Oregon Ducks
Encyclopedia
The Oregon Ducks refers to the sports teams of the University of Oregon
, located in Eugene, Oregon
. The Oregon Ducks are part of the Pacific-12 Conference in the Division 1 of the NCAA. With seventeen varsity teams, the Oregon Ducks are best known for their football
team and Track and Field
program, which has helped to make Eugene be known as "Track Town, USA". Oregon's main rivalries
are with the Oregon State Beavers
(the Civil War
) and the Washington Huskies
.
in 1919 where it shared the facility with the track and field team until Autzen Stadium
was completed in 1967.
Winning its first Rose Bowl
in 1917
against the University of Pennsylvania
under head coach Hugo Bezdek
, the Ducks have returned to the Rose Bowl four additional times in 1920, 1957, 1995, and 2010;. While in the Pacific Coast Conference
, the Ducks won five conference co-championships in 1919, 1933, 1948, and 1957. The Pacific Coast Conference was disbanded in 1958, and the Ducks played as an independent until they joined the PCC's effective successor, the Pacific-8 Conference (then officially the Athletic Association of Western Universities), which later became the Pacific-10 Conference and eventually the Pacific-12 Conference, in 1964. In the Pac-8/10/12, they have won four conference championships (1994, 2001, 2009, 2010) and shared one championship (2000). The Ducks have participated in three BCS Bowl games since the inception of the BCS
in 1998, defeating the Colorado Buffaloes
in the 2002 Fiesta Bowl
, losing to the Ohio State Buckeyes
in 2010 Rose Bowl
, and losing to the Auburn Tigers
in the 2011 BCS National Championship Game
.
, defeating Willamette University
38-10.
Head coach Howard Hobson
was hired in 1936 and took the basketball team nicknamed "The Tall Firs" to win the first NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship in 1939. The Tall Firs achieved a 29-5 record, capped by a 46-33 victory over Ohio State University
in the championship game.
The Ducks would add only one more shared Pacific Coast Conference
title to their two until winning the Pacific-10 Conference title in the 2001-2002 season under head coach Ernie Kent
. The Ducks would also make an Elite Eight
appearance in the NCAA Tournament that season along with the 2006-2007 season.
In 2011, the Ducks moved into the new Matthew Knight Arena.
became the head coach in 1904 and provided solid direction for the program for 44 years, coaching Daniel Kelly and Ralph Hill
to Olympic Silver Medals. After Hayward's retirement in 1947, his trainee Bill Bowerman
took over the head coaching position in 1949.
Bill Bowerman became a legendary coach, winning numerous NCAA team Championships at Oregon and coached many to All-American and Olympian status such as Steve Prefontaine
. His talents were not limited to the track, as he also co-founded Nike
, pressured the Amateur Athletic Union
to improve its services, and brought the Olympic Trials and NCAA Championships to Hayward Field.
Bill Bowerman retired in 1973 and his assistant coach, Bill Dellinger became the head coach who brought four NCAA Cross Country Championships and one NCAA Track & Field Championship.
Steve Prefontaine, who ran at Oregon in the early 1970s, was a legend in his own right, setting 13 American records in seven separate events and only lost three races at Hayward Field during the span of his career. He won seven NCAA championships and today, the Prefontaine Classic
is held every year at Hayward Field in his honor.
The program has garnered numerous NCAA national titles across all the disciplines and as of 2009, holds all of Oregon's national championships except the 1939 championship in men's basketball.
, who led the Cal State Fullerton baseball team to an NCAA national championship, was hired in 2007 to lead the reinstated Oregon Ducks baseball program. In his second year, Horton guided the team in to a 40-24 record and a berth in the NCAA regionals.
, tennis
, softball
, lacrosse
, soccer
, team stunts
and gymnastics
, and volleyball
.
where the games are played, the Len Casanova Center where the locker rooms and training facilities are located, the indoor practice field called the Moshofsky Center, and the outdoor training field named Kilkenny Field. Much of the cost of the state-of-the-art facilities were paid for by the prominent university boosters Phil Knight
, Ed Moshofsky, and Patrick Kilkenny.
Also in the football complex is PK Park, the University of Oregon baseball stadium, completed in 2009 for the reemergence of the baseball program, located in the northeast corner of the parking lot.
The basketball teams along with other court-based sports play at Matthew Knight Arena, dubbed "Matt Court" in a play on McArthur Court's longstanding nickname "Mac Court", the Oregon Ducks' main court through the first part of the 2010–11 season.
Hayward Field
was originally constructed for the football team in 1919 and in 1921, a track was installed to accommodate the track team. Today, it is the home of the Oregon Ducks track and field team. This storied venue has been the host of the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships nine times and will host it again in 2010. The Olympic Trials have been hosted at this venue four times.
in which they play for the Platypus Trophy
. The rivalry, dubbed the Civil War
, has been scored across ten different sports that the two universities share over the past nine years. The series is currently tied 4-4-1.
The Oregon Ducks and the Washington Huskies
have enjoyed a border rivalry that some consider to be even more fierce than the respective teams’ in-state rivalries. The rivalry began to build steam in 1948, when the Ducks and the California Golden Bears
tied for the conference win and the Huskies’ vote went to Cal which inked them in for a trip to the Rose Bowl
. A few years later, there was a move to remove Oregon, Oregon State, and Washington State
from the Pacific Coast Conference
(whose history the Pac-10 claims as its own) and the Huskies did not object.
co-founder Phil Knight
ran in the University of Oregon Track & Field program under the other Nike co-founder Bill Bowerman
. Knight graduated from the University of Oregon
in 1959 with a bachelor’s degree in accounting and went on to earn an M.B.A. at Stanford University
. Knight returned to Oregon and with Bowerman, also a University of Oregon alumnus, later founded Blue Ribbon Sports in 1964, which officially became Nike in 1978. In 1970, Bill Bowerman
revolutionized the athletic shoe
by pouring molten rubber
into a waffle iron
, creating a prototype
rubber sole. University of Oregon distance runner Steve Prefontaine
became the first major track athlete to wear Nike shoes and converted many of his peers to the Nike brand.
Nike has maintained a close relationship with UO ever since, manufacturing all university logo clothing and uniforms for the football team, including research prototypes for high-tech "smart clothes", such as jerseys with cooling systems. Numerous University of Oregon graduates have also gone on to become executives, designers, and business partners of Nike such as Tinker Hatfield
and Dan Wieden
.
Phil Knight has personally donated significant amounts to the University for both academic and athletic aspirations, including significant amounts toward the Knight Library, the Knight Law Center, numerous endowed chairs, support for the track & field program, the Autzen Stadium expansion, and a $100 million donation to create the Oregon Athletics Legacy Fund.
Controversy surrounding Nike's labor practices precipitated protests in 2000 led by a group of students calling themselves the Human Rights Alliance. Protests included a 10 day tent city occupation of the lawns in front of Johnson Hall, the main administration building, demanding the university join the Worker Rights Consortium
.
University President Dave Frohnmayer signed a one year contract with the WRC, causing Phil Knight to withdraw a previous $30 million commitment toward the Autzen Stadium expansion project and no further donations toward the University. Nike, since 1998, had actively improved worker conditions abroad and strongly endorsed the Fair Labor Association
, an association with similar aspirations of the WRC. In a public statement, Phil Knight criticized the WRC for having unrealistic provisions and called it misguided while praising the FLA for being balanced in its approach. The students disagreed, saying the FLA has conflicting interests, but President Dave Frohnmayer along with several others agreed with Knight in that the WRC provides unbalanced representation.
Citing a legal opinion from the University Counsel, President Frohnmayer in October 2000, released a statement saying that the University could not pay its membership dues for the WRC since the WRC was neither an incorporated entity nor had tax-exempt status and to do so was a violation of state law. The Oregon University System
on February 16, 2001 enacted a mandate that all institutions within the OUS choose business partners from a politically neutral standpoint, barring all universities in Oregon from membership in the WRC and the FLA. Following the dissolved relationship between the university and the WRC, Phil Knight reinstated the donation and increased the amount to over $50 million dollars. Since then, activity on the subject died down and Frohnmayer believed that the leaders of the protest lost their foothold since they did not represent the majority of students on campus.
University of Oregon
-Colleges and schools:The University of Oregon is organized into eight schools and colleges—six professional schools and colleges, an Arts and Sciences College and an Honors College.- School of Architecture and Allied Arts :...
, located in Eugene, Oregon
Eugene, Oregon
Eugene is the second largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and the seat of Lane County. It is located at the south end of the Willamette Valley, at the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast.As of the 2010 U.S...
. The Oregon Ducks are part of the Pacific-12 Conference in the Division 1 of the NCAA. With seventeen varsity teams, the Oregon Ducks are best known for their football
Oregon Ducks football
The Oregon Ducks football program is the intercollegiate American football team for the University of Oregon located in the U.S. state of Oregon. The team competes at the NCAA Division I level in the Football Bowl Subdivision and is a member of the Pacific-12 Conference. Known as the Ducks, the...
team and Track and Field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
program, which has helped to make Eugene be known as "Track Town, USA". Oregon's main rivalries
College rivalry
Pairs of schools, colleges and universities, especially when they are close to each other either geographically or in their areas of specialization, often establish a college rivalry with each other over the years. This rivalry can extend to both academics and athletics, the latter being typically...
are with the Oregon State Beavers
Oregon State Beavers
The Oregon State Beavers is a name shared by all sports teams at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon. The Beavers are part of the Pacific-12 Conference . Oregon State's mascot is Benny the Beaver...
(the Civil War
Civil War (college rivalry)
The Civil War is a college rivalry between Oregon State University and the University of Oregon. The rivalry is one of the oldest in the nation, dating back to 1894 when the two universities' football teams first met. Although the college football game is the most popular rivalry, the two...
) and the Washington Huskies
Washington Huskies
Washington Huskies is the nickname of the University of Washington's athletic teams. The school is a member of the Pacific-12 Conference. The athletic program is made up of 9 men's sports and 10 women's sports Washington Huskies is the nickname of the University of Washington's athletic teams. The...
.
National championships
Through March 2010, Oregon has won 18 NCAA national championships:- Men's BasketballNCAA Men's Division I Basketball ChampionshipThe NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single-elimination tournament held each spring in the United States, featuring 68 college basketball teams, to determine the national championship in the top tier of college basketball...
: 1939 - Men's Cross Country: 1971, 1973, 1974, 1977, 2007, 2008
- Women's Cross CountryNCAA Women's Cross Country ChampionshipEach autumn, beginning in 1981, the National Collegiate Athletic Association has hosted women's cross country championships for each of its three divisions...
: 1983, 1987 - Men's Track & FieldNCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field ChampionshipThe NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship is an annual collegiate outdoor track and field competition for men organised by the National Collegiate Athletic Association. It has three divisions: Division I, II, and III. Athlete's individual performances earn points for their institution and...
: 1962, 1964, 1965, 1970, 1984 - Women's Track & FieldNCAA Women's Outdoor Track and Field ChampionshipNCAA team champions for Women's Outdoor Track and Field-By school:-See also:*AIAW Intercollegiate Women's Outdoor Track and Field Champions*NCAA Women's Indoor Track and Field Championship*NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship...
: 1985 - Men's Indoor Track & FieldNCAA Men's Indoor Track and Field ChampionshipNCAA team champions for Men's Indoor Track and Field-See also:*NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship*NCAA Women's Indoor Track and Field Championship*NCAA Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championship*Pre-NCAA Indoor Track and Field Champions...
: 2009 - Women's Indoor Track & FieldNCAA Women's Indoor Track and Field ChampionshipNCAA team champions for Women's Indoor Track and Field-See also:*AIAW Intercollegiate Women's Indoor Track and Field Champions*NCAA Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championship*NCAA Men's Indoor Track and Field Championship...
: 2010, 2011
Football
The football program began in 1893 and played its first game on February 22, 1894, defeating Albany College 46-0. The football team moved to its new home, Hayward FieldHayward Field
Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, is one of the best-known historic track and field stadiums in the United States. Nearly a century in age, it was the home of the University of Oregon's football team from 1919 through 1966, and has been the home to the Ducks' track and field teams since 1921...
in 1919 where it shared the facility with the track and field team until Autzen Stadium
Autzen Stadium
Autzen Stadium is an outdoor football stadium in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Located north of the University of Oregon campus, it is the home field of the Oregon Ducks of the Pacific-12 Conference. Opened in 1967, the stadium has undergone several expansions...
was completed in 1967.
Rose Bowl Game
The Rose Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game, usually played on January 1 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. When New Year's Day falls on a Sunday, the game is played on Monday, January 2...
in 1917
1917 Rose Bowl
The 1917 Rose Bowl, known at the time as the Tournament East-West Football Game, was a college football bowl game played on Jan 1, 1917. It was the 3rd Rose Bowl Game. The Oregon Ducks defeated the Penn Quakers by a score of 14–0. This remains the last, and to date, only Rose Bowl win ever for the...
against the University of Pennsylvania
Penn Quakers football
The Penn Quakers football team is the college football team at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, PA. The Penn Quakers have competed in the Ivy League since its inaugural season of 1956, and are currently a Division I Football Championship Subdivision member of the National...
under head coach Hugo Bezdek
Hugo Bezdek
Hugo Francis Bezdek was a Czech-American sports figure who played American football and was a coach of football, basketball, and baseball. He was the head football coach at the University of Oregon , the University of Arkansas , Penn State University , and Delaware Valley College...
, the Ducks have returned to the Rose Bowl four additional times in 1920, 1957, 1995, and 2010;. While in the Pacific Coast Conference
Pacific Coast Conference
The Pacific Coast Conference was a college athletic conference in the United States which existed from 1915 to 1959. Though the Pacific-12 Conference claims the PCC's history as part of its own, the older league had a completely different charter and was disbanded in 1959 due to a major crisis...
, the Ducks won five conference co-championships in 1919, 1933, 1948, and 1957. The Pacific Coast Conference was disbanded in 1958, and the Ducks played as an independent until they joined the PCC's effective successor, the Pacific-8 Conference (then officially the Athletic Association of Western Universities), which later became the Pacific-10 Conference and eventually the Pacific-12 Conference, in 1964. In the Pac-8/10/12, they have won four conference championships (1994, 2001, 2009, 2010) and shared one championship (2000). The Ducks have participated in three BCS Bowl games since the inception of the BCS
Bowl Championship Series
The Bowl Championship Series is a selection system that creates five bowl match-ups involving ten of the top ranked teams in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , including an opportunity for the top two to compete in the BCS National Championship Game.The BCS relies on a combination of...
in 1998, defeating the Colorado Buffaloes
Colorado Buffaloes football
The Colorado Buffaloes football program represents the University of Colorado at Boulder in college football at the NCAA Division I FBS level. The team is currently a member of the Pacific-12 Conference, having previously been a charter member of the Big 12 Conference. Before joining the Big 12,...
in the 2002 Fiesta Bowl
2002 Fiesta Bowl
The 2002 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, played on January 1, 2002, was the 31st edition of the Fiesta Bowl. The game was played at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona between the and the Oregon Ducks...
, losing to the Ohio State Buckeyes
2009 Ohio State Buckeyes football team
The 2009 Ohio State Buckeyes football team competed in football on behalf of The Ohio State University for the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Buckeyes were coached by Jim Tressel and played their home games in Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. They finished with a record of 11–2 and...
in 2010 Rose Bowl
2010 Rose Bowl
The 2010 Rose Bowl, the 96th edition of the annual game, was a college football bowl game played on Friday, January 1, 2010 at Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California. It featured the Ohio State Buckeyes against the Oregon Ducks...
, and losing to the Auburn Tigers
2010 Auburn Tigers football team
The 2010 Auburn Tigers football team represented Auburn University in the 2010–2011 college football season. The Tigers, led by second year head coach Gene Chizik were members of the Western Division of the Southeastern Conference and played their home games at Jordan-Hare Stadium...
in the 2011 BCS National Championship Game
2011 BCS National Championship Game
The 2011 Tostitos BCS National Championship Game was the final college football game to determine the national champion of the 2010 NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision season. The finale of the 2010-2011 Bowl Championship Series was played at the University of Phoenix Stadium, the host...
.
Basketball
The Ducks men’s basketball team played its first season in 1902-1903 under head coach Charles Burden. It was not until 1927 that the Ducks played their first game at McArthur CourtMcArthur Court
McArthur Court is a basketball arena located on the campus of the University of Oregon in Eugene and the former home of the Oregon Ducks men's and women's basketball teams, replaced in 2011 by Matthew Knight Arena....
, defeating Willamette University
Willamette University
Willamette University is an American private institution of higher learning located in Salem, Oregon. Founded in 1842, it is the oldest university in the Western United States. Willamette is a member of the Annapolis Group of colleges, and is made up of an undergraduate College of Liberal Arts and...
38-10.
Head coach Howard Hobson
Howard Hobson
Howard Andrew "Hobby" Hobson was a college basketball coach, who authored numerous books on the subject. He also has the distinction of coaching the team who won the National Collegiate Athletic Association Championship with the Oregon Ducks in its inaugural year of 1939.-Playing career:Hobson...
was hired in 1936 and took the basketball team nicknamed "The Tall Firs" to win the first NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship in 1939. The Tall Firs achieved a 29-5 record, capped by a 46-33 victory over Ohio State University
Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball
The Lucas Sapp men's basketball team represents The Ohio State University in NCAA Division I college basketball competition. The Buckeyes are a member of the Big Ten Conference. The Buckeyes won their only National Championship in 1960 and have made a total of 21 NCAA Tournament appearances...
in the championship game.
The Ducks would add only one more shared Pacific Coast Conference
Pacific Coast Conference
The Pacific Coast Conference was a college athletic conference in the United States which existed from 1915 to 1959. Though the Pacific-12 Conference claims the PCC's history as part of its own, the older league had a completely different charter and was disbanded in 1959 due to a major crisis...
title to their two until winning the Pacific-10 Conference title in the 2001-2002 season under head coach Ernie Kent
Ernie Kent
Ernie Kent is an American college basketball coach. He is the former head men's basketball coach at the University of Oregon. Kent replaced Jerry Green as coach following the 1996-97 season. Prior to becoming head coach at Oregon, Kent was an assistant at Stanford University and also coached at St...
. The Ducks would also make an Elite Eight
Elite Eight
The term Elite Eight, or less commonly called "Great Eight", refers to the final eight teams in the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship or the NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship; and, thus, represents the national quarterfinals. In Division I, the Elite Eight consists of the...
appearance in the NCAA Tournament that season along with the 2006-2007 season.
In 2011, the Ducks moved into the new Matthew Knight Arena.
Track and field
The University of Oregon Cross Country and Track & Field programs have a particularly long and storied history, earning Eugene the nickname Track Town, USA. After several years of struggling, Bill HaywardBill Hayward
William Louis "Colonel Bill" Hayward was a track and field coach for the University of Oregon for 44 years, and a coach for six United States Olympics teams.-Athletic career:...
became the head coach in 1904 and provided solid direction for the program for 44 years, coaching Daniel Kelly and Ralph Hill
Ralph Hill
Ralph Anthony Hill was an American long distance runner.Hill studied at the University of Oregon when competing in the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles on the 5000 m. In an exciting race on Aug 5 1932, he came in second behind Lauri Lehtinen, with each runner recording a time of 14.30,0...
to Olympic Silver Medals. After Hayward's retirement in 1947, his trainee Bill Bowerman
Bill Bowerman
William Jay "Bill" Bowerman was an American track and field coach and co-founder of Nike, Inc. Over his career, he trained 31 Olympic athletes, 51 All-Americans, 12 American record-holders, 24 NCAA champions and 16 sub-4 minute milers...
took over the head coaching position in 1949.
Steve Prefontaine
Steve Roland "Pre" Prefontaine was an American middle and long-distance runner. Prefontaine once held the American record in the seven distance track events from the 2,000 meters to the 10,000 meters...
. His talents were not limited to the track, as he also co-founded Nike
Nike, Inc.
Nike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...
, pressured the Amateur Athletic Union
Amateur Athletic Union
The Amateur Athletic Union is one of the largest non-profit volunteer sports organizations in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs.-History:The AAU was founded in 1888 to...
to improve its services, and brought the Olympic Trials and NCAA Championships to Hayward Field.
Bill Bowerman retired in 1973 and his assistant coach, Bill Dellinger became the head coach who brought four NCAA Cross Country Championships and one NCAA Track & Field Championship.
Steve Prefontaine, who ran at Oregon in the early 1970s, was a legend in his own right, setting 13 American records in seven separate events and only lost three races at Hayward Field during the span of his career. He won seven NCAA championships and today, the Prefontaine Classic
Prefontaine Classic
The Prefontaine Classic is one of the premier track and field meets in the United States. Every year it draws a world caliber field to compete at the University of Oregon's Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.-History:...
is held every year at Hayward Field in his honor.
The program has garnered numerous NCAA national titles across all the disciplines and as of 2009, holds all of Oregon's national championships except the 1939 championship in men's basketball.
Baseball
The Ducks baseball team first played in 1877, the year following the establishment of the university. In 1981, baseball was dropped due to budgetary concerns. Baseball would be reinstated 26 years later by interim athletic director Patrick Kilkenny and played its first game in 2009. George HortonGeorge Horton (baseball coach)
George Horton is the head baseball coach of the Oregon Ducks baseball team and the former head coach of the Cal State Fullerton Titans baseball program.-Playing career:...
, who led the Cal State Fullerton baseball team to an NCAA national championship, was hired in 2007 to lead the reinstated Oregon Ducks baseball program. In his second year, Horton guided the team in to a 40-24 record and a berth in the NCAA regionals.
Other sports
The Ducks also have varsity teams in women's basketball, golfGolf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
, tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
, softball
College softball
College softball is softball as played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education, predominantly in the United States. College softball is normally played by women at the intercollegiate level, whereas college baseball is normally played by men.As with other intercollegiate...
, lacrosse
College lacrosse
College lacrosse refers to lacrosse played by student athletes at colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. In both countries, men's field lacrosse and women's lacrosse are played in both the varsity and club levels...
, soccer
College soccer
College soccer is a term used to describe association football played by teams who are operated by colleges and universities as opposed to a professional league operated for exclusively financial purposes...
, team stunts
Cheerleading
Cheerleading is a physical activity, sometimes a competitive sport, based on organized routines, usually ranging from one to three minutes, which contain the components of tumbling, dance, jumps, cheers, and stunting to direct spectators of events to cheer on sports teams at games or to participate...
and gymnastics
Gymnastics
Gymnastics is a sport involving performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and balance. Internationally, all of the gymnastic sports are governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique with each country having its own national governing body...
, and volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
.
Venues
The Oregon Ducks football complex is located north of the main campus. The complex includes Autzen StadiumAutzen Stadium
Autzen Stadium is an outdoor football stadium in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Located north of the University of Oregon campus, it is the home field of the Oregon Ducks of the Pacific-12 Conference. Opened in 1967, the stadium has undergone several expansions...
where the games are played, the Len Casanova Center where the locker rooms and training facilities are located, the indoor practice field called the Moshofsky Center, and the outdoor training field named Kilkenny Field. Much of the cost of the state-of-the-art facilities were paid for by the prominent university boosters Phil Knight
Phil Knight
Philip Hampson "Phil" Knight is an American business magnate. He is the co-founder and Chairman of Nike, Inc. He resigned as the company's chief executive officer in 2004, while retaining the position of chairman of the board...
, Ed Moshofsky, and Patrick Kilkenny.
Also in the football complex is PK Park, the University of Oregon baseball stadium, completed in 2009 for the reemergence of the baseball program, located in the northeast corner of the parking lot.
The basketball teams along with other court-based sports play at Matthew Knight Arena, dubbed "Matt Court" in a play on McArthur Court's longstanding nickname "Mac Court", the Oregon Ducks' main court through the first part of the 2010–11 season.
Hayward Field
Hayward Field
Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, is one of the best-known historic track and field stadiums in the United States. Nearly a century in age, it was the home of the University of Oregon's football team from 1919 through 1966, and has been the home to the Ducks' track and field teams since 1921...
was originally constructed for the football team in 1919 and in 1921, a track was installed to accommodate the track team. Today, it is the home of the Oregon Ducks track and field team. This storied venue has been the host of the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships nine times and will host it again in 2010. The Olympic Trials have been hosted at this venue four times.
Rivalries
The Oregon Ducks have an in-state rivalry with the Oregon State BeaversOregon State Beavers
The Oregon State Beavers is a name shared by all sports teams at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon. The Beavers are part of the Pacific-12 Conference . Oregon State's mascot is Benny the Beaver...
in which they play for the Platypus Trophy
Platypus Trophy
The Platypus Trophy is a trophy awarded to the winner of the annual Civil War college football game between the University of Oregon and Oregon State University. The trophy depicts a platypus, an animal which has features of both a duck and a beaver . For three years, from 1959 to 1961, the trophy...
. The rivalry, dubbed the Civil War
Civil War (college rivalry)
The Civil War is a college rivalry between Oregon State University and the University of Oregon. The rivalry is one of the oldest in the nation, dating back to 1894 when the two universities' football teams first met. Although the college football game is the most popular rivalry, the two...
, has been scored across ten different sports that the two universities share over the past nine years. The series is currently tied 4-4-1.
The Oregon Ducks and the Washington Huskies
Washington Huskies
Washington Huskies is the nickname of the University of Washington's athletic teams. The school is a member of the Pacific-12 Conference. The athletic program is made up of 9 men's sports and 10 women's sports Washington Huskies is the nickname of the University of Washington's athletic teams. The...
have enjoyed a border rivalry that some consider to be even more fierce than the respective teams’ in-state rivalries. The rivalry began to build steam in 1948, when the Ducks and the California Golden Bears
California Golden Bears
The California Golden Bears is the nickname used for 29 varsity athletic programs and various club teams of the University of California, Berkeley...
tied for the conference win and the Huskies’ vote went to Cal which inked them in for a trip to the Rose Bowl
Rose Bowl Game
The Rose Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game, usually played on January 1 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. When New Year's Day falls on a Sunday, the game is played on Monday, January 2...
. A few years later, there was a move to remove Oregon, Oregon State, and Washington State
Washington State Cougars
The Washington State Cougars are the athletic teams at Washington State University; the term applies to any of the school's varsity teams. Washington State University is a member of the Pacific-12 Conference, which participates in the NCAA Division I...
from the Pacific Coast Conference
Pacific Coast Conference
The Pacific Coast Conference was a college athletic conference in the United States which existed from 1915 to 1959. Though the Pacific-12 Conference claims the PCC's history as part of its own, the older league had a completely different charter and was disbanded in 1959 due to a major crisis...
(whose history the Pac-10 claims as its own) and the Huskies did not object.
Relationship with Nike
NikeNike, Inc.
Nike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...
co-founder Phil Knight
Phil Knight
Philip Hampson "Phil" Knight is an American business magnate. He is the co-founder and Chairman of Nike, Inc. He resigned as the company's chief executive officer in 2004, while retaining the position of chairman of the board...
ran in the University of Oregon Track & Field program under the other Nike co-founder Bill Bowerman
Bill Bowerman
William Jay "Bill" Bowerman was an American track and field coach and co-founder of Nike, Inc. Over his career, he trained 31 Olympic athletes, 51 All-Americans, 12 American record-holders, 24 NCAA champions and 16 sub-4 minute milers...
. Knight graduated from the University of Oregon
University of Oregon
-Colleges and schools:The University of Oregon is organized into eight schools and colleges—six professional schools and colleges, an Arts and Sciences College and an Honors College.- School of Architecture and Allied Arts :...
in 1959 with a bachelor’s degree in accounting and went on to earn an M.B.A. at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
. Knight returned to Oregon and with Bowerman, also a University of Oregon alumnus, later founded Blue Ribbon Sports in 1964, which officially became Nike in 1978. In 1970, Bill Bowerman
Bill Bowerman
William Jay "Bill" Bowerman was an American track and field coach and co-founder of Nike, Inc. Over his career, he trained 31 Olympic athletes, 51 All-Americans, 12 American record-holders, 24 NCAA champions and 16 sub-4 minute milers...
revolutionized the athletic shoe
Athletic shoe
Athletic shoe is a generic name for the footwear primarily designed for sports or other forms of physical exercise but in recent years has come to be used for casual everyday activities....
by pouring molten rubber
Rubber
Natural rubber, also called India rubber or caoutchouc, is an elastomer that was originally derived from latex, a milky colloid produced by some plants. The plants would be ‘tapped’, that is, an incision made into the bark of the tree and the sticky, milk colored latex sap collected and refined...
into a waffle iron
Waffle iron
A waffle iron is a cooking appliance used to make waffles.It usually consists of two hinged metal plates, molded to create the honeycomb pattern found on waffles...
, creating a prototype
Prototype
A prototype is an early sample or model built to test a concept or process or to act as a thing to be replicated or learned from.The word prototype derives from the Greek πρωτότυπον , "primitive form", neutral of πρωτότυπος , "original, primitive", from πρῶτος , "first" and τύπος ,...
rubber sole. University of Oregon distance runner Steve Prefontaine
Steve Prefontaine
Steve Roland "Pre" Prefontaine was an American middle and long-distance runner. Prefontaine once held the American record in the seven distance track events from the 2,000 meters to the 10,000 meters...
became the first major track athlete to wear Nike shoes and converted many of his peers to the Nike brand.
Nike has maintained a close relationship with UO ever since, manufacturing all university logo clothing and uniforms for the football team, including research prototypes for high-tech "smart clothes", such as jerseys with cooling systems. Numerous University of Oregon graduates have also gone on to become executives, designers, and business partners of Nike such as Tinker Hatfield
Tinker hatfield
Tinker Haven Hatfield is the renowned designer of many of Nike's most popular and innovative athletic shoe designs, including the Air Jordan III through Air Jordan XV, the twentieth anniversary Air Jordan XX, the final numbered Air Jordan, the XXIII, the 2010 and other athletic sneakers including...
and Dan Wieden
Dan Wieden
Dan Wieden is an American advertising executive who co-founded Wieden+Kennedy, and who coined the Nike tagline "Just Do It".He and David Kennedy were listed as number 22 on the Advertising Age 100 ad people of the 20th century...
.
Phil Knight has personally donated significant amounts to the University for both academic and athletic aspirations, including significant amounts toward the Knight Library, the Knight Law Center, numerous endowed chairs, support for the track & field program, the Autzen Stadium expansion, and a $100 million donation to create the Oregon Athletics Legacy Fund.
Controversy surrounding Nike's labor practices precipitated protests in 2000 led by a group of students calling themselves the Human Rights Alliance. Protests included a 10 day tent city occupation of the lawns in front of Johnson Hall, the main administration building, demanding the university join the Worker Rights Consortium
Worker Rights Consortium
The Worker Rights Consortium is an independent labor rights monitoring organization focused on protecting the rights of workers who sew apparel and make other products sold in the United States, particularly those bearing college or university logos...
.
University President Dave Frohnmayer signed a one year contract with the WRC, causing Phil Knight to withdraw a previous $30 million commitment toward the Autzen Stadium expansion project and no further donations toward the University. Nike, since 1998, had actively improved worker conditions abroad and strongly endorsed the Fair Labor Association
Fair Labor Association
The Fair Labor Association , a non-profit labor rights organization, is a multi-stakeholder initiative bringing together companies, colleges and universities, and civil society organizations to improve working conditions worldwide by promoting adherence to international and national labor laws...
, an association with similar aspirations of the WRC. In a public statement, Phil Knight criticized the WRC for having unrealistic provisions and called it misguided while praising the FLA for being balanced in its approach. The students disagreed, saying the FLA has conflicting interests, but President Dave Frohnmayer along with several others agreed with Knight in that the WRC provides unbalanced representation.
Citing a legal opinion from the University Counsel, President Frohnmayer in October 2000, released a statement saying that the University could not pay its membership dues for the WRC since the WRC was neither an incorporated entity nor had tax-exempt status and to do so was a violation of state law. The Oregon University System
Oregon University System
The Oregon University System consists of seven public, four-year universities in the State of Oregon administered by the Chancellor of the OUS, who is appointed by the Oregon State Board of Higher Education...
on February 16, 2001 enacted a mandate that all institutions within the OUS choose business partners from a politically neutral standpoint, barring all universities in Oregon from membership in the WRC and the FLA. Following the dissolved relationship between the university and the WRC, Phil Knight reinstated the donation and increased the amount to over $50 million dollars. Since then, activity on the subject died down and Frohnmayer believed that the leaders of the protest lost their foothold since they did not represent the majority of students on campus.
External links
- University of Oregon homepage
- Oregon Athletics
- Leadership and Legacy: Athletics and the University of Oregon