Oregon football is back and looking to win its final Pac-12 championship. Under the command of Dan Lanning, becoming a champion starts off the field and in the community.

In 2022, Lanning impressed in his first season as head coach. The Ducks improved to a 10-3 overall record with Lanning taking the reins. He displayed a coaching style with aggressive play calling and led an offense that ranked sixth nationally in yards per game. But at the core of what made his first season successful was the team culture he built.

Some coaches don’t care about team bonding. All that matters to them is the result on the field. Lanning, however, believes that connection is the first step to building a winning team.

“That’s the secret sauce for us. On fourth down, you’re going to go that much harder when you care about the guy next to you. It’s just as important for our coaches and our families,” Lanning said. “Spending time with them away from football, community service, those things I think are really special for us.”

Volunteering is one of the ways Lanning has brought his team together. It gives the players the chance to go out into the community that has supported them through thick and thin. Eugene fans go all out for Oregon football. Local fans are so committed to the team that opposing teams have to practice with fake noise to prepare for the roar of the Oregon fanbase in Autzen Stadium. Not only does the teams’ volunteer work bring the players closer to one another, but it also allows them to remember the community they’re representing when they wear the “O” on their chests.  

“I’m proud of the fact that we have in the last six months done over 850 hours of community service with 16 different organizations,” Lanning said. “I think that’s a part of realizing, these guys, what does it mean to be an Oregon Duck? It means doing a little bit more.”

Recently, Oregon football partnered with the nonprofit organization, Sleep in Heavenly Peace. The national organization builds and delivers beds for children in need. Sleep in Heavenly Peace is dedicated to assembling beds for children who sleep on couches or floors. It’s an issue that negatively affects the mental and physical health of many children across the United States, which is why the organization is in the process of opening more chapters in different states.

 In July, players and staff gathered in Autzen Stadium alongside volunteers from the community to assemble bunk beds for local children. In an interview with KMTR the co-president of the Lane County chapter, Connie Jonas, said that they’ve provided over 890 kids beds since arriving in Eugene. The Ducks’ goal was to build 200 beds in one day alone.        

The rate of poverty in Eugene is over 60% higher than in the rest of Oregon. According to United Way of Lane County, 18.7% of children in the Eugene area live in poverty and 4.9% live without stable housing. What started as a team-building experience turned into a big gesture of making sure that local kids have proper care. 

Several players have taken Lanning’s meaning of being a Duck to heart. They’ve gotten involved in the community outside of just participating in team events.

One example is defensive back Trikweze Bridges, who made the preseason watchlist for the Wuerffel Trophy, a national award for community service. Bridges has volunteered at youth football camps and with organizations like the Moss Street Children’s Center. In 2022, he traveled to Guatemala with 19 other Oregon student-athletes to build a sports court for the local community. Other football players who attended the trip include Patrick Herbert and Steve Stephens IV. Bridges is leading the team in community service hours so far in 2023.

Other players give back by getting more kids involved with football-related activities. For instance, Oregon quarterback Bo Nix hosted his first kids’ camp in July at North Eugene High School. While many professional athletes are able to give back to the next generation by hosting kids’ camps, it’s only something that college players have been able to do the past couple of years. Collegiate athletes used to be restricted from hosting camps or teaching sports lessons. When it changed its policy in 2021 to allow student-athletes to monetize their new name, image and likeness, that changed.

Student-athletes have quickly taken advantage of this part of the new NIL rules. The rules allow them to pass on their knowledge of the game and allow kids a space to be active. For a lot of players, it’s a type of service that hits closer to home. Many athletes’ passion for sports started at camps like those. It might not have the same kind of impact as building beds, but the opportunity to learn from someone of Nix’s caliber is an experience that those kids will never forget. 

Connecting through community events has been especially important for integrating new recruits into the squad. The Ducks have over 50 new players this season getting comfortable with not only Oregon football but college life in Eugene. Time together off the field can help ease the transition.

“Those guys, as they transition, getting to be a part of where you build beds for a community or do some of those things, I think helps with that transition process,” Lanning said.
While other teams might host dinners for their team bonding activities, Oregon football has multitasked and also used it as an opportunity to impact the local community. And this season, winning might mean something a little bit more with players knowing who they’re playing for.