Oregon-Oregon State rivalry finds a new name after being set for 83 years
An illustration depicting an Oregon State University football helmet and University of Oregon football helmet facing off against one another. With the recent controversy of the game’s previous name.
November 28, 2022
Dating back to 1894, the intense rivalry between the Corvallis school and the opposing school in Eugene began with a scrimmage, when the then Oregon Agricultural College Coyotes won against the then University of Oregon Lemon-Yellows in a score of 16-0.
It wasn’t until 1916 when Oregon State College switched its mascot to the Beaver that the school’s yearbook renamed itself “The Beaver” after the state animal.
The name “Civil War,” however, didn’t come along till long after the first game. As the inaugural game continued to take place, it began to draw more and more attention with
over 15,000 spectators in Multnomah Stadium (now Providence Park) in 1908.
With many new and dedicated fans coming into the picture, it wasn’t uncommon for fans to get too carried away. With the definition of a civil war being a war between citizens of the same country or state, the UO football coach John McEwan (1926-1929) felt it would be a fitting title since it was the rivalry of two schools in the same state.
Before it was deemed the “Civil War”, many people would refer to the game as either the “Oregon Classic” or “State Championship Game.” People began to shift to using the term “the Civil War” in 1938 when the nickname about the war began to pick up traction after the OSC publication “The Beaver” referred to
the game as “the Civil War” when discussing the 1937 season.
As of 2020, this game has been played 125 times placing it in the top ten most-played college football series.
Two years ago in 2020, the two schools came together and agreed to revoke the renowned title when the murders of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd had been brought to light alongside the entire Black Lives Matter movement.
With input from both the current and former athletes, the schools concluded the name “Civil War” still has ties back to the United States Civil War and slavery, despite not being related.
Previous OSU president Ed Ray released a statement regarding the decision shortly after: “Changing this name is overdue as it represents a connection to a war fought to perpetuate slavery. While not intended as reference to the actual Civil War, OSU sports competition should not provide any misconstrued reference to this divisive episode in American history. That we did not act before to change the name was a mistake. We do so now, along with other important actions to advance equal opportunity and justice for all and in recognition of Black Lives Matter,” Ray said.
Continuing into the future, and confirmed by Football Athletic Communications Member Shawn Schoeffler: “It’s called the Rivalry Series.”
The Rivalry Series is set to be the branded name moving forward, agreed upon between both OSU and the UO. The new name holds no connection to the mistreatment of African Americans and is placed to only focus on the football rivalry between the two schools.
Dimitri T • Dec 5, 2022 at 9:20 am
And all these years I thought the Civil War was fought to end slavery.
Russ Amaral • Dec 5, 2022 at 9:09 am
Sounds like something that came out of a corporate boardroom to simply “check a box” of a task being completed. Surely some sort of bipartisan effort between our two campuses could have come up with something a little more unique, fun, competitive and identifiable to our state and its history. Any chance of “‘Rivalry Series” being replaced with something much better?
John • Nov 29, 2022 at 8:24 pm
Keep the name, The Civil War! The real Civil Ear between the State was about states rights plus a lot of other things. Give the WOKE grap a break, have a dam backbone to say no!
Lorri • Nov 29, 2022 at 6:13 pm
Ok, no! “The Rivalry Game is ridiculous every state/region has “A Rivalry!! Why not the Willamette Cup???!!! The river runs through both towns, so there is a great local tie and name!
Susan Hecker • Nov 29, 2022 at 4:47 pm
Change is long overdue, and welcomed!! However, the Beavers are not our only big rival. The Huskies might even be bigger, although I imagine most don’t even know why. Goes way back to the beginning of the Pac according to my info, when Oregon was left out. I can’t offer a better one though, and wouldn’t matter if I did. Upset about giving away that last game. Duck fan forever!!
RG • Nov 28, 2022 at 8:39 pm
It’s BS it will always be referred to as the Covil War!
Glen • Nov 28, 2022 at 7:47 pm
Excellent!
Chad • Nov 29, 2022 at 10:51 pm
Horse shit!
Ken • Nov 28, 2022 at 6:24 pm
The new name holds no connection to the mistreatment of African Americans?
Whaaaaa? African-Americans were freed because of the Civil War. What idiots.
Craig Cirello • Nov 28, 2022 at 6:22 pm
Kind of milk toast. USC has a rivalry with Notre Dame. What the heck does our ‘rivalry’ game mean? Change it! Relate to Our state. Our water animals ie. . . Ducks n Beavers. Our something
Cab Clark • Nov 29, 2022 at 1:45 pm
It will always be the “Civil War” till we alumni depart this earth. This constant wokie changing names of buildings, games etc, is tiring to say the least.