Bobby Robinson was the first Black student-athlete to compete at Oregon along with Charles “Chuck” Williams. Robinson starts at quarterback in a 7-0 victory over Linfield. Robinson and Williams both are from Portland and competed at Oregon from 1927-29. Robinson was third-team all-PCC in 1929 and also shared the conference title in the pole vault.
The first Black student-athlete recruited to run track and field at Oregon, Walt Hopson is one of the top sprinters for the men’s track and field team and is an early influence on one of his Duck teammates; a man who would not only go on to become a coaching legend at Oregon but would revolutionize the running world and co-found NIKE - Bill Bowerman.
Center/forward Charles Patterson joins the Webfoots as the first Black basketball player not only at the University of Oregon, but in the entire Pacific Coast Conference Northern Division. He followed Coach Howard Hobson from Southern Oregon and helped the Ducks win the PCC North with a 14-6 record (25-8 overall).
Mack Robinson is Oregon’s first Black NCAA Champion in track and field, winning the 220-yard dash. Robinson was also the 1938 Pacific Coast Conference champion in the 220-yard hurdles and the broad jump.
Shelby Golden and his Oregon teammates win the Pacific Coast Conference Northern Division title by seven strokes over Washington.
The first Black person to earn a medical degree from OHSU upon his graduation in 1949, Walt Reynolds and Dr. DeNorval Unthank became the first two Black physicians practicing medicine in the city of Portland. Reynolds later became the first Black physician to hold the position of Medical Staff President (1971-72) at Legacy Emanuel Medical Center.
First Black player to rush for 100 yards at Oregon.
First Black football player from Oregon named first-team all-conference (PCC).
Emery Barnes shares the NCAA high jump national title with a clearance at 6-8. That fall, he is named all-Pacific Coast Conference defensive end playing for the Ducks’ football team.
Charlie Franklin sets the school record with 36 points in a win over Washington State. He is the first Black basketball player from Oregon recognized on the All-PCC first team.
Won the gold medal at 400 meters in the 1960 Olympics and was inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame in 2003.
Tied two world records: the 100-yard -dash (9.3) and the the indoor 60-yard-dash (6.). Cook was a two-time Pacific Coast Conference champion in the 100- and 220-yard dashes.
Glenn Moore helps lead Oregon to the 1960 NCAA Basketball Tournament, becoming the first Black player to represent the Ducks in the national event.
Mel Renfro becomes Oregon’s first consensus All-American in football.
H.D. Murphy sets the school career batting average record with a .381 clip. It is a record that still stands. Murphy was an all-Northern League selection at outfielder after hitting .422 in 1963. He repeated all-Northern League honors in 1964.
Steve Jones is named All-Coast first team. During the season, he breaks Charlie Franklin’s school record by scoring 37 points against Washington State (Dec. 12, 1963).
Football player Ancer Haggerty joins the wrestling team to become the first Black wrestler in program history. Haggerty is better known for his service to Oregon’s legal system. Starting his career as a lawyer, he was appointed a Multnomah County District Court judge in 1989. He later served on the Multnomah County Circuit Court. Haggerty became the first Black person to serve as a judge on the federal court in Oregon when he was appointed to the U.S. District Court by President Clinton in 1994.He served as U.S. District Court chief judge from 2002 to 2009.
Track and field triple jumper Herman Brame is a founding member of UO’s Black Student Union. After graduation, he researched and produced summaries of all aspects of Black history at the University of Oregon, resulting in the most extensive summary of Black student history available in the University Archives. One of his summaries was titled “African American Athletes in Oregon: A History From 1804 to 1950”.
Bouncy Moore helps Oregon win the 1970 NCAA Track and Field national title with a runner-up finish in the long jump. A year later, Moore was the individual NCAA winner in the long jump (25-9.75). He also won Pac-8 titles in 1970 and 1971.
Bobby Moore (Ahmad Rashad) becomes the first 1,000-yards rusher in school history.
First Duck to record a triple-double with 15 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists against Montana State. He goes on to set school records in assists (17 against Villanova) and points scored (41 against Seattle).
Don Reynolds sets the UO career record in hits (111), runs batted in (87) and stolen bases (40). He is drafted in the 18th round of the 1975 MLB Draft by the San Diego Padres.
First Black varsity female student-athlete at the University of Oregon, enrolling in the fall of 1975, and competing for the track & field team during the 1976 season.
First Black student-athlete named a four-year All-Pac-8 first team selection. He is also the first Black University of Oregon player to earn All-America status. He finishes his career with school records in points (2,085) and assists (572). He remains the only player in program history to score 2,000 career points.
Greg Gibson is the NCAA runner-up in the heavyweight division at both the 1975 and 1976 NCAA wrestling championships. The two-time All-American was an Olympic qualifier for the 1984 Summer Games.
In perhaps the greatest individual game in program history, Greg Ballard ties the school record with 41 points and grabs 20 rebounds in a five-overtime loss at California. Greg Ballard breaks the school record with 43 points against Oral Roberts. In the nearly 44 years since that game, only two players, Orlando Williams and Luke Jackson, have reached the 40-point barrier. Ballard remains the only player in program history with 1,000 career points (1,829, fifth) and 1,000 career rebounds (1,114, first).
Debbie Adams is the first Black female women’s basketball player and the first to earn all-District honors, the first of three in her terrific career. She is also a member of the track & field team.
Wrestler Dan Brown sets the school records for falls in a season (21) and a career (56). Both records still stand. Brown was an All-American at 177 lbs. in 1979 and was the Pac-10 champion in that weight class in 1980.
Oregon's all-Black women’s mile relay team of Melanie Batiste, Dawna Rose, Rhonda Massey and Debbie Adams finishes second at the AIAW national championships to earn All-America honors.
Debbie Adams becomes the first Black women's basketball player with a 30-point game for Oregon, scoring 38 on 11-of-21 shooting in a win over Seattle. She also becomes the first Black Oregon women's basketball player to surpass 1,000 career points.
Soccer’s Victoria Taylor helps the Ducks win back-to-back NWCSC titles and becomes the first Black Oregon women’s student-athlete to compete in a team national tournament at the 1981 AIAW Championships.
Yogi Johnson becomes the first Black softball player at Oregon.
Quenna Beasley wins NorPac Conference titles in the shot put and discus and becomes Oregon’s first Black NCAA All-American by finishing seventh in the shot put at the track and field national championships.
Jerry Adams is named All-Pac-10 first team in basketball.
Anthony Taylor leads the Pac-10 in scoring at 21.3 points per game and earns his second straight all-league first team selection. His 1,939 points ranks third in program history.
Rosie Williams (200 meters) and Phillis McKinney (triple jump) are the first Black Pac-10 women’s track champions for Oregon.
Terrell Brandon sets the UO single-season scoring record with 745 points. He is the 11th overall pick by Cleveland in the 1991 NBA Draft and goes on to a distinguished NBA career. He is named the best point guard in the NBA by Sports Illustrated and is still the only Duck to have played in the NBA All-Star game (1996-97).
One of the best multi-sport athletes from the state of Oregon, LaReina Woods becomes the Ducks’ first Black volleyball player. She was also known on the track, where she tied the school record by winning the 1993 100 meter Pac-10 title in 11.58. Woods also ran on the Ducks’ record setting 4x100 and 4x400 meter relay teams.
All-Pac-10 selection Kenya Wilkins breaks Ron Lee’s record with 614 career assists and also establishes the school’s career steals mark with 213.
Two-time all-conference honoree Orlando Williams leads Oregon back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 34 years. His 1,674 career points ranks seventh in program history.
First Black head coach in the University’s history.
First Oregon football player named Pac-10 player of the year.
Shaquala Williams is the first Oregon women's basketball player to earn conference Freshman of the Year, as well as the program's first Black student-athlete to receive first-team all-conference recognition. She led the Ducks to the program's first-ever Pac-10/12 regular-season championship.
All-Pac-10 selection Alex Scales and Darius Wright hit back-to-back three-pointers in the final five seconds as Oregon stuns Arizona State 74-73 in arguably the most remarkable finish in McArthur Court history.
Shaquala Williams is the first Oregon women's basketball player to be named conference Player of the Year while also earning honorable mention all-America honors. She led the Ducks to a second straight Pac-10 regular-season title and the first outright Pac-10/12 conference title in program history. Shaquala goes on to be drafted 30th overall by the Cleveland Rockers in the 2003 WNBA Draft.
Eugene Harris is the Pac-10 champion at 165 lbs. and finishes fourth at the 2002 NCAA wrestling championships to earn All-America honors.
All-American Fred Jones helps Oregon win the outright conference title for the first time in 63 years. That team would advance to the NCAA Elite Eight. Jones went on to win the 2004 NBA Slam Dunk title with Indiana.
Ernie Kent leads Oregon to the Pac-10 regular season men’s basketball championship. He is the third Black person to accomplish that, joining UCLA’s Larry Farmer (1983) and Walt Hazzard (1987). He was named Pac-10 Men’s Basketball Coach of the Year, the fourth Black person to be so honored.
Edniesha Curry becomes the first Black Oregon women's basketball player to be taken in the WNBA Draft, going in the third round to the Charlotte Sting.
Oregon wins the 2003 Pac-10 Men’s Basketball Tournament championship. Ernie Kent becomes just the second Black person to coach his team to the tournament title, joining UCLA’s Walt Hazzard (1987).
Andrea Bills becomes the first Black Oregon women's basketball player to grab at least 20 rebounds in a game, pulling down 21 against Montana.
Jordan Kent becomes the first men’s three-sport athlete at Oregon since World War II, earning letters in football, basketball and track and field.
Tajuan Porter sets the school record with 10 three-point field goals versus Portland State. He goes on to set the Pac-10 record with 345 career three-point field goals, including a school record 110 in 2006-07.
Bryce Taylor all 11 field goal attempts, setting the school record for field goal percentage as Oregon blows out USC to win the 2007 Pac-10 Tournament.
Aaron Brooks leads the Pac-12 in scoring at 17.7 points per game. The All-American guided Oregon to the NCAA Elite, where the Ducks lost to eventual NCAA Champion Florida.
LaMichael James is the first unanimous all-American in UO football history.
Black student-athletes Ashley Dawson, Charity Dotson and Mercedez Tolez are members of Oregon’s inaugural acrobatics and tumbling team.
At the NCAA Championships, in one of the most memorable races in Hayward Field history, Keshia Baker out-leans Texas A&M’s Jessica Beard to give Oregon an historic national title in the 4x400 meter relay.
Malcom Armstead shatters the school record with 89 steals in a season.
Jillian Alleyne breaks the Oregon single-game record with 27 rebounds against Portland State, the first of 13 20-rebound games in her career. She goes on to be named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year by the conference's media.
English Gardner becomes the first Black Oregon women’s student-athlete to win an individual NCAA championship when she captures the indoor 60 meters and the outdoor 100 meters.
Jasmine Minor become Oregon’s first Black student-athlete in women’s tennis.
Johnathan Loyd lead the Ducks on an amazing run through the Pac-12 Tournament and is named Tournament MVP. Oregon advances to the NCAA Sweet 16.
Robert Johnson becomes the first Black head coach to win a national championship at Oregon when the men’s and women’s track and field teams sweep the NCAA Indoor meet. Johnson has led the Oregon track and cross country programs to a combined 13 NCAA team titles.
Joseph Young ties Terrell Brandon’s school record with 745 points in a season and is named Pac-12 Player of the Year after leading the conference in scoring at 20.7 points per game.
Chris Boucher sets the school record with nine blocks against Arkansas State. Chris Boucher continues to dominate the paint throughout the year, blocking a school-record 110 shots in a single season. He would go on to win an NBA title with Toronto in 2019.
Ethan Young-Smith becomes one of the first Black men’s tennis players at Oregon. The four-year letterman finished his career with a 46-35 singles record. He was a member of three NCAA Tournament teams: 2016, 2017 and 2018.
Jillian Alleyne records her 89th career double-double with 27 points and 13 rebounds vs. Utah, surpassing Bev Smith as Oregon’s all-time leader. Alleyne finished her career with 92 double-doubles, the most in conference history and the second-most in NCAA history behind only Courtney Paris (128, Oklahoma), another Black athlete. She becomes the first Black Oregon women’s basketball player to surpass 2,000 career points; she is the only player in program history to reach 2,000 points and 1,500 career rebounds.
Elgin Cook is named Pac-12 Tournament MVP.
Nia Rose moves into second on Oregon’s all-time career doubles wins list, finishing with 37 victories when paired with doubles partner Alyssa Tobita.
Jillian Alleyne demolishes the Pac-10/12 and Oregon all-time records with 1,712 career rebounds; Alleyne owns four of the top five greatest individual rebounding seasons in program history, including a single-season record 519 as a sophomore in 2013-14. Alleyne is also Oregon’s all-time leader with 492 career made free throws. She is drafted 20th overall by the Phoenix Mercury in the 2016 WNBA Draft.
Dillon Brooks hits the most memorable shot in Matthew Knight Arena history, a three-pointer at the buzzer that lifted Oregon to an 89-87 win over undefeated UCLA. Brooks was a two-time All-American and was the 2017 Pac-12 Player of the Year.
Ruthy Hebard hits the game-winning shot in Oregon’s 71-70 victory over Temple in the first round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament, igniting the Ducks’ magical run to the program’s first-ever NCAA Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight appearances. Oti Gildon also played a major role in Oregon’s run, nearly recording a double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds off the bench in the Ducks’ win over Maryland in the Sweet Sixteen.
Jordan Bell dominates the paint with a UO NCAA Tournament record eight blocks as Oregon defeats Kansas in the NCAA Midwest Regional Final. Bell earns Midwest Regional MVP honors.
Led by Black student-athletes Dillon Brooks, Tyler Dorsey, Jordan Bell, Chris Boucher and Dylan Ennis, Oregon returns to the Final Four for the first time in 78 years.
Jordan Bell establishes the career record for blocked shots with 235. He is named the 2017 Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year and would go on to win an NBA title with Golden State in 2018.
Under Coach Johnson’s leadership and sparked by performances from Black student-athletes like Raevyn Rogers, Sasha Wallace, Ariana Washington, Deajah Stevens and Alaysha Johnson, among others, Oregon claims the women’s triple crown, winning national titles in one academic year in cross country, indoor track and field and outdoor track and field.
Willie Taggart is the first Black head football coach for the Ducks.
Ruthy Hebard breaks the NCAA record with 33 consecutive made field goals, including a pair of 12-of-12 performances against Washington State and USC to set a new program single-game record for field-goal percentage. She becomes the first-ever winner of the Katrina McClain Award as the nation's top power forward following a phenomenal sophomore season.
Satou Sabally puts together a stellar debut season with the Ducks to earn Pac-12 Freshman of the Year honors.
Ruthy Hebard, Satou Sabally, Oti Gildon and Justine Hall help lead Oregon women’s basketball to the program’s first regular-season conference championship since 2000 as well as the team’s first-ever Pac-12 Tournament title. The team then earns its second straight trip to the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight. Hebard led the Ducks with 23 points and 14 rebounds in the Ducks’ Sweet Sixteen win over Central Michigan.
All-region and all-Pac-12 selection DJ Sanders helps lead Oregon to a Pac-12 title and a Women’s College World Series appearance. The Ducks’ starting shortstop finished the year with the fourth-most home runs in a season in program history, hitting 16 while driving 51 runs.
Ruthy Hebard ties the Oregon single-game record with 16 made field goals against Washington State, becoming the program’s first Black student-athlete to make more than 15 shots in a game.
Ruthy Hebard, Satou Sabally and Oti Gildon help the Ducks to a second consecutive Pac-12 regular-season championship as well as the program’s first-ever trip to the Final Four. Hebard and Sabally combined for 43 points and 27 rebounds in Oregon’s win over Portland State in the opening round of the 2019 NCAA Tournament, and Hebard had a 24-point, 14-rebound double-double in the Sweet Sixteen vs. South Dakota State. Sabally finished with 22 points in Oregon’s win over No. 1 seed Mississippi State that punched the Ducks’ ticket to the Final Four.
Sydney Lawrence becomes Oregon’s first Black lacrosse student-athlete.
Ronika Stone finishes her career as Oregon’s all-time leader with 429 block assists and hitting percentage at .336.
Satou Sabally (25 points), Ruthy Hebard (18) and Minyon Moore (10) all start and help lead the Oregon women’s basketball team to a historic exhibition win over the USA Women’s National Team in Matthew Knight Arena. The Ducks became the first college team to defeat Team USA since 1999.
Rachel Williams becomes the first Black student-athlete ever to start a game for the Oregon lacrosse team.
Ruthy Hebard, Satou Sabally and Minyon Moore help lead Oregon women’s basketball to a stellar 31-2 overall record, capturing the program’s third straight Pac-12 regular-season championship and second conference tournament title. The Ducks were in position to be a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history before the postseason was called off due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ruthy Hebard becomes just the fifth player in program history with 2,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds, capping an incredible career with a .685 field goal percentage as a senior and breaking the Oregon single-season record she had already set in the two previous seasons. Ruthy becomes the first Black Oregon women’s basketball player ever to receive first-team All-America honors while also winning the Katrina McClain Award as the national power forward of the year for the second time in her career. She is selected No. 8 overall to the Chicago Sky in the WNBA Draft, becoming one of the first Black Oregon women’s basketball players ever to be selected in the first round.
Satou Sabally becomes the first Oregon women’s basketball player to win the Cheryl Miller Award as the nation’s top small forward while joining Hebard as one of three Ducks to earn all-American recognition. She is selected No. 2 overall by the Dallas Wings in the 2020 WNBA Draft, becoming one of the first Black Oregon women’s basketball players ever to be selected in the first round. Sabally paired with Ionescu (selected No. 1 overall) to become just the fourth pair of teammates ever to go 1-2 in the same draft.