The University of Oregon debuted its brand-new basketball court ahead of its move to the Big Ten Conference. It comes with mixed reviews, but most people seem to agree that it is better than the court design that came before.
However, there is a glaring flaw involving the school’s mascot— the Ducks.
Oregon’s men’s and women’s basketball teams play their home games at Matthew Knight Arena, named after chief donor and Nike founder Phil Knight’s late son. Designed by Nike’s VP of Creative Design, Tinker Hatfield the floor is called “Deep in the Woods.” It used to feature repeating silhouettes of Pacific Northwest Tree lines and was supposed to give the impression that you were gazing toward the sky while being lost in the forest.
Not anymore!
As the Ducks prepare for their new life in a new conference, they decided that it is time for a facelift. They rolled out a new floor earlier this week that pays homage to the past while bringing a more modern look.
Tree imagery originally conceived by Hatfield remains. However, the university logo at center court is enlarged and the trees ringing the surface are more transparent, and green. The court’s new stain is intended to bring out the natural tones of the hardwood surface. Baselines are trimmed in Oregon’s Apple Green, which reinforce the truth that “The Grass is Damn Green in Eugene.”
One really cool feature of the new court is a tribute to the arena’s namesake. Matthew Knight tragically passed away in 2004. Ducks flying in a “missing man” formation, with a gap in the flying-V, symbolize his memory.
However, the Ducks… well… they don’t look like Ducks.
Oregon tried to paint ducks on its basketball court.
More than 270 photos of trees in the Pacific Northwest were included in the floor design. Oregon might’ve considered the same for its ducks because they are not accurate.
They don’t even look like ducks!
Mallard, northern shoveler, American wigeon, northern pintail, and green-winged teal are the principle dabbling ducks in the region. Canvasback, ring-necked, and scaup are the principle diving ducks.
Not one of those eight species look like the “ducks” on the court in Eugene.
It also appears as though Oregon uses the same mark throughout its athletic department and prominently features it on the athletics website. See below:
Unfortunately, the aforementioned mark does not resemble a duck. The proportions are off.
It more closely takes after a goose, or a cormorant.
Ducks don’t have long necks like Oregon depicts. Their wings on the court (and website) are too skinny. The wingspan is too wide.
Should the University of Oregon offer a valid rebuttal to this point, I would be more than happy to eat my words. But I have seen many ducks in my day. I also consulted many outdoorsmen before putting this metaphorical pen to paper.
We all agree that the “ducks” on the floor in Eugene are not ducks! They’re, in my opinion, cormorants.