Volume 2 / Issue 2 Oregon State University Athletics May 2019

DAM PROUD DAY APRIL 30TH TRENDING BEAVS – Thank you for your past, OSU Athletics Scores Well on “Dam Proud day”� current, and future support This past April 30th donors to Oregon State Athletics, as part of the of Beaver Athletics. overall university’s inaugural Day of Giving effort, did the university “Trending Beavs” is a proud by donating a one day total of $185,000 from 1,819 donors. Here are some of the highlights of the day: quarterly newsletter from Varsity OSU emailed to all  Nearly $620,000 was raised campus-wide from over 2,700 Oregon State Student donors in support of many university programs. Athlete Alumni, Coaches,  Women’s Rowing led all organizations across campus with 457 Managers and Student donors! A close second was Men’s Rowing with 419. Trainers.  , Gymnastics, and Women’s also had over 100 donors each.  Men’s Rowing, Women’s Rowing, and Baseball each raised over $30,000.

 Gymnastics had the highest percentage of student-athlete alumni give back to their program on Dam Proud Day. Women’s

Rowing was just .23% behind Gymnastics.  President Ed Ray personally gave $20,000 toward various Athletic programs.

A special shout out to our Varsity OSU Board Representatives for their input, financial support, and social media push! Student Athlete callers Haley Wolf, Women’s Track & Field and Men’s OSU ATHLETICS HONORS ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT Rower - Zach Niedermeyer On April 29th, 219 OSU Student Athletes were invited to attend the annual Spring Academic Achievement Awards Banquet held in the CH2MHill Alumni Center. Along with Provost Ed Feser, there were a number of deans, university administrators, and academic advisors. There were also several very supportive donors in attendance who were able to meet and mingle with these high- achieving student athletes representing all 17 of our sport programs

Academic Highlights included:

 97 OSU student athletes have been selected to Pac-12 All-Academic teams to date  16 of the 17 teams had a cumulative GPA better than 3.0  In this academic year, student-athletes passed more than 97% of their credits in both fall and winter terms  96% of student-athletes are in good academic standing, with 28% on the Honor Roll during the fall term  The current overall GPA for all student-athletes is 3.19 – slightly ahead of the fulltime OSU undergrad population  The College of Business is the most popular college for student athletes with 117 students

Former OSU Women’s Volleyball player and longtime Corvallis High School Physical Education teacher and coach, Julie Williams, delivered the keynote address.

"There was always a point in the game where the training takes over and time slows down, we would lose track of the score and it would be all about timing. When the game moves past winning and losing, when it moves out of time and out of body, when it drops any stitch of ego and in its purest form becomes infinitesimal moments of perfection. And when the whole team is on that same thread, magic happens! Upsets happen! Championships happen!" Julie Williams ‘85 Julie Williams – Volleyball 1981-83

DENNIS ERICKSON HALL OF FAME – Former Oregon State head football coach has been selected to be inducted into the National College Football Hall of Fame. Erickson joins former OSU head coach Tommy Prothro (1955-64) and former Beaver standout players Terry Baker (1960-62) and Bill Enyart (1966-68) to be enshrined.

Erickson joined the Oregon State program in January of 1999 and promptly led the Beavers to their first winning season (7-5) in nearly three decades. The following season he led OSU to a final No. 4 national ranking, a co-Pac- 10 Conference Title and a rout of Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl.

"This is a well-deserved honor for Coach Erickson," OSU head football coach Jonathan Smith said. "The opportunity to play for him helped shape my career aspirations to be a leader of young men. On behalf of the Oregon State program, Beaver Nation and the players who were privileged with the opportunity to play for Coach Erickson, a heartfelt congratulations to him and his family."

Erickson led OSU to three bowl games, including its first since 1965, before leaving to become the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers. His head coaching stints at the collegiate and professional level includes Idaho, Wyoming, Washington State, Arizona State, Miami, the and most recently as the head coach for the Salt Lake Stallions of the Alliance of .

Overall, Erickson won two national championships, led his teams to 12 bowl games and a share of six NCAA conference titles. He is also the only person in Pac-12 history to be named the league's Coach of the Year at three different institutions. The 62nd induction ceremony will be held Dec. 10 in New York City.

BEAVERS WITHOUT BORDERS

On June 16th, thirteen Oregon State student-athletes will embark on a journey of a lifetime; Beavers Without Borders. This year men and women from seven different varsity sport teams will head to the Dominican Republic to give back to local communities. They will spend a week in San Pedro learning about the culture and participating in a variety of service projects and recreational activities with local youth. Service projects are expected to include construction and agricultural based work. Thanks to all Varsity OSU Student Athlete Alumni who have recently supported our Beavers Without Borders program on Dam Proud Day! This unique program aims to continue to provide transformational learning opportunities through hands-on projects and global, holistic development.

2018 Beavers Without Borders trip to the Dominican Republic

MEN’S & WOMEN’S ROWING “CRASH BEAVS”

Saturday, February 23rd saw the Truax Indoor Center full of former OSU Men’s & Women’s Rowers for the CRASH Beavs & Spring Launch Reunion Dinner. Over 150 rowing alumni student athletes made it back for the weekend’s festivities which included “Erg Races” between alumni and our current student athletes. We definitely have some alumni who can still row!

WOMEN’S HOOPS REUNION

February 1st saw 24 former OSU Women’s Basketball players return to campus for a reunion at the Beavers vs. Colorado game. They were all introduced at halftime and a reception was held after the game. Former WNBA and current Canadian Professional Basketball player Ruth Hamblin was back for reunion as well.

MEN’S SOCCER REUNION

Saturday, May 18th nearly 20 former OSU Men’s Soccer players attended the Orange & Black Scrimmage in the Truax Center. Some of the alumni even got to mix it up with the current team. The scrimmage was followed by an all-team & alumni lunch in the Reser Stadium Loge. Coach Boss welcomed the alumni back to campus and encouraged them to attend some matches this fall!

OSU FOOTBALL ALUMNI GOLF TOURNAMENT

Friday, April 19th, approximately 80 former Beaver Football players participated in the annual Beaver Football Alumni Golf Tournament and Spring Game Weekend. Highlighting the weekend was the return to campus by former Head Beaver Football Coach Dennis Erickson, Rams’ receiver and 2013 Biletnikoff winner, Brandin Cooks, former Rams, now Vikings quarterback, Sean Mannion and Indianapolis offensive guard, Josh Andrews.

OSU ALUMNI AWAY� GAME TAILGATERS

The OSU Alumni Association is planning a presence at all OSU Football away games this fall. Two larger

gatherings are being planned for OSU’s away OSU quarterbacks Jake Luton and Sean Mannion games at UCLA on Saturday, Oct. 5th and at Cal on Oct Letter from the President 19th. Stay tuned for more details as the season Hello Varsity OSU Members, approaches. Hope you can We just recently wrapped up Dam Proud Day here at Oregon State and I was join Beaver Nation at these excited about the success we had with the athletics department. I would pre-game tailgaters! like to congratulate our Gymnastics and Women’s Rowing teams for winning our Athletic Director’s Challenge. The other program that caught my attention during the event was Men’s Rowing. I participated in making

calls and I can say their performance did not happen by chance. These teams were working the phones hard and results came. Congratulations!

I know all of you are busy, but want an opportunity to help us out. Please take the time to reach out to Kimya Massey, [email protected], or myself, [email protected], if you know of any positions available within

your companies. We all know what Beaver athletes bring to the table and your willingness to help them land their first position would be huge. Thank you to all the former alums who are currently working with us and we look Alexis Serna forward to and appreciate the ones that will reach out to help! Director – Beyond Football President Varsity OSU Go Beavs! Football 2004 - 2007

VARSITY OSU WHAT S AHEAD – ’ OSU Commencement – June 15th - Reser Stadium

Varsity OSU Tailgater – August 30th – OSU vs Oklahoma State

THOUGHT YOU’D LIKE TO KNOW “The Thrill of Victory” OSU Gymnastics OSU President Ed Ray announced his retirement effective June 30, 2020. He will have served in this capacity for 17 years. Oregon Contact Us State is the largest university in the state with more than 32,000 If you know of a teammate not students. Enrollment stood at less than 19,000 when Ray started receiving this newsletter, please send at OSU in 2003. their contact information to Varsity OSU Director, Scott Spiegelberg at Ray has pushed the university toward geographic diversification. It [email protected] opened a satellite campus in Bend, built up its marine science or feel free to call at: center in Newport and recently opened an office in Portland. He 541-737-8396 also led a capital campaign that raised more than $1.1 billion.

BEAVER THROWBACK

Try to name these two randomly selected Oregon State Hall of Famers! Find out their names, as well as members of our Varsity OSU Board of Directors, at our Varsity OSU webpage: Varsity OSU