Beauty and the Duck
Derrick Deadwiler, BS ’94 (sociology) was a student athlete lettering in both football and track - but it wasn't until he met Eileen when things began to fall into place at the UO.
Derrick, BS ’94 (sociology), and Eileen met on the campus of the University of Oregon (UO) in 1992. Eileen did not attend UO, most of her close friends were students. She was visiting one of them when Derrick first saw her. Derrick was a junior college transfer student-athlete lettering in both football and track, and Eileen was attending a local community college.
Eileen would be around campus often volunteering with the Gospel Ensemble and Choir at the School of Music and Cru Ministry events attended by students and athletes alike. During fall camp, Derrick ran into Eileen again at the Lane County Fair, where she invited him to a church service. In return, he invited her to attend a football game.
Derrick and Eileen had their first date after the Oregon vs. Washington football game on October 17 at Pizza Hut on Franklin Blvd. However, they really got to know each other after Derrick broke his collarbone during the Oregon vs. Washington State game.
Because he was unable to attend practices, he spent most of his time with Eileen and her four-year-old daughter Drew. Derrick invited Eileen and Drew to San Diego during spring break to meet his three-year-old son Marquise, where the kids bonded at Disneyland.
They continued dating throughout the 1993-94 football season, and after that devastating loss to Stanford that took Oregon out of a bowl game, they concentrated on their wedding, January 22, 1994. After 28 years of marriage, they now have four young adult children, Drew, Marquise, Elise, Camille, and Darren (son-in-love), and a 4-year-old pit boxer, Dexter.
Even though Derrick and Eileen now hail from North Las Vegas, NV, Derrick has stayed connected and involved with the university. He served on the UO Alumni Association board as president, was a founding member of the University of Oregon Black Alumni Network (UOBAN), and currently serves as a trustee for the University of Oregon Foundation. In 2018, Derrick received the prestigious Leo Harris Award, presented to a letterman alum who has been out of college for a minimum of twenty years and who has demonstrated continued service and leadership to the University of Oregon. Once a Duck, always a Duck!
Left: Derrick Deadwiler, BS ’94 (sociology), and wife, Eileen (bottom right), take in a Duck game with the family; Right: Derrick receiving the Leo Harris Award, pictured with Eileen (left), and daughters, Drew (center right) and Camille (right). Photos courtesy of Derrick and Eileen Deadwiler.