Oregon Ducks Get Candid About Heading to Japan For Football Showcase

The Oregon Ducks are finding new and inventive ways to spread their brand and improve the experience of their student athletes, with a select number of football athletes getting the opportunity of an international business trip.

From June 25 through June 27, coach Dan Lanning and seven of his athletes make the pilgrimage to Tokyo, Japan, for the "Tokyo Oregon Football Showcase presented by Flight Club," a first-of-its-kind trip devised by the program's NIL group, Division Street, sneaker retailer Flight Club, and the Japan Gridiron Association. Before the wheels went up on the plane, the Ducks embarking on the trip chatted with the Big Ten Network about their upcoming experience.

Oregon quarterback Dante Moore huddles a group of kids during a youth football camp at Marist Catholic High School on June 20, 2026, in Eugene, Oregon. | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Oregon Ducks Open Up About Tokyo Oregon Football Showcase

In a 55-second video shared on @BigTenNetwork, the athletes attending the trip overseas spoke about their excitement regarding this trip, while shots of the Duck stars wearing the Ducks of a Feather "Tokyo Calling" merchandise collection gave an inside look at the collaborations' photoshoot.

Ducks to Tokyo 🦆

Dan Lanning and a group of @oregonfootball standouts are headed to Japan this week to host the Tokyo Oregon Football Showcase.

The Journey previews the trip created to celebrate the sport's global reach 👇 pic.twitter.com/lQP6r3Kjl1
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) June 23, 2026

The seven athletes going on this trip includes junior quarterback Dante Moore, sophomore wide receiver Dakorien Moore, sophomore running back Dierre Hill Jr., junior tight end Jamari Johnson, sophomore wide receiver Jeremiah McClellan, sophomore running back Jordon Davison, and senior wide receiver Evan Stewart.

"The seven guys we got going - building our relationship and just teach others and just spread our knowledge as well," said Hill.

Fighting Ducks quarterback Dylan Raiola, left, hands off the ball to Fighting Ducks running back Dierre Hill Jr. during the Oregon Ducks annual spring game on April 25, 2026 at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon. | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Moore, Moore, Moore

Prior to arriving in Japan, the internet was set ablaze by the unveiling of several billboards of Moore that had popped up in Shinjuku, a popular gathering spot in Tokyo.

After Moore posted the initial billboard on his Instagram story, several other billboards with the Duck quarterback's face popped up around other busy spots in the city, which feels like an expansion upon Oregon's previous Heisman Trophy campaigns for both quarterback Bo Nix and quarterback Joey Harrington.

🚨Oregon MONEY… TOP CFB QB Dante Moore is getting love all the way in Japan pic.twitter.com/B93mSMSb9X
— Life and Football (@LifeandBall) June 23, 2026

A global gesture like these Moore billboards isn't just the beginning of a 2026 Heisman campaign. It's also a show of how the Oregon brand can not only take talented athletes to new destinations, they can work to acquire that athlete a fanbase worldwide; not a bad tactic for recruiting future Ducks.

"This is my first time going overseas," Moore said during the Big Ten Network video about the trip. "I know a lot of my teammates' as well. Great place to be. There's everything in the world that you want there. Great sushi, great food, great people. These are moments we'll be able to remember for the rest of our lives and be able to tell our kids about."

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning walks the field during the Oregon Ducks annual spring game on April 25, 2026 at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon. | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Dan Lanning Dishes on Tokyo Trip

Speaking of incentives to visit Japan, Lanning himself was featured at the end of the Big Ten Network video explaining the program's reasoning for getting the Oregon brand to go global.

"Part of the attraction to be here is just we're innovative. We're on the cutting edge. We're looking at things that are different and maybe haven't been tackled before. Football is a fast-growing sport, and I think the ability to create some exposure again for our team, find a new fanbase that can say Oregon is their favorite team, and then create those unique experiences for our players are all reasons this trip made a lot of sense," Lanning said.

Oddly enough, the Oregon Ducks have long had a connection to Japanese culture. Podcaster Ted Leroux recently shared a commercial made by the University of Oregon in the early 1990's featuring the football team singing Oregon's fight song in Japanese to promote their Japanese language degree.

Oregon loves Japan, Japan loves the Ducks.

🦆🤝🇯🇵 https://t.co/YrqbBhTZfo pic.twitter.com/tLeKyfHZQO
— Ted Leroux (@TedontheDucks) June 23, 2026

There's also the through-line of sportswear brand Nike and their support of Oregon athletics after developing their aesthetic thanks to influence from Japanese culture. In 1964, when Nike co-founder Phil Knight originally created the brand as "Blue Ribbon Sports" alongside fellow co-founder, investor, and track coach Bill Bowerman, the way the company gained enough money to make their own shoe designs was by importing and distributing running shoes from the Japanese brand Onitsuka Tiger.

In fact, Oregon's "Shoe Duck" uniforms that tribute Knight, included a shoulder patch featuring Mt. Hood in Oregon juxtaposed to Mt. Fuji in Japan, highlighting the deep ties Nike (and therefore the Ducks) has with the country of Japan.

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