Leo A. Harris (August 6, 1904 – April 22, 1990) was an American athlete, coach, and athletic director. He played college football at Stanford University, coached football and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

Fresno State College California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California. It is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers bac ...

, and was the first

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and university, universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of c ...

for the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

, bringing success to a financially troubled system. He was also known for his handshake deal with

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

that permitted the University of Oregon to use the likeness of

Donald Duck Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic American Pekin, white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor suit, sailor shi ...

as the basis for its mascot, the Oregon Duck.

Playing and coaching career

Harris was a fullback and guard at

Santa Cruz High School Santa Cruz High School is a comprehensive public school in Santa Cruz, California which originally opened in 1897 and now serves an enrollment of about 1,040 students in grades nine through twelve. It is part of the Santa Cruz City School Distr ...

Santa Cruz, California Santa Cruz ( Spanish for "Holy Cross") is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, in Northern California. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 62,956. Situated on the northern edge of Monterey Bay, Santa Cruz is a pop ...

. He attended Stanford University, where he played

tackle Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position), a position in American football and Canadian football ** Dump tackle, a forceful move in rugby of picking ...

for legendary coach "Pop" Warner in 1925 and 1926. Following his collegiate playing career, Harris was football coach at

from 1933 to 1935, winning

Far West Conference The Northern California Athletic Conference (NCAC) was an NCAA Division II college athletic association that sponsored American football that was founded in 1925. It disbanded in 1998 after the majority of its member schools were forced to drop fo ...

championships the last two years. Harris also coached Fresno State's

program.

Oregon's first athletic director

In 1947, Harris was named athletic director at the University of Oregon, the first person to hold that title. At that time, Oregon's athletic department was in serious financial trouble. Through fundraising and careful planning, Harris expanded both the quality of the University's athletic programs as well as its facilities. His most significant achievement was the construction of a new football stadium to replace aging

Hayward Field Hayward Field is a track and field stadium in the Northwestern United States, northwest United States, located on the campus of the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon. It has been the home of the university's Oregon Ducks track and field, t ...

. His efforts, beginning with procurement of property across the

Willamette River The Willamette River ( ) is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States. Flowing northward ...

from campus and continuing with fundraising and governmental negotiations, resulted in the construction of

Autzen Stadium Autzen Stadium is an outdoor football stadium in the northwest United States, in Eugene, Oregon. Located north of the University of Oregon campus, it is the home field of the Oregon Ducks of the Pac-12 Conference. Opened in 1967, the stadium ha ...

, completed in 1967. Harris also oversaw expansion of

McArthur Court McArthur Court is a basketball arena located on the campus of the University of Oregon in Eugene and the former home of the Oregon Ducks men's and women's basketball teams, replaced in 2011 by Matthew Knight Arena. Also known as "The Pit" or "M ...

and improvements to Hayward Field and the baseball team's

Howe Field Jane Sanders Stadium, nicknamed "The Jane", is an outdoor softball stadium in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Located on the south side of the University of Oregon (UO) campus at 18th and University, it is the home field of the Oregon Ducks of th ...

. Harris was also noted for striking a handshake deal with

in 1947 that allowed Oregon to use the likeness of

as the University's athletic mascot, '' The Oregon Duck''. When

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

lawyers in the 1970s 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.

Legacy

Harris served as Oregon's athletic director for 20 years, stepping down in 1967, shortly before Autzen Stadium was completed. Today, the stadium's address is on Leo Harris Parkway. Harris died at his

Carmel, California Carmel-by-the-Sea (), often simply called Carmel, is a city in Monterey County, California, United States, founded in 1902 and incorporated on October 31, 1916. Situated on the Monterey Peninsula, Carmel is known for its natural scenery and ric ...

retirement home in 1990. He was inducted into the University of Oregon Athletic Hall of Fame in 1992, and the

Oregon Sports Hall of Fame The Oregon Sports Hall of Fame honors Oregon athletes, teams, coaches, and others who have made a significant contribution to sports in Oregon. The first class was inducted in 1980, with new inductees added in the fall. Operated by the Oregon Sports ...

that same year.

Head coaching record

Football

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Leo 1904 births 1990 deaths Basketball coaches from California Fresno State Bulldogs football coaches Fresno State Bulldogs men's basketball coaches Oregon Ducks athletic directors Stanford Cardinal football players Sportspeople from Santa Cruz, California Players of American football from California Santa Cruz High School alumni