Oregon playing against the University of Pennylvania at the 1917 Rose Bowl / Oregon Digital

UO History 101: Football

Football season has kicked off, and it’s time to learn more about the history of Oregon’s football program.

In 1893, a group of UO students attended a football game in Portland and decided to organize a school team. The first game was played in an open field on campus against Albany College on March 24, 1894. Though lacking proper coaching and training, the same team played their first season in the fall of 1894.

For several years, the team played about four games each season, with Kincaid Field as their home football field. 1898 was known as their first season with a well-coached squad, but their coaching staff changed often – there were 16 different head coaches in nineteen seasons (1894-1913).

Over time, he football program grew, and the University of Oregon was invited to its first Rose Bowl Game in 1917 where they beat the University of Pennsylvania Quakers 14-0.

From 1919 to 1966, Oregon Football was in its Hayward Field era, where every home game was played at the multi-purpose sports field. During this time, the team earned four Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) titles and played six bowl games. After the PCC dissolved in 1959, Oregon joined the Pac-8 Conference, which became the Pac-10 in 1978, and the Pac-12 in 2011.

On September 23, 1967, Oregon played their first football game in Autzen Stadium to a crowd of over 23,000 people.

Since then, the football program has grown, earning nine additional conference championships and playing in 29 additional bowl games, including two national championship games. Autzen Stadium now seats 54,000 fans, and the number of players on the roster has increased to around 125 student-athletes. 

-By Peyton Hall, UO Alumni Association Student Associate