The Oregon State Beavers are the athletic teams that represent Oregon State University, located in Corvallis, Oregon. The Beavers compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I (Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) for college football) level as a member of the Pac-12 Conference (Pac-12). Oregon State's mascot is Benny the Beaver. Both the men's and women's teams share the name, competing in 7 NCAA Division I men's sports and 9 NCAA Division I women's sports respectively. The official colors for the athletics department are Beaver Orange (Pantone 1665), black, and white.
The primary rivals of the Beavers are the Oregon Ducks of the University of Oregon, located 45 miles (72 km) south of the Oregon State campus in Eugene, Oregon. The football rivalry between the Beavers and Ducks, once known as the Civil War, was one of the longest-running in the country, having been contested 127 times through the 2023 season. Other regional rivals include the Washington Huskies and Washington State Cougars, having played each 108 times in football through the 2023 season.
As of February 2025, the Beavers have won one pre-NCAA team national championship and four NCAA team national championships. The 1926 wrestling team won the Amateur Athletic Union national championship, the 1961 men's Cross-country team won the NCAA title, and most recently the baseball team won the 2006, 2007 and 2018 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, one Final Four appearance by the women's basketball team, the football team defeating Notre Dame by a 32-point margin in the 2001 Fiesta Bowl (and finishing the season ranked #4 in the polls), eight appearances in the College World Series by the baseball program, reaching the College Cup of the 2023 NCAA Division I men's soccer tournament, and several individual NCAA championship titles in gymnastics, wrestling, and track & field.
On September 12, 2024, Oregon State will be one of the founding members of the new Pac-12 Conference on July 1, 2026.
Contents
Sports teams
Men's sports
Oregon State has four NCAA championships: three in baseball (2006, 2007 and 2018), and one in men's cross country (1961). The school dropped its cross country and track programs in 1988 due to budget cuts, though women's track and cross country were reinstated in 2005. Periodically, some men continue to compete individually in an unattached status.
The Oregon State University baseball program was established in 1907. It has since had nearly 100 players go on to play in the minor leagues and more than 45 go on to play in the majors. Most notable of these major league players are New York Yankees outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury, Los Angeles Dodgers second baseman Darwin Barney, New York Mets and San Francisco Giants outfielder Michael Conforto, Cleveland Guardians outfielder Steven Kwan, and Baltimore Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman.
Oregon State players have been named All-Americans 45 times, as of the end of the 2024 season. Oregon State baseball has produced 16 conference players of the year winners and 1 Golden Spikes Award winner, Adley Rutschman in 2019. The Golden Spikes Award is bestowed annually to the best amateur baseball player in the United States.
The baseball team has won its conference championship 26 times and has reached the College World Series seven times, first in 1952 and as recently as 2025. They won the NCAA championship in 2006, 2007, and 2018. The team is led by head coach Mitch Canham and they play at Goss Stadium at Coleman Field. Opened over a century ago, Coleman Field is located near the center of campus and is the oldest continuous use ballpark in the nation.
The men's basketball team at Oregon State experienced periods of significant success from the early 1920s to the early 1990s—with 12 conference championships, 16 NCAA tournament appearances, and only 14 losing seasons from 1922 to 1991—but fell on hard times, suffering 19 losing seasons and made no NCAA tournament appearances from 1992 to 2015 before returning in 2016. The program has reached the Final Four of the NCAA tournament twice, the Elite Eight on six occasions, and 17 total tournament appearances. A number of former OSU players have gone on to have successful careers in the NBA, including 9-time NBA All-Star Gary Payton and "Iron Man" A.C. Green. OSU alumni have also won a total of 10 NBA championship rings and four Olympic gold medals.
Women's sports
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 led by Tanja Kostic that made it to the NCAA tournament. More recently Oregon State women's basketball has seen many strong players. Felicia Ragland, whose number was since retired, played for OSU in the early 2000s before a career in the WNBA.
Oregon State women's basketball has produced 5 Pac-12 Player of the Years (Tanja Kostic -1995 & 1996, Felicia Raglan -2001, Jamie Weisner -2016, Ruth Hamblin -2015), 3 Pac-12 Scholar Athletes of the Year (Mikayla Pivec -2020, Sydney Wiese -2017, Ruth Hamblin -2016), 4 Pac-12 Defensive Players of the Year (Marie Gülich -2018, Gabriella Hanson -2017, Ruth Hamblin -2015 & 2016), 3 Pac-12 Sixth Player of the Year (Aleah Goodman -2018), Raegan Beers -2023, Timea Gardiner -2024) 3 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year (Kari Parriott -1988, Tanja Kostic -1993, Raegan Beers -2023) 13 All-Americans, 14 First team All-Pac-12 selections, 76 All Conference Team selections, 90 Conference All-Academic Team selections, and 4 Olympians.
Scott Rueck has led the program to new heights in recent years, guiding the Beavers to the 2015, 2016, and 2017 Pac-12 Conference regular season titles, the 2016 Pac-12 Conference Tournament title, the 2025 WCC Conference Tournament title in the school's first season in the West Coast Conference, as well as nine NCAA tournament berths (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2024, 2025), 3 Elite Eight finishes (2016, 2018, 2024), and a Final Four (2016).
The women's golf team has had numerous athletes to go on to play professionally. Mary Budke won the 1974 AIAW individual collegiate golf national championship.
Oregon State women's golf team finished 16th at the NCAA national championship tournament in the 1998-1999 season and 22nd in the nation in 2022-2023 & 2023-2024 seasons.
Oregon State women's golf has produced 1 All-American (Kathleen Takaishi -1998), 8 All-Conference selections and 40 Academic All-American Scholars.
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, 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.
Defunct sports
The Oregon State men's cross country team were national champions in 1961 and gave the beavers their 1st NCAA team championship in the school's history. (In 1926 the Westling team gave the Beavers their overall 1st team championship when they won a national AAU championship)
The Oregon State track and field and cross country programs were cut in 1988 for financial reasons.
The track laid in 1974 was the first in the United States to use metric rather than US customary units, based on a circuit of 400 meters rather than 440 yards.
Oregon State's most recent dive into women's swimming came in 1973–74, but the sport took hold at the school long before that. The Beaver yearbook for the 1914–15 school year shows a swim team photo in the Girls Athletics section. The first mention of women's swimming as an intercollegiate sport came in the 1920 Beaver, reporting on Oregon Agricultural College's victory over the University of Oregon in the second annual spring meet in 1919.
In 1973-74, OSU began its Department of Women's Intercollegiate Athletics and women's swimming was elevated from a club sport to
varsity status. Oregon State was a member of the AIAW prior to joining the NCAA.
The Women's Swim Team finished runner-up in Conference 3 times (1980, 1982, 1983) and 3rd place 5 times (1974, 1975, 1979, 1981, 1984). Many swimming athletes broke Conference and NCAA National records including the NCAA 200 butterfly in 2008 (Saori Haruguchi) and produced 9 All-Americans between 1994 and 2015 and multiple All-Academic athletes.
The swim team practiced and competed at 250 seat Steven's Natatorium inside the Dixon Recreation Center on the main campus of Oregon State University in Corvallis once it was completed in 1992. In 2014 they competed and practiced off-campus in Corvallis at the 860 seat Osborn Aquatic Center.
Championships
NCAA team championships
Oregon State has won 4 NCAA team national championships.
Men's (4)
Baseball (3): 2006, 2007, 2018
Cross Country (1): 1961
see also:
Pac-12 Conference NCAA championships
List of NCAA schools with the most NCAA Division I championships
Other national team championships
The Beavers have won 28 national team titles that were not bestowed by the NCAA. 27 of them are for Racquetball, 1 for Westling:
Men's:
Wrestling (1): 1926 (AAU)
Racquetball (5): 2013, 2015, 2019, 2023, 2024
Women's:
Racquetball (8): 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2017
Coed
Racquetball (14): 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2023, 2024
NCAA individual championships
Oregon State athletes have multiple NCAA individual national championships.
Men's (28)
Track and Field (16):
1952 -Lyle Dickey (Pole Vault)
1959 -Wayne Moss (High Jump)
1963 -Norm Hoffman (800 Meters)
1963 -Morgan Groth (1500 Meters)
1964 -Morgan Groth (1500 Meters)
1968 -Dick Fosbury (High Jump)
1969 -Dick Fosbury (High Jump)
1969 -Jim Barkley (Steeplechase)
1969 -Steve DeAutremont (Hammer Throw)
1970 -Steve DeAutremont (Hammer Throw)
1970 -Willie Turner (200 Meters)
1974 -Ed Lipscomb (Pole Vault)
1974 -Jim Judd (Javalin)
1979 -Hassan El Kashief (400 Meters)
1982 -Hassan El Kashief (400 Meters)
1988 -Karl Van Calcar (Steeplechase)
Wrestling (12):
1961 Don Conway (118 Wight class)
1969 Jess Lewis (Heavyweight class)
Other national individual championships
Oregon State athletes have multiple individual national championships.
Women's:
Golf (1): 1974 (AIAW) -Mary Budke
Gymnastics (1): 1981 (AIAW) -Laurie Carter (balance beam)
Notable non varsity sports
Racquetball
The Racquetball Team was founded in 2001 and has been one of the most successful teams in the university's history. They have 27 National titles, including 11 in a row overall Team Titles from 2008 to 2018 and have had multiple All-Americans. 14 Overall Team National Titles, 5 Men's Team Titles, and 8 Women's Team titles. Overall Team Titles: 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2023, and 2024. Men's Team Titles: 2013, 2015, 2019, 2023, 2024 Women's Team Titles: 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2017
Lacrosse
The Oregon State University lacrosse club was formed in 1971. They play in the MCLA.
Rugby
The Oregon State University rugby club was formed in 1961. In recent years Oregon State rugby has played in the Northwest Conference against In-Conference rivals such as Oregon, Washington and Washington State. Beginning with the 2012–13 season, however, Oregon State is leaving the Northwest Conference and joining other schools from the Pac-12 to form a new rugby conference that will mirror the Pac-12 and bring increased exposure. Oregon State rugby has been successful in recent years. The Beavers finished the 2012 season ranked #9 in the nation, and finished the 2011 season ranked #12. Oregon State played an undefeated regular season in 2012 and was champion of the Northwest conference in 2012, qualifying for the playoffs for the national DI-AA championship.
Disc golf
Founded in 2011, the disc golf club competes in the Oregon Collegiate Disc Golf League and in March 2019 placed 10th at the National Collegiate Disc Golf Championships in Appling, Georgia.
Indoor rock climbing
The indoor rock climbing club was formed in 2015 as a club sport at OSU. The climbing club competes against other schools in the Pacific Northwest as part of the Northwest Collegiate Climbing Circuit (NC3).
Bass fishing
The Oregon State bass fishing team was founded in 2012.
Beaver Nation
Oregon State University's fans, alumni, and supporters are commonly referred to as Beaver Nation by the media and are credited with giving the Beavers a home field/court advantage at all of OSU's sporting events. Reser Stadium, Gill Coliseum, and Goss Stadium at Coleman Field are regularly filled by fans dressed in the school colors.
Beaver Nation has also developed a reputation for "traveling well" to support its various teams, with large numbers of orange and black clad fans following the Beavers to away games, bowl games, and tournaments.
Some of the most prominent events showcasing OSU's rabid fan support and willingness to travel include the 2001 Fiesta Bowl, 2012 Alamo Bowl, 2016 Women's Final Four, and College World Series tournaments in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2013, 2017, and 2018. In 2000, Oregon State's football team finished with a 10–1 regular season record and an invitation to the 2001 Fiesta Bowl. The Beavers football team brought an estimated 38,000 fans with them to Tempe, Arizona and went on to win against Notre Dame by a score of 42–3. In June 2006 and again in June 2007, Oregon State's baseball team made consecutive trips to Omaha, Nebraska for the College World Series. Beaver Nation showed up by the thousands at Rosenblatt Stadium. The fan base showed up again in Omaha for the 2018 College World Series at TD Ameritrade Stadium.
Beaver Sports Radio Network
The Beaver Sports Radio Network members broadcast a number of Beaver athletic events. Mike Parker is the primary announcer and has been the voice of the Beavers since 1999. The members as of February 1, 2012 include:
*Football Only
**Women's Basketball Only
***Baseball Only
^Talk Show Only