Despite Changes, Familiar Passion and Traditions Continue to Thrive at Oregon State — Sport Oregon Voices

Photo: Oregon State Athletics

Beavers open new football era, turning challenges into opportunities

The Oregon State Beavers kicked off their 2024 football season last weekend at Reser Stadium. As always, there was plenty of excitement in the air and lots of new players, coaches, uniforms and fan amenities to soak in, as is the case with the start of a lot of your typical college football seasons.

But considering all the foundational changes to the college football landscape over the last several months, there’s no denying the 2024 season is a bit surreal for Oregon State and Beaver Nation.

Now part of a two-team Pac-12 Conference, alongside Washington State, Oregon State’s schedule looks quite a bit different, for starters. In addition to this past weekend’s game against Idaho State, an FCS school, the Beavers will play seven games against Mountain West Conference schools, two against Big Ten opponents (Oregon, Purdue), one against a newly anointed ACC school (Cal) and one against the Beavers’ conference mate, Washington State.

Sara Elcano, the deputy athletic director, external and advancement at Oregon State, says the number of season tickets sold for the 2024 season are at 96 percent of the previous season’s total. This is coming off a 2023 season in which Oregon State rolled out a sparkling $161 stadium-completion project at Reser Stadium that resulted in a 22-percent increase in season tickets over the 2022 season.

According to Elcano, the growth in season ticket sales in 2023 was the largest jump in more than a decade, making the fact that those figures essentially remained the same for this season, despite all the uncertainty, all the more impressive.   

“I think it’s an incredible statement by Beaver Nation,” said Elcano. “So many unknowns, and they’re just locked in.”

Among the changes is a new television deal struck by the Pac-12 that promises to provide far more exposure for both Oregon State and Washington State than the teams had previously. With a great deal more carriage in American households than their setup in past years, the Beavers will play five games on The CW and two on FOX, including marquee matchups against Oregon and Boise State.

In a year of determination and pivots, the deal with FOX and The CW represented another big win for the Beavers.

“Far and away the largest benefit is the reach across American households,” Elcano said. “It’s an incredible jump.”

Elcano says that the financial component of broadcast rights remains important but says the potential impact of the greater reach of FOX and The CW is critical to the Beavers brand and awareness, especially considering the mass realignment of conferences that took place during the offseason.

“Revenue is certainly important, but, right now, the ability to have our games nationally broadcasted and so available within the national broadcasts is arguably just as important.”

As it relates to brand, Elcano says the school will use its new platform to tell the Oregon State story more fully. As a native Oregonian, she says the school largely has been known for its grit and resiliency but says there is a need to paint a clearer picture of the high-level success the school has had in collegiate athletics, particularly in the last decade.

The Beavers see the new landscape as a real opportunity to tell that story in a more comprehensive way while still adhering to its core values.

“I don’t think it’s flipping a switch,” Elcano said. “There’s going to be an evolution, but I think it’s one that will resonate with all of the fanbase, regardless of demographic. It’s not going to be a pivot that isn’t on brand; it’s just time for the brand to evolve.”

On the field, the Beavers are led by first-year head coach Trent Bray. No doubt they’ll look to take advantage of their seven home games – including three of their first four to start the season – to pave the way to another successful season.

Following their 38-15 victory over Idaho State, the Beavers travel to take on San Diego State this weekend. After that, they face an unusual rivalry meeting at Reser Stadium against Oregon, with the two schools now finding themselves in different conferences and playing in September instead of their familiar late-season clashes of the past.

Elcano says the rivalry game is on track to be a sellout, with Oregon State recently releasing standing-room only tickets.

With understandable emotions running throughout the state, the Sept. 14 game against the Ducks promises to be packed with passion. It also marks Oregon’s first visit to Reser Stadium since the extensive stadium transformation prior to the 2023 season, setting the stage for what’s expected to be an electric atmosphere.

“I think this game will be emotional for folks, given everything that has happened in the last year,” she said. “It’s anticipated that the atmosphere inside Reser Stadium that day is reflective of that.”

According to Elcano, the Reser Stadium fan experience continues to be enhanced. Now informed with a year’s worth of data following last season’s impressive first year in the new digs, the school made slight changes to even further improve the stadium flow. Most of the tweaks won’t really stand out, but the operations team made adjustments to certain concession stands and kiosks to increase efficiency and reduce lines.

“We’re only one game in, but we saw the lines in those locations move a lot faster this first game,” Elcano said.

The Beavers also have introduced new food items, including more gluten-free options as requested through fan surveys. Additionally, the school has plans to introduce a new gameday tradition for its homecoming game against UNLV on Oct. 19.

Soon, they will be opening a new sensory room near the south endzone. The idea came as a direct result from feedback received through the program’s extensive fan surveying and is designed to provide a calm, comforting respite for fans that want to utilize the new space.

“We try to make sure game day has something that works for everyone in Beaver Nation, and that is an important addition,” said Elcano. “This was a gap that we had that we’re happy to be able to address.”

In addition to the upcoming Oregon game and homecoming contest against UNLV, the remaining Beavers home schedule features games against Purdue (Sept. 21), Colorado State (Oct. 5), San Jose State (Nov. 9) and Washington State (Nov. 23).

There’s an old adage that the only constant in life is change. But for well over 100 years, Oregon State football has remained a vitally important part of the state’s sporting landscape, a tradition that proudly carries on in 2024.