The first man to hold the title of Athletic Director at the University of Oregon, set the standard for program building, hiring coaches and improving facilities. Leo Harris (August 6, 1904 – April 22, 1990) did all of that while maintaining the financial discipline needed at the time.
Harris already had success as a Stanford athlete and Fresno State coach. He arrived in Eugene in 1947 to an athletic program on shaky ground. Most competition had been suspended during World War II, there were just not that many athletes or coaches on campus and Mac Court and Hayward Field were too small and in need of upgrades.
Over the next 20 years, Leo tackled all these problems with outstanding results. His first coaching hires were outstanding; Bill Bowerman for track and field, Len Casanova for football, Don Kirsch for baseball and Steve Belko for basketball. All had long and successful runs and Bowerman recruited the young distance runner, Phil Knight who would become the program’s greatest financial booster.
Then there were the facility improvements. Mac Court expanded to its ultimate capacity; Howe Field became a better home for baseball. But Harris' biggest accomplishment was the planning and construction of Autzen Stadium. Harris always leaned in to combining fundraising with university budgets and recruited Oregon State alum Charles Autzen as a primary donor. The stadium was completed on time and without debt, opening in September 1967. Leo Harris won as athletic director that year.
Harris was also noted for striking a handshake deal with Walt Disney in 1947 that allowed Oregon to use the likeness of Donald Duck as the University’s athletic mascot, The Oregon Duck. When Disney lawyers in the 1970’s discovered that no written contract existed, the university produced a photograph of Harris alongside Walt Disney wearing a Donald-emblazoned Oregon jacket as proof that an agreement did exist. From that photo evidence, a formal contract licensing Donald’s use by the university was created.
Leo Harris was inducted into the University of Oregon Athletic Hall of Fame in 1992. Autzen Stadium's street address is on Leo Harris Parkway.