Oregon State Beavers

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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
Stadium	Reser Stadium
Arena	Gill Coliseum
Mascot	Benny Beaver
Nickname	Beavers
Fight Song
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 110 times as of the end of the 2006 season. The Beavers won the 2006 Civil War in Corvallis, 30-28.

As of January 2007, the Beavers have won one pre-NCAA team national championship and two 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 College World Series en route to Oregon State's first baseball national championship. 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] Men's Sports

Contents 1 Men's Sports 1.1 Baseball 1.2 Basketball 1.3 Football 1.4 Golf 1.5 Rowing 1.6 Soccer 1.7 Wrestling 2 Women's Sports 2.1 Basketball 2.2 Golf 2.3 Gymnastics 2.4 Rowing 2.5 Soccer 2.6 Softball 2.7 Swimming 2.8 Track and Field and Cross Country 2.9 Volleyball 3 See also 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Baseball

The Oregon State University baseball program was established in 1907. 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 3 times, first in 1952 and more recently in 2005 and 2006. 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. The then got revenge on Miami, who was beat by Rice, and in the losers bracket, 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.

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

[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 2005 season. 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.

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

[edit] Football

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, and have won their conference championship 5 times.

After a stretch of nearly 30 years of losing seasons, the Beavers have in recent years put together a competitive program.^[2] 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 for being recognized as the best wide receiver in the nation, and placekicker Alexis Serna was awarded the Lou Groza Award for being recognized as the best kicker in the nation.

The Resurgence of Oregon State football is also in part to the caliber of coaches that have been coaching the Beavers to victories 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 come back. Recruiting by Riley head started Erickson's 2001 Fiesta Bowl winning team. Since then, all of Erickson's recruits have graduated, but coach Riley has brought in many more great recruits. Since we have had Riley as coach the second time around, 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 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.^[3]

Another notable upset came on October 28, 2006, when the then unranked Beavers beat the #3 ranked USC Trojans 33-31. With The Trojans down big going into the 2nd half, The Trojans mounted and almost incredible comeback. USC scored a TD late in the forth quarter to get back in the game. 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. 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

Another note to the USC win, is that since the 1960s, Oregon State has only beaten USC 3 times. Including the win in 2006.

With the win over USC, Oregon State has since become Semifinalist for $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 to Game Changing Performance of the Year voting.

The play that is up for Game Changing Performance of the Year, is Defensive end Jeff Van Orsow’s deflection of John David Booty’s two-point conversion pass in the Beavers’ upset win of No. 3 USC at Reser Stadium Oct. 28.

The winner will be announced at halftime of the BCS National Championship game Jan. 8. Oregon State is now competing with Auburn, Clemson and Iowa.

The Annual Civil War game between Oregon State and The University of Oregon, is easily the biggest game of each season. Even if one team is a lot better than the other, records no not matter when it comes to this game. The game is played in November, alternating between Reser Stadium in Corvallis (home field of Oregon State University) and Autzen Stadium in Eugene (home field of the University of Oregon). It has been contested 110 times as of 2006. The University of Oregon holds a series lead of 55-45-10. The game was not contested in 1900, 1901, 1911, 1943, and 1944 due to war.

Oregon State and the University of Oregon hold the record for the Most Played Rivalry games in the Pac-10 with 110. The First Civil War game was played in 1884, with the most recent being played in 2006. The 110th edition featured the Beavs playing at home at Reser Stadium in Corvallis. With the Beavers win at home, it marked the 9th straight year (since 1998) that the home team has won this annual game. Oregon State's 2006 Civil War win was a game for the kickers. Through the game both starting kickers for the teams were having trouble. With Oregon's starting kicker missing too much, for the final play of the game, Coach Bellotti put in the back up kicker to kick the "game winning FG". But, he missed, and Oregon States kicker, Alexis Serna, ended up kicking the game winning FG with a little over 1 minute left.

Oregon State is known throughout the Northwest as "Linebacker U". Most notably though, is that Oregon State has recently had good quarterbacks and fullbacks/tailbacks. The Quarterback for the 2001 season 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 (and starting!) for the Cleveland Browns. After graduating, DA was followed by Matt Moore, who came to OSU as a transfer from UCLA. Although he only played 2 seasons (2005 and 2006), Matt Moore became a very reliable quarterback, leading OSU to wins over then No. 3 USC, and the Ducks in 2006. As for Running Backs and Tailbacks, Oregon State had Ken Simonton in 2001 for the Fiesta Bowl. He was then followed by Steven Jackson, who has since gone onto the NFL, and 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 Cinncinati Bengals, Chad "Ocho-Cinco" Johnson, and TJ Houshmandzadeh and Green Bay Packer Nick Barnett.

See also: Oregon State Beavers bowl game history

[edit] Golf

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

[edit] Rowing

[edit] Soccer

[edit] Wrestling

Traditionally, the Oregon State wrestling team has been a national powerhouse, winning their conference championship 44 times and finishing in the NCAA top ten 18 times. They have 12 individual NCAA champion titles, and have 81 All-American titles. 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 84 seasons have resulted in a losing record. Oregon State's all-time dual meet record (1909-2006) is 895-286-26,^[4] 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.

[edit] Women's Sports

[edit] Basketball

The Women's Basketball program at Oregon State has long been a power. From the 1980s and Carol Menken, to the Mid-1990s with the teams that made it to the NCAA tournament. More recently Oregon State women's basketball has seen many strong players. Felicia Ragland was at OSU in the early 2000s and ended up playing briefly in the WNBA and has a banner up in the rafters at Gill Coliseum. Since her, the recruiting has become better, with a lot of strong players coming through Oregon State. Women's Basketball currently plays its games at Gill Coliseum. The current coach is LaVonda Wagner.

The women's basketball team finished the 2006 season with a 16-15 record, making a postseason appearance in the WNIT tournament.

[edit] Golf

[edit] Gymnastics

The women's gymnastics team is historically known as one of the best teams in the country. They were ranked #13 in the nation in the 2006 Preseason Coaches’ Poll,^[5] and had one of the strongest schedules in the nation. The beavers came in second all-around at the 2006 NCAA West Regional, qualifying for the NCAA Championships hosted on their home turf at Oregon State.

[edit] Rowing

[edit] Soccer

Oregon State usually has a strong soccer program, but struggled in the 2006 season. They hope to come back much better for the 2007 season.

[edit] Softball

The women's softball team were co-champions for the Pac-10 title in 2005, ending the season with a 43-16 record. They have made NCAA regional tournament appearances eight years in a row, including the 2006 season where they made it to the Women's College World Series for the first time in program history. They were ranked #12 in the nation in the 2006 ESPN.com/USA Softball Preseason Top 25 Collegiate Poll.^[6] They had a 28 game winning streak in the 2006 season, the longest win streak the NCAA had seen since 2002 and the longest in the history of the program at Oregon State. The 28-game streak ranks 16th(t) all-time in the NCAA Division I record book for longest win streak, and the Beavers are one of just 11 teams in NCAA history to win 28 straight games.^[7]

[edit] Swimming

The women's swimming team finished 31st in the NCAA championships for the 2006 season.^[8] As of 2006, there have been a total of 5 women's NCAA All-American swimmers since the sport was added at Oregon State.

[edit] Track and Field and Cross Country

Oregon State track and field and cross country were cut in 1988, but began a comeback in 2004 with the return of a women's distance program, led by Kelly Sullivan, the former coach of Willamette University. The Beavers compete largely in smaller, Division 3 meets, but have enjoyed some success in the PAC-10, including a ninth-place finish by Ashley Younce in the 2006 Western Regional meet. Men's track and field is confined to the club level.^[9]

[edit] Volleyball

[edit] See also

• Civil War (college rivalry)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official site of Oregon State athletics
• AP poll history of Oregon State men's basketball
• Building the Dam :: An Unofficial Oregon State Beavers Blog
• Jason's OSU Beavers Blog