Oregon State Beavers

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Oregon State Beavers

University	Oregon State University
Conference	Pacific Ten Conference
NCAA	Division I
Athletics director	Bob De Carolis
Location	Corvallis, OR
Varsity teams	17
Football stadium	Reser Stadium
Basketball arena	Gill Coliseum
Baseball stadium	Goss Stadium at Coleman Field
Mascot	Benny Beaver
Nickname	Beavers
Fight song	Hail to old OSU
Colors	Orange and Black
Homepage	www.OSUBeavers.com

The Oregon State Beavers is a name shared by all sports teams at Oregon State University, a university located in Corvallis, Oregon in the United States. The Beavers are part of the Pacific Ten Conference (Pac-10). Oregon State's mascot is Benny Beaver. Both the men's and women's teams share the name, competing in 7 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I-A men's sports and 10 NCAA Division I-A women's sports respectively.

The primary rival of the Beavers is the Oregon Ducks of the University of Oregon, located 45 miles (75 km) south of the Oregon State campus. The football rivalry between the Beavers and Ducks, known as the Civil War, is one of the longest-running in the country, having been contested 111 times as of the end of the 2007 season. The Beavers won the 2007 Civil War in Eugene, 38-31.

As of June 2007, the Beavers have won one pre-NCAA team national championship and three NCAA team national championships. The 1926 wrestling team won the Amateur Athletic Association national championship, the 1961 men's Cross-country team won the NCAA title, and most recently the baseball team won the 2006 and 2007 College World Series. Other notable performances include a second place finish in the 1973 and 1995 NCAA wrestling finals, two Final Four appearances by the men's basketball team, the football team trouncing Notre Dame in the 2001 Fiesta Bowl (and finishing the season ranked #4 in the polls), and several individual NCAA championship titles in gymnastics, wrestling, and track & field.

[edit] Baseball

The Oregon State University baseball program was established in 1907 by Ty Eriksen. It has since seen dozens of players go on to play in the minor leagues and more than 15 go on to play in the MLB, including Steve Lyons and pitching All-Star Ken Forsch. The baseball team has won its conference championship 22 times and has made it to the College World Series 4 times, first in 1952 and more recently three straight years, in 2005, 2006, and 2007. The team is currently led by head coach Pat Casey, and they play at Goss Stadium at Coleman Field.

The baseball team has recently established itself as a national contender by being the only team in the nation to reach the College World Series in both 2005 and 2006, winning the Pac-10 championship both years in the process. They were also the only 2005 College World Series team to make it to the 2006 Super Regionals. In the 2006 season, the Beavers swept the Corvallis Regional and Super Regional, culminating with a convincing 15-0 victory over Stanford. It was the largest margin of loss in the history of Stanford postseason play and the first time the team had been held scoreless in postseason play since 1992. The 2006 season also saw a school record nine players drafted in the Major League Baseball Draft. The Beavers were ranked #3 in the nation in the 2006 Collegiate Baseball preseason poll^[1] and remained in the top 10 in the coaches' poll most of the season.

In the 2006 College World Series, a double-elimination tournament, the Beavers lost their first game, an 11-1 drubbing at the hands of Miami, which dropped the Beavers into the loser's bracket. They rebounded in their next game, defeating Georgia. They then got revenge on Miami, who had been defeated by Rice, knocking the Hurricanes out of the tournament with an 8-1 victory. This set up a two-game series with #1 Rice, who emerged from the winner's bracket. The Beavers needed to win both games to advance. They did, holding Rice scoreless in both games to record the first back-to-back shutouts in the College World Series since 1992. The Beavers advanced to the three-game Championship series against North Carolina, which started on June 24, 2006. After losing the first game, Oregon State fell behind 5-0 after three innings of Game 2. They proceeded to light up Carolina's normally strong pitching for seven runs in the fourth and added four more in the sixth to cruise to an 11-7 win. They went on to a 3-2 win in Game 3 to secure their first Baseball National Championship.

On June 22, 2007, Oregon governor Ted Kulongoski made a friendly political wager with North Carolina Governor Mike Easley that "Oregon State Beavers baseball team will repeat as champions and defeat the University of North Carolina Tar Heels for a second time in the championship of the 2007 NCAA College World Series."^[1] The Beavers repeated as champions in the 2007 College World Series, winning all their games, including a rematch with North Carolina in the finals. This despite a difficult regular season which saw the team barely qualify for the postseason.

The baseball team's all-time record is 1,875-1,267-15 (822-603 conference) through the 2006 season.

The Oregon State Beavers shouldn't be confused with the Portland Beavers, a professional minor league baseball team in Portland, Oregon. In 2007, owner Merritt Paulson announced that he was considering changing the name of the minor league team to prevent confusion with the college team.[2]

[edit] Basketball

The men's basketball team has had several famous players come out of the program, including 9-time NBA All-Star Gary Payton and "Iron Man" A.C. Green. The Beavers have the 13th most amount of wins of any program in the nation as of the end of the 2006 season.

Though they have an impressive program when compared to other Pac-10 teams, the basketball team has recently fallen on hard times. It hasn't had a winning season since 1990 and has been eclipsed by other athletic endeavors to include men's football and baseball (especially after winning two national titles)[3]. They have participated in the NCAA Tournament 16 times*, making it to the Final Four twice. OSU alumni have also received a total of 10 NBA championship rings and 4 Olympic gold medals. Fans of the program can also take pride in having beaten rival Oregon more times than any team has beaten another team in a collegiate sport, with 179 victories.
*1980-82 tournament records vacated by NCAA

Oregon State holds several NCAA basketball records as of the end of the 2004 season:

Individual Records

Field Goal Percentage (Single season) - 1st - 74.6% — Steve Johnson, 1981 (235 of 315) & 4th - 71.0% — Steve Johnson, 1980 (211 of 297)
Field Goal Percentage (Career, min. 400 made and 4 made per game) - 1st - 67.8% — Steve Johnson, 1976-81 (828 of 1,222)
Field Goal Percentage (Single game, min. 12 field goals made) - 1st (tie) - 100% Steve Johnson vs. Hawaii-Hilo (13 of 13), Dec. 5, 1979
Total Rebounds (Single game) - 15th (tie) - 36 - Swede Halbrook vs. Idaho, Feb. 15, 1955
Assists (Career) - 11th - 939 - Gary Payton, 1987-1990
Average Assists Per Game (Career, min. 550 assists) - 9th - 7.82 - Gary Payton, 1987-1990
Steals (Career) - 18th (tie) - 321 - Gary Payton, 1987-1990

Top Season Performances by Class

Senior - Field Goal Percentage - 1st - 74.6% — Steve Johnson, 1981 (235 of 315)
Junior - Field Goal Percentage - 1st - 71.0% — Steve Johnson, 1980 (211 of 297)

Team Records

Free-Throw Percentage (Single game, min. 30 free throws made) - 12th (tie) - 30-31 vs. Memphis, Dec. 19, 1990
Steals (Single game) - 19th (tie) - 27 vs. Hawaii-Loa, Dec. 22, 1985
Field Goal Percentage (Season) - 3rd - 56.4% - 1981 & 25th (tie) - 54.4% - 1980
All-Time Victories (Min. 25 years in Division I) - 13th - 1,546 games
Games played vs. Single Opponent - 1st - 323 vs. Oregon, 2nd - 275 vs. Washington, 4th 270 vs. Washington State
Victories vs. Single Opponent - 1st - 179 vs. Oregon, 6th 159 vs. Washington State

The current coach is Craig Robinson, who is the brother of Michelle Obama, the wife of Barack Obama, the presumptive 2008 Presidential nominee of the Democratic Party.

[edit] Football

Reser Stadium

Main article: Oregon State Beavers football

The football program has been a part of Oregon State University since 1893, working as a platform for over a hundred players to enter the NFL, such as Heisman Trophy winner Terry Baker and current Cincinnati Bengals wide receivers Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh. They have won their conference championship 5 times.

After a stretch of 28 years of losing seasons, the Beavers have in recent years put together a competitive program.^[4] The football team has enjoyed a huge surge in popularity since the 2000-01 season, where they went 11-1 and dominated Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl, 41-9. They have made it to a bowl game every season since 1999, except in 2001 and 2005, where, both years, they were one win shy of being bowl-eligible. Since 2000, the number of All-Americans and players declaring for the NFL draft has also surged. In 2005, Beavers wide receiver Mike Hass was awarded the Fred Biletnikoff Award,awarded annually to the individual recognized as the best wide receiver in the nation, and placekicker Alexis Serna was awarded the Lou Groza Award, awarded annually to the individual recognized as the best kicker in the nation.

The resurgence of Oregon State football is also due in part to the caliber of coaches that have been coaching the Beavers over the past eight years. Starting with Mike Riley's first stint at Oregon State and Dennis Erickson after him, the tradition of winning that OSU hasn't had since the 1960s, has returned. Recruiting by Riley jump-started Erickson's 2001 Fiesta Bowl winning team. Since then, all of Erickson's recruits have moved on, but Coach Riley has brought in many more great recruits. Since Riley returned as coach, it has been a rare sight to not see the Beavers play in a bowl game.

Main article: 1985 Oregon State vs. Washington football game

The football team also holds the record for beating the second-biggest point spread in the history of the NCAA. On October 19, 1985, the Beavers were set to play against the Pac-10 leading Washington Huskies in Seattle. The point spread had been set at 38 in favor of Washington, and Oregon State was forced to play with a backup quarterback as starter Erik Wilhelm was sidelined with an injury. Oregon State managed what is considered the biggest upset in the history of the program, and perhaps the NCAA, when they beat Washington 21-20 with a last minute touchdown.^[5]

The 1967 Giant Killers squad was the first, last, and only team to defeat a number one and two ranked team and tie a number two ranked team. They are the only team to go undefeated against three top two opponents in the same season. In a four-week period, they defeated #2 ranked Purdue 22-14 in West Lafayette, Indiana; tied #2 UCLA in Los Angeles 16-16; and defeated #1 ranked USC 3-0 in Corvallis, Oregon. The feat is made all the more impressive by the fact that the Beavers faced the top three 1967 Heisman vote-getters and the top two 1968 Heisman vote-getters. They also defeated both teams that played in the 1967 Rose Bowl, the defending AAWU and Big Ten champions. After defeating and tying two second-ranked teams in three weeks, Dee "The Great Pumpkin" Andros called out USC, saying "I'm tired of playing these number two ranked teams. Bring on number one." The game against USC was met with tremendous anticipation. California governor, Ronald Reagan, and Oregon governor, Tom McCall, were in attendance. After the game was over, Ronald Reagan paid up on the governors' friendly wager, sending a box of California oranges to governor McCall. When #1 UCLA and #3 USC faced off later that year in the "signature game" of the UCLA-USC rivalry, the only blemishes in the two teams' records were supplied by the Giant Killers. The game has subsequently been heralded as the Game of the Century. Due to a loss early against Washington earlier in the season, the tie against UCLA precluded Oregon State from playing in the Rose Bowl. USC would wind up winning the Rose Bowl and National Championship behind the running of future Hall of Famer O.J. Simpson.

The 1933 Oregon State squad also was an impressive squad. They are the only team to have ever beaten or tied a defending national champion using no substitutes. They ended USC's 25-game winning streak, tying the defending national champions, 0-0. The 11 Beavers who played the game became Oregon State's "Ironmen," immortalized in Oregon State's fight song: "watch our team go tearing down the field, men of iron their strength will never yield." The team was also the first team to use the Pyramid play. Against Oregon, center, Clyde Devine, climbed onto the shoulders of tackles, Harry Fields and Ade Schwammel, blocking an Oregon field goal attempt in a losing effort. The next week, Oregon State used the Pyramid Play with much more success in a 9-6 victory over the powerful Fordham Rams at the Polo Grounds. The play was outlawed within a year's time.

Another notable upset came on October 28, 2006, when the then unranked Beavers beat the #3 ranked USC Trojans 33-31. After the Beavers built up a 23-point lead, the Trojans mounted an incredible comeback. USC scored a touchdown with seven seconds left in the game to pull within two points. They had to convert a two-point conversion after the TD in order to tie the game. However, quarterback John David Booty's pass was deflected by Jeff Van Orsow and the Beavers received the ball with only seven seconds remaining. Beavers radio announcer Mike Parker's call has been immortalized by Beaver fans with his excited "Batted down! Batted down!" With the win, the Beavers ended a number of impressive winning streaks the Trojans had been compiling over the years which included:

38 straight regular-season wins;
27 straight Pac-10 wins;
18 straight road wins;
13 straight Pac-10 road wins

Since the 1960s, Oregon State has only beaten USC 3 times, including the win in 2006.

With the win over USC, Oregon State became a Semifinalist for the $100,000 in Pontiac Game Changing Performance of the Year. After winning Pontiac's Game Changing Performance of the Week, Oregon State was entered into the Game Changing Performance of the Year voting.

The play that was up for Game Changing Performance of the Year was Defensive End Jeff Van Orsow’s deflection of John David Booty’s two-point conversion pass in the Beavers’ upset win of #3 USC at Reser Stadium, October 28.

The Beavers got another huge upset on October 13, 2007, when they beat #2 ranked California Golden Bears 31-28, stopping a scramble by Cal QB Kevin Riley the in red zone on the final play of the game. It was their first victory over a top-two team in 40 years.

The Annual Civil War game between Oregon State and The University of Oregon is generally the biggest game each year. The series has featured a number of instances when a team with a highly inferior ranking or record has played remarkably better in the Civil War than previously in the season. The game is usually played in November, currently alternating between Reser Stadium in Corvallis (the home field of Oregon State University) and Autzen Stadium in Eugene (the home field of the University of Oregon). It has been contested 111 times as of 2007. The University of Oregon holds a series lead of 55-46-10. The game was not played in 1900, 1901, 1911, 1943, and 1944. Oregon State and the University of Oregon have played each other more times (111) than any other two teams west of the Rocky Mountains. The First Civil War game was played in 1884, with the most recent being played in 2007.

The Beavers have won the latest game of this series in double overtime. The game was played at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, December 01, 2007. With both team failing a potential game-winning field goal in the last minutes, the game moved into overtimes, 28-28. In the first overtime the Beavers and the Ducks are tied with a field goal 31-31. In the first play of the second overtime, James Rodgers ran for a touchdown and the Beavers won 38-31. This victory marks the first win for a road team since 1996, and the first win at Autzen for the Beavers since 1993. it is also the first time since 1973-1974, that they have won back-to-back games in the football version of the Civil War.

Entrance to Reser Stadium after 2007 expansion

The 110th Civil War featured the Beavers playing at home at Reser Stadium in Corvallis, winning 30-28. It marked the 10th straight year (since 1997) that the home team has prevailed in the Civil War. Oregon State's 2006 Civil War win was a tale of two kickers. Oregon State's Alexis Serna successfully made all three extra points (PATs) and field goals that he tried. Oregon's Paul Martinez missed one of his three extra points and missed both of his field goal attempts. Alexis Serna, converted his final field goal attempt with a little over 1 minute left, putting the Beavers ahead 30-28. Oregon's coach, Mike Bellotti decided to bench Paul Martinez in favor of Matt Evenson for what turned out to be the game's final play. But Evenson's potential game-winner was blocked by Oregon State defensive lineman Ben Siegert to preserve the Beaver victory.

They have had a recent good run of quarterbacks and tailbacks. The starting quarterback for most of the 1998 season as well as for all of the 1999-2001 seasons was Jonathan Smith. He was followed by Derek Anderson, who is the most prolific passer in Oregon State football history. "DA," as he is referred to, has since gone on to the NFL, and is currently playing for the Cleveland Browns. He also started for the Browns for several games in the 2006 season when former Browns Quarterback Charlie Frye was sidelined due to injury. Anderson's first notable performance with Cleveland was an impressive come-from-behind victory at Kansas City. After DA graduated, he was followed by Matt Moore, who came to Oregon State as a transfer from UCLA. Although he only played 2 seasons (2005 and 2006), Matt Moore became a very reliable quarterback, leading Oregon State to wins over then #3 USC and the Ducks in the 2006 Civil War. As for tailbacks, Ken Simonton started every game from 1998-2001, including the 2001 Fiesta Bowl. He was followed by Steven Jackson, having has since gone into the NFL, where he currently is a starter for the St. Louis Rams. Jackson was followed by Yvenson Bernard, who is going to be a Senior for the 2007 season. Other notable players to go to the NFL from Oregon State are current Cincinnati Bengals Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh, and Green Bay Packer Nick Barnett.

See also: Oregon State Beavers bowl game history

[edit] Golf

The golf teams practice at Oregon State's own Trysting Tree Golf Club, a nationally recognized course that has held numerous tournaments.

[edit] Rowing

Oregon State has long been a powerhouse for men’s rowing, providing 13 different athletes to the highest levels of rowing in the U.S. And over the past five years, a pair of former Beavers have represented America and the Oregon State rowing program particularly well. Most recently these athletes include Josh Inman, Joey Hansen and Chris Callaghan.

Throughout its history, rowing at Oregon State has been led by committed and visionary coaching. Ed Stevens, a former Harvard coach, took over the reins from Mechanical Engineering Professor J.P. Othis. Stevens guided the program from 1931 to 1949 and during this time the program gained recognition and respect as a highly competitive crew.

Karl Drlica took over from Coach Stevens and would lead the program for the next 30 years. One of Coach Drlica’s first moves was to establish women as an integral part of the program when he started intramural competition in 1952. OSU was one of the first collegiate programs to support women’s rowing.

The achievements of Coach Drlica and his crews were recognized in 1967 when the Board of Intercollegiate Athletics accepted the men’s heavyweight crew as a varsity sport. Ten years later, Coach Drlica would orchestrate the elevation of women’s and lightweight rowing to varsity status as well.

In 1983 the athletic department hired Dave Emigh to assist with the crew program and in 1985 he was named the head coach. Emigh spent 11 years at OSU and continued to develop the program with the same innovative styles of his predecessors. Under Emigh, the crew achieved stability within the athletic department and firmly established itself as a leader in West Coast rowing.

Fred Honebein joined the Oregon State family in 2004 and led his squad to a ninth place finish at the Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships. The Beavers’ finish marked the fifth straight year they had finished among the top ten in the nation and the eighth time in ten years.

Steve Todd has been named interim head coach of the Oregon State University men’s rowing program for the 2006-07 season. Todd succeeded former head coach Fred Honebein in June after leading the Beavers to a 14th-place finish at the Intercollegiate Rowing Association national championships. A former rower at the University of Washington, Todd rowed to a national championship in the Huskies' JV8 in 1997 and earned medals in the Varsity boat in 1998 and 1999. Todd has been a part of the Oregon State rowing program for four years as the men’s freshman coach. During his time with the Beavers, Todd’s crews have medaled all four years at the Pac-10 Championships including a silver medal finish in 2003. Tood's 2003 crew of rookies also took second at the San Diego Crew Classic and in the process upset traditional powerhouse Washington. Most recently, Todd’s Freshman 4+ finished fourth at the IRA Regatta in June.

Dave Friedericks is in his first season as the men’s rowing assistant coach. Friedericks, a former member of the U.S. national team, directed the Lake Oswego Community Rowing Center for the past two years. While at Lake Oswego, Friedericks helped grow the club from a group of a dozen members to a membership of 75 with an additional 100 rowers taking classes.

The Oregon State University Men's Varsity 8+ had a 10th place finish at the 2007 Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships.

[edit] Wrestling

Traditionally, the Oregon State wrestling team has been a national powerhouse, winning their conference championship 46 times and finishing in the NCAA top ten 18 times. They have 12 individual NCAA champion titles (including 2 won by Les Gutches in 1995 and 1996) , and have 82 All-American titles (of which 3 were earned by Gutches in 1994, 1995, and 1996) . Pre-NCAA in 1926, OSU won the Amateur Athletic Association team national championship. Dale Thomas, Oregon State coach from 1957-1990 and National Wrestling Hall of Fame member, holds the NCAA record for most dual meet wins in a coaching career at 616. Additionally, seven OSU alumni have gone on to represent the United States in the Olympics, including in 1924 where Oregon State alumni won both the gold and silver medals in the same weight class. Only 5 of Oregon State's 88 seasons have resulted in a losing record. Oregon State's all-time dual meet record at the end of the 2007-08 season is 922-296-26,^[6] ranked 3rd in the NCAA for most all-time wins. With the retiring after the 2005-06 season of one of OSU's most successful coaches, Joe Wells, National Wrestling Hall of Fame member Jim Zalesky was named head coach.