Intercollegiate Athletics Moving Images, 1936-2012

Title: Intercollegiate Athletics Moving Images, 1936-2012

ID: FV 031

Primary Creator: Oregon State University. Office of Intercollegiate Athletics

Extent: 184.0 cubic feet. More info below.

Languages of Materials: English [eng]

The Intercollegiate Athletics Moving Images consist of motion picture films, videotapes, and DVDs of Oregon State University athletics competitions as well as promotional features and other programming related to OSU athletics. Many of the films were made by Athletic Department staff; the collection also contains a significant volume of recorded commercial broadcasts.

The collection consists of three major components. The first is a set of individually numbered items - mostly motion picture films, but also including a smaller number of videotapes and DVDs - dating primarily from 1936-1970. These materials focus almost entirely on Oregon State football, though also include a much smaller set of items documenting men's basketball and track and field.

A major accession from 2002 (Acc 2002:029) consists of 780 motion picture film reels and 75 VHS videotapes of Oregon State football and men’s basketball games recorded by Intercollegiate Athletics staff from 1952-1990.  Most of the games are regular season conference events; however, the accession does include non-conference games against Syracuse, Kentucky, Wyoming, Portland State University, and others as well as a NCAA basketball tournament game against Kansas State University.  The accession also includes one reel of Super8 film of a track and field event.  Many of these films, especially the football films from the 1970s and 1980s, were used for game review purposes by coaching staff and players. The items in this accession have not been individually numbered.

A second major accession (2021:053) consists of multiple formats and covers nearly all of OSU’s athletic endeavors, with bulk dates running from the early 1980s to the 2010s. This addition includes large format videotapes as well as VHS and other medium format videotapes, and covers men’s basketball games, football games, and also gymnastics, wrestling, women’s soccer, softball, baseball, men’s golf, women’s golf, cheer, crew/rowing, volleyball, men’s soccer, women’s basketball, swimming, track and field, and cross county. The accession also includes coaches shows featuring Jimmy Anderson, Ralph Miller, Eddie Payne, Dave Kragthorpe, and Jerry Pettibone.

Intercollegiate athletics began at Oregon Agricultural College in 1893 under the administration of President John Bloss. The first team sport, football, played its inaugural game against Albany College in November of that year. Other men's sports teams, including tennis, swimming, polo, crew, and golf, were established during the 1920s. The first men's soccer team was fielded in 1988.

Prior to the start of the 20th century, OAC track and field, baseball, and women's basketball were formed, though women's basketball was not instituted as a formal varsity sport until 1976. With the implementation of Title IX legislation in 1973, women's varsity athletics expanded greatly, providing a significant increase in opportunities for female athletes. Women's crew, golf, gymnastics, soccer, softball, swimming, and volleyball were all formed between 1967 and 1988. Pat Ingram (1973-1975) served as the first Director of what was then known as the Women's Intercollegiate Athletic Department.

Accruals: Additions to the collection are expected.

More Extent Information: 169 boxes and 54 unboxed film cans

Statement on Access: Collection is open for research.

Acquisition Note: The bulk of the numbered motion picture films were received by the Archives prior to 1966. Additions to the collection were received in multiple accessions from 1994 through 2022, with major transfers in 2002 and 2021.

Related Materials:

Motion picture films of athletic events in the 1920s are available in the Oregon State University Historical Motion Picture Films (FV 048). Additional moving images of sports events in the 1960s through 1980s are part of the News and Communications Services Motion Picture Films and Videotapes (FV 057). The Alumni Association Motion Picture Films and Videotapes (FV 017) includes football films, primarily from the 1950s.

See also: Oregon State Baseball: 100 Years to a National Championship, the story of OSU baseball, beginning with its first win in 1907 through it's back-to-back national championships one hundred years later.

Preferred Citation: Intercollegiate Athletics Moving Images (FV 031), Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.

Processing Information:

This collection is not fully processed; this guide is preliminary.

We acknowledge that materials in SCARC collections and the language that describes them may be harmful. We are actively working to address our descriptive practices; for more information please see our SCARC Anti-Racist Actions Statement online.

The archivist-prepared description of this collection uses the phrase “Civil War” to refer to the long-standing athletic rivalry between Oregon State University and the University of Oregon. A history of this athletic rivalry, and use of the phrase “Civil War” to describe it, is available online in The Origins of the "Civil War" Football Game blog post.

In June 2020, Oregon State University President Edward J. Ray announced that the term  “Civil War” will no longer be used by either university because it “represents a connection to a war fought to perpetuate slavery.”

We acknowledge the racism represented by the use of this phrase and the harm it may cause our users. In order to provide historical context and to enable standardized searching and access across our collections, we have retained the use of this phrase in the collection description.

[Date of acknowledgement: November 2021]

Other URL: A preliminary container list was created for this collection on or before August 5, 2015.

Oregon State University. Office of Intercollegiate Athletics
Oregon State College. Athletic Department
Oregon State University. Athletics.

Andros, Dee G., 1924-2003.
Basketball--Oregon--Corvallis.
Basketball for women--Oregon--Corvallis.
Cheerleading--Oregon--Corvallis.
College students--Oregon--Corvallis.
Cross-country running--Oregon--Corvallis.
Football--Oregon--Corvallis.
Golf--Oregon--Corvallis.
Golf for women--Oregon--Corvallis.
Gymnastics for women--Oregon--Corvallis.
Oregon State College--Basketball.
Oregon State College--Football.
Oregon State College--Track and field.
Oregon State University--Baseball.
Oregon State University--Basketball.
Oregon State University--Football.
Oregon State University--Track and field.
Oregon State University--Wrestling.
Oregon State University. Office of Intercollegiate Athletics
Rose Bowl (Football game) (1942 : Durham, N.C.)
Rose Bowl (Football game) (1965 : Pasadena, Calif.)
Rowing--Oregon--Corvallis.
Soccer--Oregon--Corvallis.
Softball for women--Oregon--Corvallis.
Swimming for women--Oregon--Corvallis.
Track and field athletes--Oregon--Corvallis.
Volleyball for women--Oregon--Corvallis.

DVDs.
Motion pictures (visual works)
Silent films.
Video recordings (physical artifacts)