EXCLUSIVE: Oregon Ducks Uniform Designers Reveal 'Stomp Out Cancer' Creation

In an exclusive interview with Ally Osborne of Oregon Ducks on Sports Illustrated and KOIN 6 Game On, Oregon Ducks uniform designers Todd Van Horne and Quinn Van Horne of Van Horne Designs break down the process that went into making this years’ 'Stomp Out Cancer' uniform designs.

Oregon Football "Stomp Out Cancer" 2024 Uniform. Credit: @GoDucks on "X" /

If Oregon Duck football had a calling card, it would be their innovative and stylish uniforms. Through a decades long relationship with Nike, the Ducks have kept their athletes wearing the latest and greatest uniform technology the sports brand has to offer.

However, many Duck fans might not know that the “Generation O” uniforms are designed primarily by a father and son duo. Todd Van Horne and Quinn Van Horne of Van Horne Brands have overseen the creation of all the “Generation O” jerseys this year, working with athletes, coaches, and staff to perfect the history of Oregon Football in this years’ uniforms.

But for the Michigan State game, the threads that will make their debut on Rich Brooks Field just mean more.

The Heroes Uniform. #StompOutCancer pic.twitter.com/MzYbXD0Bvv

— Oregon Football (@oregonfootball) September 29, 2024

In an interview with Oregon Ducks on Sports Illustrated’s and KOIN 6 Game On’s Ally Osborne, the Van Horne’s detailed the process of working with Oregon coach Dan Lanning’s wife, Sauphia Lanning, and the couple’s three boys to tell their personal stories with cancer through this uniform.

Sauphia is seven years cancer free, after battling a bone cancer called osteosarcoma. Her last treatment was in 2017. The idea for these “Stomp Out Cancer” uniforms came when the Lannings moved to Oregon in 2022 after Dan was hired for the Oregon coaching job.

“The origin of the project came from Rob Mullens and him saying ‘you know what? The Lanning family, Dan, these are great people. We’d like to welcome them to Eugene, but we’ve heard this story that Sauphia is a cancer survivor. Why don’t you guys go talk to her and see if there’s something that she’s willing to do or say,’” said Todd Van Horne. “We didn’t know where the project was going to go. It was literally after that first conversation and she realized ‘This could be something not just about me, but I’ll honor the people that helped me and the heroes.’ Then she started doing sketches.”

Flight + Fight.

Presenting the @OregonFootball Heroes Uniform. Designed by the Lanning family, each thread represents triumph – showing support for those who have battled cancer + raising awareness as we fight for the cure. #StompOutCancer pic.twitter.com/yEn1a7mJhW

— GoDucks (@GoDucks) September 29, 2024

Shortly after, the Lanning kids joined in on sketching the uniform design. Todd expressed that Sauphia wanted the kids' involvement to show how a cancer diagnosis can affect and entire family, not just the person fighting.

That family collaboration led to a uniform with several hidden details relating back to the Lanning family.

“There’s so many little details. I would say out of a lot of Oregon uniforms, this was a uniform where the details came into the story,” Quinn Van Horne said. “And we love to find those little intricacies that we can be able to play with. But it really started with a sketch.”

That sketch, from Sauphia, was the Oregon “O” combined with a cancer ribbon; an idea the Van Horne’s said immediately sparked the fuse for this meaningful project. Sauphia also came up with the phrase “Flight + Fight” seen on the uniform and accompanying apparel pieces.

Oregon Football "Stomp Out Cancer" 2024 Uniform. Credit: @GoDucks on "X" /

The Van Horne’s also shared that each Lanning kid had input. An ice cream cone was the first symbol seen throughout the uniform and clothing. The cone symbolizes the ice cream trips that the family made after Sauphia’s cancer treatments. This ice cream symbol flows into Sauphia’s desire for her children to live in a world without cancer one day.

“‘It came into the phrase of ‘a world without cancer is like ice cream on a summer day,’” Todd Van Horne said.

The Lanning kids also chose the yellow color of the uniform symbolizing Sauphia’s type of cancer she battled, as well as the logos of the Oregon “O” victory bell on the shoulders, and the stripes of rainbow colors symbolizing other cancer colors and the battles many others are fighting.

According to the Van Hornes, it takes about 18 months to create an Oregon uniform.

Oregon Football "Stomp Out Cancer" 2024 Uniform. Credit: @GoDucks on "X" /

“It is a long process, and it’s a process that includes a lot of twists and turns and ultimately it's a collaboration. Every single person along the process from being able to come up with the initial idea, Rob Mullens was a huge piece of that, creating the designs and corresponding with Nike, which we really did for months, and then it becomes meeting with the players, meeting with the coaches, meeting with Sauphia and her family and saying ‘hey, here’s the uniform, what do you think? What tweaks do we need to do?” Quinn Van Horne said.

The uniforms are produced locally in Portland, Oregon at A&K Designs after Nike approves the final look.

“That whole 18 month proces . . . we’re talking, we’re learning, we’re finding out new things, making tweaks, making adjustments for it to come out and be the best version that it can be in the end. It’s a fun process. It's a long and hard working process. In the end, when we get to see fans and players talking about how much the jersey means to them,” Quinn Van Horne said. “It means the world to us and I think it means the world to the university.”

You can see the “Stomp Out Cancer” uniforms debut in Autzen Stadium on Friday, Oct. 1 at 6 p.m. as Oregon takes on Michigan State.

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