Oregon Ducks
The Oregon Ducks are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Oregon, located in Eugene. The Ducks compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I level as a member of the Big Ten Conference. With eighteen varsity teams, Oregon is best known for its American football team and track and field program, which has helped Eugene gain a reputation as "Track Town, USA". Oregon's main rivalries are with the Oregon State Beavers and the Washington Huskies.
Nicknames and mascot history
Oregon teams were originally known as Webfoots, possibly as early as the 1890s. The Webfoots name originally applied to a group of fishermen from the coast of Massachusetts who had been heroes during the American Revolutionary War; their descendants had settled in Oregon's Willamette Valley in the 19th century and the name stayed with them. A naming contest in 1926 won by Oregonian sports editor L. H. Gregory made the Webfoots name official, and a subsequent student vote in 1932 affirmed the nickname, chosen over other suggested nicknames such as Pioneers, Trappers, Lumberjacks, Wolves, and Yellow Jackets.Ducks, with their webbed feet, began to be associated with the team in the 1920s, and live duck mascots were adopted to represent the team. Journalists, especially headline writers, also adopted the shorter Duck nickname, but it was not until the 1940s that the image of Donald Duck, permitted via a handshake deal between Walt Disney and Oregon athletic director Leo Harris, cemented the image of the Duck as the school's mascot. Both nicknames were still in use well into the 1970s.
In 1978, a student cartoonist came up with a new duck image, but students rejected the alternative by a 2-to-1 margin. Although Donald was not on that ballot, the University Archivist declared that the election made Ducks the school's official mascot, replacing Webfoots.
Varsity programs
The University of Oregon sponsors teams in eight men's and twelve women's NCAA sanctioned sports. The Ducks primarily compete in the Big Ten Conference with exception to Acrobatics & tumbling and women's beach Volleyball.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 Horton, 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.
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 Court, 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 men's team 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 2010-2011, the Ducks moved into the new Matthew Knight Arena and welcomed new coach Dana Altman. Since, Altman has won three Pac-12 Conference Coach of the Year honors and led Oregon to the 2013 Pac-12 Conference men's basketball tournament championship. In addition, Altman has taken Oregon to four straight NCAA men's basketball tournament for the first time in program history, including a trip to the Sweet 16 in 2013 and the Elite 8 in 2016. The Ducks won the 2015-2016 Pac-12 Conference Tournament. This led to the Ducks being the top seed in the West Regional of the 2015-2016 NCAA tournament, its first ever top seeding in the NCAA tournament. The Ducks defeated Holy Cross and Saint Joseph's in the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament to advance to the Sweet 16 in Anaheim, where they defeated the number four seed and defending national champion Duke Blue Devils, 82-68, to advance to the Elite 8.
On the women's side, three eventual first-round WNBA draft picks—Sabrina Ionescu, Satou Sabally, and Ruthy Hebard—led the No. 1 ranked Ducks to a 93–86 victory over Team USA in November 2019. Their opponents had won the last six Olympic gold medals, the 2018 World Cup, and already qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and included WNBA stars Diana Taurasi, Sue Bird, Nneka Ogwumike, and Sylvia Fowles. The exhibition game was Team USA's first loss to a college team in 20 years. Ionescu, the top pick in the 2020 draft, is also the only NCAA basketball player of either sex to record 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, and 1,000 assists in a career, as well as the recipient of multiple national player of the year awards in both 2019 and 2020, sweeping all of the major awards in the latter year.
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 Field 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 seven additional times in 1920, 1957, 1995, 2010, 2012, 2015, and 2020. 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, which later became the Pacific-10 Conference and eventually the Pac-12 Conference, in 2011. In the Pac-8/10/12, they have won seven conference championships and shared one championship. The Ducks were 3–2 during the BCS era, winning the 2002 Fiesta Bowl, the 2012 Rose Bowl, and the 2013 Fiesta Bowl and losing the 2010 Rose Bowl and the 2011 BCS National Championship Game.
In 2014, Oregon won a school record 13 games and saw junior quarterback Marcus Mariota win the school's first Heisman Trophy. That same year, the Ducks made the first ever College Football Playoff and beat the defending champion Florida State Seminoles 59–20 in the 2015 Rose Bowl semi-final. The loss to Oregon ended the Seminoles 29 game win streak and moved the Ducks into the final. They made the first ever CFP National Championship Game where they lost 42–20 to Ohio State.
Softball
Oregon Softball plays home games at the new Jane Sanders Stadium. Oregon began WCWS success under former Coach Mike White who had taken Oregon to the Women's College World Series four times in 6 years. Oregon has appeared in seven WCWS, in 1976, 1980, 1989, 2012, 2014, 2015 and 2017. In 2014 and 2017, the Ducks reached the national semi-finals.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, United States. The team won their first meet in 1895. Bill Hayward became the head coach in 1903 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.
Volleyball
The Oregon Volleyball program play its home games at Matthew Knight Arena. They have appeared in the NCAA Tournament 21 times including the 2012 National Title Game. Oregon defeated #1 Penn State in the National Semi-Finals before losing to eventual champion Texas in the title match.Other varsity sports
The Ducks also have varsity teams in women's basketball, golf, tennis, lacrosse, soccer, team stunts and gymnastics.Notable non-varsity sports
Rugby
Founded in 1961, the University of Oregon Rugby Football Club plays Division 1 college rugby in the Northwest collegiate rugby conference against local rivals such as Washington and Washington State. Oregon's biggest rivalry, however, is their "civil war" matchup against in-state rival Oregon State University. Oregon plays its home games at Riverfront Field. The Ducks have been led by head coach Pate Tuisue since 2012.The University of Oregon Women's Club Rugby Team has been coached by Greg Farrell since 1998. They are a part of the Pacific Mountain Rugby Conference. During their league season they will play University of Washington, Washington State University, Oregon State, Boise State University, and Western Washington University. For the past couple years the team's main rival has been Washington State University. Oregon Women's also plays on Riverfront field.