Photo by: Eric Evans/GoDucks.com
Bellotti Hall Of Fame Plaque To Be Unveiled At Cal Game
10/05/21 | Football, @GoDucksMoseley
The winningest coach in UO football history, Mike Bellotti, will be honored when the Ducks host California on Oct. 15.
Norm Van Brocklin, Mel Renfro and Bobby Moore have a new neighbor in their Casanova Center residence.
The wall outside the Cas Center honoring Pro Football Hall of Fame and College Football Hall of Fame members from the University of Oregon is gaining a new face: the winningest head coach in UO football history, Mike Bellotti. Inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2014 and the Oregon Athletics Hall of Fame in 2019, Bellotti is featured on a plaque to be unveiled at Oregon's next home football game.
The Ducks, who won 116 games under Bellotti's guidance from 1995 through 2008, host California in Autzen Stadium on Friday, Oct. 15. The plaque honoring Bellotti will be unveiled and the former head coach will be on hand to be recognized with his family on the field during the game.
Bellotti took over as Oregon's head coach in 1995, taking the reins from Rich Brooks after Bellotti served six seasons as offensive coordinator during which he groomed quarterbacks Bill Musgrave and Danny O'Neil. The Ducks recorded nine straight winning seasons after Bellotti was elevated to head coach and played in 12 bowl games during his 14 seasons, unprecedented success for the program.
"Rich Brooks kind of built the framework for this thing, but then the baton was passed to Mike Bellotti," said Neal Zoumboukos, an assistant coach for the Ducks under both Brooks and Bellotti. "And Mike Bellotti framed an image. He created a goal, a set of standards for the program. And then he brought it to fruition.
"Now, you could say Chip Kelly did a little of the finishing work, and Mario Cristobal is doing more finishing work now. But the framing of what Oregon football should be, that came from Mike. It's highly significant."
After leading Oregon back to a New Year's Day bowl in his first year, Bellotti built the Ducks into a perennial conference power. Following a six-win season in 1996, the Ducks improved their win total by one each of the ensuing five years, leading up to the first 10-win season in school history, in 2000, and an 11-win campaign capped by a Fiesta Bowl win and No. 2 national ranking in 2001.
The nine-win fall of 1999 featured a midseason change at quarterback, with Joey Harrington taking over. He helped Bellotti lead the Ducks to Pac-10 titles in both 2000 and 2001, and into the BCS championship race his senior season.
"Coach wasn't a salesman; whenever he spoke to me I always felt he was being genuine," Harrington said. "And I appreciated that from the moment he started recruiting me to the moment he put me in the game for the first time.
"The thing I think was so fantastic about coach was, ego never got in the way. He gave his coaches freedom to do things the way they wanted, and players the opportunity to work within a framework of guidelines. There wasn't one way to do things; it wasn't his way or the highway. And I think that showed over the years."
After nine straight winning seasons, the Ducks took a step back in 2004. But they rebounded emphatically, with quarterback Kellen Clemens leading Oregon to the third 10-win season in school history in 2005.
"Coach Bellotti to me was not just a builder of programs — he'll always be remembered for helping usher Oregon into the college football elite during his tenure — but a builder of men," said former UO three-sport athlete Jordan Kent, a receiver on that 2005 team. "I'll never forget the lessons he constantly taught us as we were turning into men ourselves.
"A phrase that always stuck with me was, 'luck is when preparation meets opportunity.' That has always resonated with me, knowing that there are so many things you can do off the field that will help you be a better player on the field. He truly cared about not just the football player you were, but the man you were going to become."
Oregon's 2005 Holiday Bowl team featured a new offensive coordinator, Gary Crowton. Bellotti had hired Crowton to install a spread offense, in contrast to the pro-style principles that had been the bedrock of Bellotti's offenses with the Ducks.
The process of revamping the UO offense became complete in 2007 with the addition to the staff of Kelly. That year's Oregon team was ranked No. 2 in the nation and featured the favorite for the Heisman Trophy, quarterback Dennis Dixon, before a knee injury to Dixon derailed the season.
"The best coaches in any sport are adaptable," said Geoff Schwartz, an offensive lineman on the 2007 team. "When it's not working, throw the ego aside and find a new way. And I'll always appreciate Coach Bellotti's willingness to move from a pro-style offense to a spread offense, and to hire an unknown offensive coordinator in Chip Kelly. He understood the program needed a new direction and he took the steps to make it happen. And he did it while including the players in the process, so we all felt the buy-in."
Bellotti's final season as head coach was, fittingly, yet another 10-win campaign in 2008. He moved over to the athletics director chair in 2009.
The wall outside the Cas Center honoring Pro Football Hall of Fame and College Football Hall of Fame members from the University of Oregon is gaining a new face: the winningest head coach in UO football history, Mike Bellotti. Inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2014 and the Oregon Athletics Hall of Fame in 2019, Bellotti is featured on a plaque to be unveiled at Oregon's next home football game.
The Ducks, who won 116 games under Bellotti's guidance from 1995 through 2008, host California in Autzen Stadium on Friday, Oct. 15. The plaque honoring Bellotti will be unveiled and the former head coach will be on hand to be recognized with his family on the field during the game.
Bellotti took over as Oregon's head coach in 1995, taking the reins from Rich Brooks after Bellotti served six seasons as offensive coordinator during which he groomed quarterbacks Bill Musgrave and Danny O'Neil. The Ducks recorded nine straight winning seasons after Bellotti was elevated to head coach and played in 12 bowl games during his 14 seasons, unprecedented success for the program.
"Rich Brooks kind of built the framework for this thing, but then the baton was passed to Mike Bellotti," said Neal Zoumboukos, an assistant coach for the Ducks under both Brooks and Bellotti. "And Mike Bellotti framed an image. He created a goal, a set of standards for the program. And then he brought it to fruition.
"Now, you could say Chip Kelly did a little of the finishing work, and Mario Cristobal is doing more finishing work now. But the framing of what Oregon football should be, that came from Mike. It's highly significant."
After leading Oregon back to a New Year's Day bowl in his first year, Bellotti built the Ducks into a perennial conference power. Following a six-win season in 1996, the Ducks improved their win total by one each of the ensuing five years, leading up to the first 10-win season in school history, in 2000, and an 11-win campaign capped by a Fiesta Bowl win and No. 2 national ranking in 2001.
The nine-win fall of 1999 featured a midseason change at quarterback, with Joey Harrington taking over. He helped Bellotti lead the Ducks to Pac-10 titles in both 2000 and 2001, and into the BCS championship race his senior season.
"Coach wasn't a salesman; whenever he spoke to me I always felt he was being genuine," Harrington said. "And I appreciated that from the moment he started recruiting me to the moment he put me in the game for the first time.
"The thing I think was so fantastic about coach was, ego never got in the way. He gave his coaches freedom to do things the way they wanted, and players the opportunity to work within a framework of guidelines. There wasn't one way to do things; it wasn't his way or the highway. And I think that showed over the years."
After nine straight winning seasons, the Ducks took a step back in 2004. But they rebounded emphatically, with quarterback Kellen Clemens leading Oregon to the third 10-win season in school history in 2005.
"Coach Bellotti to me was not just a builder of programs — he'll always be remembered for helping usher Oregon into the college football elite during his tenure — but a builder of men," said former UO three-sport athlete Jordan Kent, a receiver on that 2005 team. "I'll never forget the lessons he constantly taught us as we were turning into men ourselves.
"A phrase that always stuck with me was, 'luck is when preparation meets opportunity.' That has always resonated with me, knowing that there are so many things you can do off the field that will help you be a better player on the field. He truly cared about not just the football player you were, but the man you were going to become."
Oregon's 2005 Holiday Bowl team featured a new offensive coordinator, Gary Crowton. Bellotti had hired Crowton to install a spread offense, in contrast to the pro-style principles that had been the bedrock of Bellotti's offenses with the Ducks.
The process of revamping the UO offense became complete in 2007 with the addition to the staff of Kelly. That year's Oregon team was ranked No. 2 in the nation and featured the favorite for the Heisman Trophy, quarterback Dennis Dixon, before a knee injury to Dixon derailed the season.
"The best coaches in any sport are adaptable," said Geoff Schwartz, an offensive lineman on the 2007 team. "When it's not working, throw the ego aside and find a new way. And I'll always appreciate Coach Bellotti's willingness to move from a pro-style offense to a spread offense, and to hire an unknown offensive coordinator in Chip Kelly. He understood the program needed a new direction and he took the steps to make it happen. And he did it while including the players in the process, so we all felt the buy-in."
Bellotti's final season as head coach was, fittingly, yet another 10-win campaign in 2008. He moved over to the athletics director chair in 2009.
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