Photo by: GoDucks.com
Rivalry Uniform Honors Impact of "Shoe Duck"
09/14/25 | Football
The Oregon football team will wear a special uniform this week that honors the legacy of Phil Knight.
EUGENE, Ore. — A pairing of the state's two flagship college football programs will provide a platform to celebrate the pairing that started Oregon's iconic apparel company, and the pairing of a family's unparalleled generosity with the University of Oregon.
When the UO football program takes the field against Oregon State on Saturday, the Ducks will do so in a uniform honoring Phil Knight, his Nike co-founder Bill Bowerman and the fruits of their union, including Knight and his wife Penny's generous support for Oregon. The Ducks will wear a new matte marble helmet, anthricite jerseys and pants with gold highlights, and gold cleats.
The uniforms, designed by the team from Van Horne Brands, are as usual replete with small details that tell the story of Knight's founding of Nike with Bowerman, his elevation of the state of Oregon onto the global stage, and his passion for UO athletics.
"It really does represent so much of the Nike and Oregon DNA intertwined together," said Quinn Van Horne, senior designer for Van Horne Brands.
The uniforms were designed over the past two years with input from Oregon's staff and players. Earlier this spring, they were previewed for Knight himself. UO senior linebacker Bryce Boettcher helped make a presentation to him in Knight's suite during a track meet at Hayward Field — the place where Knight ran for Bowerman's Men of Oregon, and where the seeds for Nike were first sown.
"We're just grateful for everything he's done," Boettcher said. "We wouldn't be the University of Oregon — the Mecca — without his help. And even though he doesn't want his flowers — naming buildings after other people, which is great — this is our way of giving him his flowers. Recognizing that we're just grateful that he's been able to help us along the way."
The uniform's base color of anthricite, the gold cleats and indeed even the project's name — "Shoe Duck" — were inspired by the cover of Knight's book about Nike's founding, "Shoe Dog." Former UO defensive back Mattrell McGraw, now a senior product line manager with Nike, conceived of the bright gold cleats, and there are gold highlights throughout the uniform. The gloves bear a waffle print, representing the waffle iron that Bowerman used to make an early prototype of the sneakers Nike would go on to produce.
The matte marble helmet includes wings on each side, though it is asymmetrical. Mimicking the tail of Knight's private jet — which represents his two passions — it bears on one side the classic Duck wing of previous Oregon helmets, and on the other side the wing of Nike, the Greek goddess of victory. On the back is a golden Oregon "O" logo, and also a gold bar representing Bowerman's service with the Army during World War II.
"We felt gold was appropriate in that it's fitting for Nike, the winged goddess of victory, and also the University of Oregon representing the gold standard," Quinn Van Horne said. "We want to be the best of the best."
When the uniform was presented to Knight earlier this year, Boettcher said, "he definitely shed a couple tears. To see that it had such a big impact on him, I'll remember that one for a while, yeah."
The "Shoe Duck" project isn't just personal to Knight. It also has been so for Todd Van Horne, the former Nike vice president who is now creative director at Van Horne Brands.
"For me, it's very personal," he said. "Working for Nike for 30 years, it's that representation of what Phil and Bill did for me, for my family. My life would be totally different without meeting him."
Two patches, one on each shoulder of the jerseys, have some of the most vivid storytelling elements of the uniform.
One features a handshake representing the initial verbal agreement — and the mutual trust it involved — between Knight and Bowerman when founding what was then Blue Ribbon Sports. That trust between coach and student-athlete turned business partners has been a source of pride to Knight ever since, and a value he'd hoped to instill in others in their working relationships.
"That bond — what those two did together — is pretty amazing," Todd Van Horne said.
The other shoulder patch features the UO motto Mens Agitat Molem — "minds move mountains." It features profiles of two mountains, Hood outside Portland and Fuji in Japan, where Knight sought inspiration as a young entrepreneur, both philosophically and as a businessman. The patch also features both duck wings and tiger stripes, representing the coming together of East and West, and of bringing Oregon onto the global stage.
"He could have done this anywhere," Quinn Van Horne said. "But he chose to do this in his home."
As Knight transitioned from running Nike to philanthropy in recent years, he has increasingly chosen to avoid the spotlight, as Boettcher noted in the naming of buildings around the UO campus for others, both inside and outside his family. But this Saturday, the gratitude of the university, the state of Oregon and indeed fans around the world will be on display in the form of the "Shoe Duck" uniform in tribute to Knight.
"He's done more than just for the players," said Boettcher, a native of Eugene. "It's more like a community based thing. My family, and hundreds and thousands of fans, have been impacted by what he's done in Oregon. So it's a thank you from the entire city of Eugene, and the entire state of Oregon."
When the UO football program takes the field against Oregon State on Saturday, the Ducks will do so in a uniform honoring Phil Knight, his Nike co-founder Bill Bowerman and the fruits of their union, including Knight and his wife Penny's generous support for Oregon. The Ducks will wear a new matte marble helmet, anthricite jerseys and pants with gold highlights, and gold cleats.
The uniforms, designed by the team from Van Horne Brands, are as usual replete with small details that tell the story of Knight's founding of Nike with Bowerman, his elevation of the state of Oregon onto the global stage, and his passion for UO athletics.
"It really does represent so much of the Nike and Oregon DNA intertwined together," said Quinn Van Horne, senior designer for Van Horne Brands.
The uniforms were designed over the past two years with input from Oregon's staff and players. Earlier this spring, they were previewed for Knight himself. UO senior linebacker Bryce Boettcher helped make a presentation to him in Knight's suite during a track meet at Hayward Field — the place where Knight ran for Bowerman's Men of Oregon, and where the seeds for Nike were first sown.
"We're just grateful for everything he's done," Boettcher said. "We wouldn't be the University of Oregon — the Mecca — without his help. And even though he doesn't want his flowers — naming buildings after other people, which is great — this is our way of giving him his flowers. Recognizing that we're just grateful that he's been able to help us along the way."
The uniform's base color of anthricite, the gold cleats and indeed even the project's name — "Shoe Duck" — were inspired by the cover of Knight's book about Nike's founding, "Shoe Dog." Former UO defensive back Mattrell McGraw, now a senior product line manager with Nike, conceived of the bright gold cleats, and there are gold highlights throughout the uniform. The gloves bear a waffle print, representing the waffle iron that Bowerman used to make an early prototype of the sneakers Nike would go on to produce.
The matte marble helmet includes wings on each side, though it is asymmetrical. Mimicking the tail of Knight's private jet — which represents his two passions — it bears on one side the classic Duck wing of previous Oregon helmets, and on the other side the wing of Nike, the Greek goddess of victory. On the back is a golden Oregon "O" logo, and also a gold bar representing Bowerman's service with the Army during World War II.
"We felt gold was appropriate in that it's fitting for Nike, the winged goddess of victory, and also the University of Oregon representing the gold standard," Quinn Van Horne said. "We want to be the best of the best."
When the uniform was presented to Knight earlier this year, Boettcher said, "he definitely shed a couple tears. To see that it had such a big impact on him, I'll remember that one for a while, yeah."
The "Shoe Duck" project isn't just personal to Knight. It also has been so for Todd Van Horne, the former Nike vice president who is now creative director at Van Horne Brands.
"For me, it's very personal," he said. "Working for Nike for 30 years, it's that representation of what Phil and Bill did for me, for my family. My life would be totally different without meeting him."
Two patches, one on each shoulder of the jerseys, have some of the most vivid storytelling elements of the uniform.
One features a handshake representing the initial verbal agreement — and the mutual trust it involved — between Knight and Bowerman when founding what was then Blue Ribbon Sports. That trust between coach and student-athlete turned business partners has been a source of pride to Knight ever since, and a value he'd hoped to instill in others in their working relationships.
"That bond — what those two did together — is pretty amazing," Todd Van Horne said.
The other shoulder patch features the UO motto Mens Agitat Molem — "minds move mountains." It features profiles of two mountains, Hood outside Portland and Fuji in Japan, where Knight sought inspiration as a young entrepreneur, both philosophically and as a businessman. The patch also features both duck wings and tiger stripes, representing the coming together of East and West, and of bringing Oregon onto the global stage.
"He could have done this anywhere," Quinn Van Horne said. "But he chose to do this in his home."
As Knight transitioned from running Nike to philanthropy in recent years, he has increasingly chosen to avoid the spotlight, as Boettcher noted in the naming of buildings around the UO campus for others, both inside and outside his family. But this Saturday, the gratitude of the university, the state of Oregon and indeed fans around the world will be on display in the form of the "Shoe Duck" uniform in tribute to Knight.
"He's done more than just for the players," said Boettcher, a native of Eugene. "It's more like a community based thing. My family, and hundreds and thousands of fans, have been impacted by what he's done in Oregon. So it's a thank you from the entire city of Eugene, and the entire state of Oregon."
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