When student-athletes first come to the University, the smiling faces and fresh baked cookies of the Daisy Ducks booster group are there to greet them. Founded in 1972, the Daisy Ducks have been making student-athletes feel welcome and at home at the University for 38 years.
From potlucks to away-game goodie bags, the Daisy Ducks make sure to treat each sport equally and do their best to support student-athletes in any way possible.
Although the Daisy Ducks have been supporting athletics for years, their gatherings first started as meetings where the football coach taught women in the community about football and gave “chalk talks” in which they talked about sports. Eventually the group of women decided to become a working club and have been the Daisy Ducks ever since, founding member Yvonne O’Herron said.
“The Daisy Ducks are mostly the same since we first started, except in the fact that we have expanded what we do by supporting all the sports and just helping out with whatever the athletic department needs us to do,” O’Herron said.
Daisy Ducks President Laila Hood has been involved with the booster group for nearly 12 years, but she has been an avid Duck fan for much longer.
“We do the same thing for every sport, and each one gets a potluck … whether it’s a big or small sport, it makes no difference to us,” Hood said.
The Daisy Ducks recently held a potluck for the new baseball team and the stunts and gymnastics team on Feb. 17. Home-cooked food and homemade cookies are a staple of the Daisy Ducks, and they make sure that every sport gets to enjoy them.
“We kind of act like surrogate moms and grandmas for students that are away from home … I think it helps them deal with being away from home and adjust to college life,” Hood said.
Basketball player and University freshman E.J. Singler has experienced the constant support of the Daisy Ducks since coming to the University.
“I met them over the summer going into my freshman year, and they had a potluck for the whole team,” Singler said.
Whenever the student-athletes travel for away-games or competitions, the Daisy Ducks make sure to provide them with goodie bags. The highly availed goodie bags usually include some freshly baked cookies, inspiring notes or fruit.
“After their first year as an athlete at the University, they kind of expect it,” Hood said.
As far as the Daisy Ducks are concerned, they are the only booster group in the country that supports University athletics with potlucks and home-baked cookies, in addition to traditional booster scholarships.
“They are huge supporters of University athletics. They are always at your games and are your biggest fans,” Singler said. “And they make great cookies!”
The Daisy Ducks also raise funds for the Daisy Ducks Endowed Scholarship, which awards native Oregonian student-athletes in soccer, volleyball, track, softball, cross country, tennis or golf, by playing bingo at the men’s basketball games. With a sport committee chair for every recognized University athletic team, the Daisy Ducks have maintained avid support for athletics and University spirit as a whole for many years.
The Daisy Ducks have contributed to the under-construction Ford Alumni Center and are also working on creating another athletic scholarship. The Daisy Ducks help athletics in any form necessary. Recently they baked Rice Krispies treats for the football team to enjoy during halftime of a game, and every year the Daisy Ducks organize a group trip to an away football game.
“If you listen to the athletes that come back and talk to us, they greatly admire what we do and think we are a great support group,” O’Herron said. “We also send them birthday cards or visit them if they are in the hospital … we just help wherever they need us to.”
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