Its athletes are known as the Ducks. UO is a member of the Pacific Ten Conference conference and Division
I-A for athletics. Home football games are played in Autzen
Stadium. The university intends to build a larger arena to replace McArthur Court, where basketball games are played.UO track and field coach Bill Bowerman revolutionized the athletic shoe by pouring melted rubber into a waffle iron, creating
a prototype rubber sole. Bowerman went on to co-found the Nike corporation
with UO alumnus Phil Knight. Nike has maintained a close relationship with UO
ever since, manufacturing all university logo clothing and uniforms for the football team, including research prototypes for
high-tech "smart clothes", such as jerseys with cooling systems. Controversy surrounding Nike's labor practice precipitated
protests in 2000 led by a group of students calling themselves The Human Rights Alliance. The protests included a 10 day tent
city occupation of the lawns in front of Johnson Hall, the main administration building. Protesting students demanded and
initially received independent oversight by the Workers Rights Consortium (WRC) of Nike's overseas factories. However the
Univeristy terminated its relationship with the WRC within a year of joining, citing legal complications.The University of Oregon mascot is a cartoon-like duck similar to Walt
Disney's Donald Duck character, often referred to as 'the duck', and may
also be referred to as Donald or Puddles. The mascot wears a green and yellow costume, a green and yellow beanie cap with the
word 'Oregon' on it and originated from cartoons drawn of a white duck known as Puddles that frequented football games during the
early 1900s. The cartoon duck became more similar to Donald Duck over time, and the University received permission from the Walt
Disney company to use the likeness of the Donald Duck character as a symbol of the University. The mascot that appears in graphic
art is more similar to Donald Duck than the actual mascot that appears at University functions, which has a rounder head and body
than typical renditions of the Donald Duck character. A Nike-designed futuristic rubber-suit wearing duck, nicknamed "Duck
Vader", "Mandrake", or "RoboDuck" by the student body, began appearing at athletic events in 2003. This mascot's public
appearances were seriously diminished after it was found to be unpopular with students, football fans and others.