.

The secrecy gives the University of Oregon and Oregon State an advantage over marketing contractors and other schools, an opinion from Myer's office said, and the value of the revenue the schools get as a result outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

The Oregonian newspaper petitioned Myers after the schools released past and present sports-media marketing contracts but blacked out the guaranteed annual amounts each receives, along with other financial benefits.

"The state has an economic interest in maximizing payments made to its universities pursuant to sports marketing contracts," Deputy Attorney General Peter Shepherd wrote. "In sum, would-be contractors who know exactly what the UO or OSU agreed to accept in the past might offer less than they otherwise would have offered."

Shepherd said that because private marketing firms do business with scores of other universities, "the UO's negotiators will be at a disadvantage if they cannot offer would-be contractors protection for 'trade secrets.' "

Oregonian Editor Sandy Rowe called the university's decision to withhold the information "surprising and disheartening since it has selectively released some information, and other colleges seem willing to share this information with the public."

Arizona, Arizona State, Washington, Washington State and California released similar contracts to The Oregonian without blacking out their amounts. Many other college sports-marketing contracts have been reported publicly.

On Feb. 12, the University of Oregon detailed a 10-year, $67.1 million multimedia- marketing agreement, days before state legislators debated selling $200 million in bonds for a new basketball arena.

In an e-mail to legislators, University President Dave Frohnmayer said the deal "more than doubles our existing contract" and was "evidence of our ability to generate revenues to retire debt" on the project.

The school also disclosed the $2.15 million in broadcasting sponsorship revenue it received in 2006-07 fiscal year under its now-expired contract. Tim Roberts, president of Oregon Sports Network, said last week that his firm's current one-year marketing deal with the university guaranteed the school $2.6 million this year.

That school and contract officials disclosed some of the amounts undercuts the contention that they are trade secrets, said Peter Scheer, executive director of the California First Amendment Coalition. "You can't keep it a trade secret and also let the information out selectively."

But in its opinion, the attorney general's office said "a public entity is free to disclose a public record even if the agency could lawfully claim an exemption."

Oregon Health & Science University has used the trade secret exemption to protect fee schedules and price lists submitted by unsuccessful bidders. More recently, the state Insurance Division used it to protect Regence Blue Cross/Blue Shield's rate projections in a rate filing.