Tinker Hatfield, BArch ’77

Ally Award Winner

Hatfield was not one to blend in with the crowd during his time at the University of Oregon. Besides working toward the completion of a degree in architecture, Tinker also competed in track and field under legendary coach Bill Bowerman, holding the pole-vault record for the university, and finishing sixth in the 1976 US Olympic trials.

While on the track team, Hatfield designed the first-ever “Afro Duck” which was created at the request of his teammates. In 2022, University of Oregon Athletics unveiled the Air Jordan 8 “Oregon” PE which features Hatfield’s re-imagined version of the Black “Fighting Ducks” logo on the tongue as recognition to the universities’ Black student-athletes.

Upon graduation he found work as a corporate architect for Nike, designing office spaces, showrooms, and stores before designing the original Air Max cross training shoe in 1981. Some of his greatest achievements include the design of the Air Huarache shoe as well as collaboration with Michael Jordan on the globally famous Air Jordan line.

Hatfield’s monumental contributions to Nike have led to his accumulation of a distinguished collection of awards, including being named one of the 100 Most Influential Designers of the Century by Fortune Magazine in 1998 and earning a place in the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame for Special Contribution to Sport in 2008.

Hatfield's contributions to the University of Oregon also include the creation of the inspired design for the Matthew Knight Arena floor as well as having an integral role in designing the iconic “O” logo.