Oregon State Beavers football


The Oregon State Beavers football team represents Oregon State University in NCAA Division I FBS college football. The team first fielded an organized football team in 1893 and is a member of the Pac-12 Conference.
Their home games are played at Reser Stadium in Corvallis, Oregon.
WWW osubeavers.com/sports/foo...

History

Early history

Football at Oregon State University started in 1893 shortly after athletics were initially authorized at the college, which was then known as Oregon Agricultural College. Athletics were banned prior to May 1892, but when the school's president Benjamin Arnold died, his successor John Bloss reversed the ban. Bloss' son, William, started the first team, on which he served as both coach and quarterback. The team's first game was an easy 64–0 victory on November 11, 1893, over visiting Albany College.

Conference affiliations

The university has been in several athletic conferences. Prior to joining the Pac-12 Conference, OSU intermittently played as an independent school.

Conference championships

Oregon State has won seven conference championships, done through four different conferences, although two of them have links to the current Pac-12 Conference, as the conference claims the history of the PCC as their own, and the Athletic Association of Western Universities was the first name for the conference that later became the Pac-12 Conference.
1893Oregon Intercollegiate Football AssociationWill Bloss5–13–0
1897Oregon Intercollegiate Football AssociationWill Bloss6–03–0
1941Pacific Coast ConferenceLon Stiner8–27–2
1956Pacific Coast ConferenceTommy Prothro7–3–16–1–1
1957†Pacific Coast ConferenceTommy Prothro8–26–2
1964†Athletic Association of Western UniversitiesTommy Prothro8–33–1
2000†Pacific-10 ConferenceDennis Erickson11–17–1

† Co-championship

Other claimed championships

The 1897 Oregon Agricultural Aggies football team compiled a perfect 5–0 record, shut out four of five opponents, and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 164–8. The team claimed their second league championship in the OIFA.
The Aggies defeated Oregon and [1897 1897 Washington football team|Washington football team|Washington]. With those two wins, they then proclaimed themselves regional "Champions of the Northwest".
The 1907 Oregon Agricultural Aggies football team represented Oregon Agricultural College as an independent during the 1907 college football season. In their second season under head coach Fred Norcross, the Aggies compiled a perfect 6–0 record, did not allow any of their opponents to score, and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 137–0. The Aggies' victories included games against Oregon, Pacific University, and Willamette University.
Oregon Agricultural's game against Loyola, then known as the St. Vincent's College Saints, was a Thanksgiving Day matchup of the "Champions of the Northwest" and the "Champions of California", with the winner taking home the "Championship" of the entire West Coast. After their victory, the Aggies proclaimed themselves "Champions of the Pacific Coast".

Head coaches

List of head coaches, tenure, and number of seasons.

Bowl games

Oregon State University has played in 20 postseason bowl games. The Beavers have also played in the Mirage Bowl, but this was a regular season game and a "bowl" in name only, not a post-season invitational bowl game. The Beavers lost the 1980 edition of the game against No. 14 ranked UCLA 34–3 in front of 80,000 at National Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, Japan.
The 20 bowl game total does not include an invitation to play in the Gotham Bowl in 1960, when no opponent could be found for Oregon State. The Beavers are 12–8 in bowl game appearances.
1939Lon StinerPineapple BowlHawaiiW 39–6
1941Lon StinerRose BowlDukeW 20–16
1948Lon StinerPineapple BowlHawaiiW 47–27
1956Tommy ProthroRose BowlIowaL 19–35
1960Tommy ProthroGotham BowlNone Found
1962Tommy ProthroLiberty BowlVillanovaW 6–0
1964Tommy ProthroRose BowlMichiganL 7–34
1980Joe AvezzanoMirage BowlUCLAL 3–34
1999Dennis EricksonOahu BowlHawaiiL 17–23
2000Dennis EricksonFiesta BowlNotre DameW 41–9
2002Dennis EricksonInsight BowlPittsburghL 13–38
2003Mike RileyLas Vegas Bowl[2003 New Mexico Lobos football|New Mexico Lobos football team|New Mexico]W 55–14
2004Mike RileyInsight BowlNotre DameW 38–21
2006Mike RileySun BowlMissouriW 39–38
2007Mike RileyEmerald BowlMarylandW 21–14
2008Mike RileySun BowlPittsburghW 3–0
2009Mike RileyLas Vegas Bowl[2009 BYU Cougars football|BYU Cougars football team|BYU]L 20–44
2012Mike RileyAlamo BowlTexasL 27–31
2013Mike RileyHawaii BowlBoise StateW 38–23
2021Jonathan SmithLA BowlUtah StateL 13–24
2022Jonathan SmithLas Vegas BowlFloridaW 30–3
2023Kefense HynsonSun BowlNotre DameL 8–40

Home stadium

The Beavers play their home games at Reser Stadium in Corvallis, Oregon. It was originally called Parker Stadium when it was constructed in 1953, and had a capacity of 25,000. Parker Stadium was renamed Reser Stadium in June 1999. Major renovations from 2005 to 2016 increased the stadium's capacity to 43,363, where it stood through the 2021 season. Another renovation project, called "Completing Reser", was announced on Feb. 4, 2021. The stadium featured a temporary capacity of 26,000 during the 2022 season and now has an official capacity of 35,548 at the completion of the construction project for the 2023 season.

Rivalries

Oregon

Oregon State University's primary rival is the University of Oregon. The two schools enjoy a fierce and long-standing rivalry due to the proximity of the two campuses. The University of Oregon is in Eugene, Oregon, about south of Corvallis.
The teams first matched up on the gridiron in 1894 and have been playing each other almost every year since. The rivalry game between the two schools has traditionally been the last game of each season and was long known as the "Civil War Game." The two schools have played each other 128 times, tied for fifth most among any Division I FBS rivalry. Though not officially recognized by the universities, the Platypus Trophy is awarded annually to the winning alumni association. Oregon leads the series 69–49–10 through the end of the 2024 season.

Washington State

The rivalry with Washington State started in 1895 when Cougars defeated the Beavers 41–35. It is among the most played FBS rivalries in history. The two rivals have meet 110 times as of 2025 and will play each other twice with a home-and-home series in 2025. Washington State leads the series 57–50–3 through the middle of the 2025 season.
The Beavers' largest margin of victory was 66–13 in 2008, while the Cougars' largest margin of victory was 55–7 in 1991. Oregon State's longest win streak against the Cougars is six straight from 1966 to 1971, while Washington State's longest against the Beavers is 10 straight from 1983 to 1993. The rivalry has not been officially named yet, with suggestions including the "Land-Grant Rivalry", the "Cascade Cup", and the "Colombia River Rivalry".

Northwest Championship

The Northwest Championship is a rivalry between Oregon, Oregon State, Washington, and Washington State. The four Pacific Northwest rivals began playing in a round-robin format in the 1903 season. No trophy is awarded to the winner, and no organization grants the title, although in 2002, the Washington Huskies wore homemade t-shirts for the Northwest Championship.

Retired numbers

Although not a retired number Oregon State has "AL" displayed opposite Terry Baker's number "11" in Reser Stadium for long time donor/philanthropist/contributor Al Reser.

Individual national award winners

Players
Coaches

Individual conference awards

†Shared Award

All-Americans

Oregon State has had 53 first team All-Americans in the history of the program as of the end of the 2023 season, with 8 Consensus All-Americans and 2 Unanimous All-Americans.
† Consensus Selection, ‡ Unanimous Selection

College Football Hall of Fame inductees

The Beavers have had three players and three coaches inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
1982Terry BakerQB1960–1962
1991Tommy ProthroCoach1955–1964
2008John CooperAssistant Coach1963–1964
2011Bill EnyartFB1967–1968
2019Dennis EricksonCoach1999–2002
2022Mike HassWR2002–2005

Notable former players

Future non-conference opponents

Announced schedules as of December 30, 2025.
at HoustonPortland Statevs BYU1Sacramento StateOle Missat Sam HoustonTulsa
Texas TechNew MexicoIdahoSan Jose Stateat San Jose StateKansas StateAppalachian State
Montanaat Ole Missat New Mexicoat Wake Forestat Kansas StateIdaho
at UTEPat BYU

  1. Vegas Kickoff Classic, Las Vegas, Nevada