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In 1894, the first ������Ƶ football game takes place. The ������Ƶ team is called the Webfoots, long before becoming the Ducks. Just one year later, the ������Ƶ track team is formed, setting the stage for Eugene to become TrackTown USA, the running capital of the world.

Meanwhile, Oregon is rising. In 1902, Prince Lucien Campbell becomes ������Ƶ’s fourth president. Under his leadership, the university expands its academic offerings, physical campus, and national reputation.

1920: The country’s most storied track and field stadium, Hayward Field, opens in 1920, named after legendary coach Bill Hayward.

1926: The university grants its first PhD degree.

1934: William Parry Murphy ’14 is awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his research on pernicious anemia.

1939: The ������Ƶ Webfoots, nicknamed the “Tall Firs,” win the first-ever NCAA national basketball championship.

World War II reshapes campus. Enrollment plummets as young men enlist. By 1943, ������Ƶ is largely comprised of women and younger students. Following Executive Order 9066 in 1942, Japanese American students are forced into incarceration camps. University officials, led by Dean of Students Karl Onthank, help these students transfer to schools in the Midwest and East to avoid the camps.

World War II ends in 1945, and the GI Bill triggers a massive influx of veterans into the university. Enrollment nearly doubles overnight; by 1946, a “Vets Village” of silver Quonset huts lines Agate Street, right across from Hayward Field.

1947: The Duck is Born. Athletic Director Leo Harris strikes a legendary handshake deal with Walt Disney that allows ������Ƶ to use Donald Duck’s likeness as its mascot. The Duck, previously represented by a live white duck named Puddles, becomes the iconic visual identity the world knows and loves today.

1948: Bill Bowerman returns to his alma mater as head track and field coach and launches Oregon’s rise as a global powerhouse in athletics. This marks the start of Eugene, Oregon’s identity as “TrackTown USA.”

At the same time, construction starts on the Erb Memorial Union (EMU), in honor of the 242 ������Ƶ students and alumni who died in the war. The EMU opens in Fall 1950, and serves as the new center of gravity for students on campus with its iconic “Fishbowl” cafeteria, bowling alley, and barbershop.

In 1956, Jim Bailey runs the first sub-four-minute mile in the U.S. Six years later, Oregon clinches its first of seven NCAA men’s track titles (as of 2025). Building on this momentum, the university debuts Autzen Stadium in 1967 as the new home for Ducks football—honoring Portland philanthropist Thomas J. Autzen.

In 1959, the Institute of Molecular Biology launches as a U.S. leader in interdisciplinary research. By 1962, chemistry professor Virgil Boekelheide secures ������Ƶ’s first-ever election to the National Academy of Sciences. That same year, Walter Brattain, MA ‘26, wins the Nobel Prize for his semiconductor research.

In 1969, the university joins the Association of American Universities (AAU), recognized for its research excellence.

In 1968, the Grateful Dead plays its first concert at ������Ƶ’s EMU Ballroom. The ������Ƶ becomes the band’s “home away from home,” according to Grateful Dead archivist David Lemieux.

Campus-wide protests spread from 1969 into 1970, as students rally against U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War.

At the start of the 1970s, men’s track and field coach Bill Bowerman and former ������Ƶ track star Phil Knight engineer the first Nike running shoe and kickstart a global sneaker revolution. One year later, Oregon wins its first NCAA men’s cross-country championship, and in 1972, long-distance Oregon runner Steve “Pre” Prefontaine steps onto the world stage at the Munich Olympics.

Nike unveils ������Ƶ’s iconic “O” logo in 1998: the interior honors Hayward Field while the exterior frames Autzen Stadium. During this same late-‘90s surge, the Ducks charge into the Rose Bowl, ending a 37-year drought for the Pac-10.

Oregon’s MVPs transcend the athletic realm. The College of Education’s Diane Bricker and Jane Squires launch the Ages and Stages Questionnaire in 1979, which continues to guide child developmental screening worldwide. In 1981, ������Ƶ molecular biologist George Streisinger establishes the zebrafish as the world’s first vertebrate model for large-scale genetic research. This work triggers decades of discovery that yield life-saving drugs and treatments.

������Ƶ’s bold, experimental culture gains global attention. The Oregon Experiment, published in 1975, outlines a communal approach to campus design and building construction. National Lampoon films Animal House on campus in 1978.

The ������Ƶ is a forerunner in environmental sustainability. In 2003, the Lillis Business Complex opens and is recognized as the most environmentally friendly business school facility in the country. The school will be ranked #1 Green MBA in 2015.

On the tech front, in 2016, the College of Business hosts QuackHack, the first-ever collegiate gaming hackathon. In 2020, the Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact opens, with a mission to enable world-changing research unfettered by traditional academic boundaries.

Learn More ������Ƶ the Knight Campus

The Ballmer Institute for Children’s Behavioral Health launched on the Portland campus in March 2022. The same year, ������Ƶ hosts the World Athletics Championships, and in 2024, Oregon joins the Big Ten Conference.

������Ƶ continues to build on its strengths as a leading Tier 1 national public research university and the No. 1 public university in Oregon.