Oregon Football's Dan Lanning Discusses Decade of the Duck

Oregon Ducks Athletics have had unprecedented success over the past 14 years or so, and football has been been a big part of the growth of the brand. Dan Lanning talked "The Decade of the Duck" with Big Ten Network.

Oregon Head Coach Dan Lanning Discusses the Decade of the Duck & CFP Expansion / Big Ten Football

There is no doubt that Oregon Ducks Athletics have been near the top of the collegiate sports world for the past 10-plus years, especially in the top sports in Eugene.

Of course, the track and field and cross country teams have combined to win 17 national titles since 2010. Football, volleyball, men's golf, and women's golf have all made national championship appearances. Both basketball programs have made the Final Four. Softball made the Women's College World Series five times.

"Oregon is a brand."

- Oregon Ducks Football coach Dan Lanning

And conference championships? Football has four in that time, women's basketball has five, men's basketball has eight, and softball five. Track and field and cross country have combined for 26!

Mar 16, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Oregon Ducks players celebrate after the Pac-12 Championship game against the Colorado Buffaloes at T-Mobile Arena. / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

All of this has occurred during her athletic director lead of Rob Mullens. Something Oregon women's basketball coach Kelly Graves noted earlier this year.

"Rob is a great leader," Graves said. "He's given us everything to be successful."

In a recently released interview with the Big Ten Network, Ducks football coach Dan Lanning was asked directly about "The Decade of the Duck".

"Oregon is a brand," Lanning said. "When I think of the school, I think of innovation. I think about how they're on the cutting edge. It's fun to be a part of a place like that that's so forward thinking and had a lot of success."

Jan. 3, 2013; Glendale, AZ, USA: Oregon Ducks quarterback Marcus Mariota (8) gets a Fiesta Bowl champions hat from Dustin Haines (14) following the game against the Kansas State Wildcats during the 2013 Fiesta Bowl at University of Phoenix Stadium. Oregon defeated Kansas State 35-17. / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Lanning says that brand and what the run of success has helped his program in recruiting nationally in a way that hasn't been done before, especially with conferences now stretching coast to coast.

"We're widespread from a recruiting standpoint," Lanning said. "We go coast to coast, espeically now being in the Big Ten. Being able to hit every time zone, its great to have a brand that actually floats from city to city and state to state, and means something across the world."

Now in the new world of super conferences, changing legislation regarding NIL and the transfer portal, will Oregon continue to be at the forefront of success? If the past decade or so, especially the past few years, have shown anything, it is that Oregon is here to stay as a power.

"Decade of the Duck"? Leadership at UO has everything in the future looking like it's being led by webbed feet.