Oregon's New Grateful Dead Gear Is Grabbing Attention

The Oregon Ducks men’s basketball team paid tribute to the Grateful Dead in their game against the UCLA Bruins. All Ducks players wore Grateful Dead themed shoes and warmup shirts for the game.

Oregon's football team this also paid tribute to the “Dead” with their own themed jersey when they played the Wisconsin Badgers this past season.

Ducks Pay Tribute to Grateful Dead

Oregon Ducks Grateful Dead Tribute Dana Altman Eugene UCLA Bruins Bill Walton Jerry Garcia Uniforms Shoes Autzen Stadium — Oregon forward Dezdrick Lindsay looks for room to move as the Oregon Ducks host the UCLA Bruins on Jan. 28, 2026, at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene, Oregon. | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Oregon isn’t shy about going all out with their uniforms and gear. That was on display in Wednesday night’s game against UCLA. Check it out below.

On feet tonight for @OregonMBB.

Honoring the legacy of the Grateful Dead at the University of Oregon. #GratefulDucks pic.twitter.com/u7DNTMHePO
— GoDucks (@GoDucks) January 29, 2026

Why the Grateful Dead? They have a strong footprint in the Eugene area and performed a bunch of shows there over the years, including playing in front of a jam-packed Autzen Stadium multiple times.

Grateful Ducks. @GoDucks pic.twitter.com/cmkdKHd6p9
— Oregon Men's Basketball (@OregonMBB) January 29, 2026

Oregon’s Grateful Dead themed gear was cool to see, especially against a team like UCLA. The Bruins also have a strong connection with the Grateful Dead.

The late Bill Walton was an all-time great center for the Bruins from 1971-1974 and was also famously a huge “Deadhead” aka a big fan of the Grateful Dead. Following Walton’s passing in 2024, the band honored him during a concert.

The Grateful Dead was a rock band formed in the 1960’s in the San Francisco Bay Area. Some of their most notable members were Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, and Mickey Hart. The band officially ended when Garcia passed away in 1995, but has since reformed and toured under different names such as the “The Other Ones,” “The Dead,” and “Dead and Company” to name a few.

Weir passed away earlier this month.

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Oregon’s Struggles Continue

The Ducks were unable to pull out the win while wearing their Grateful Dead gear against UCLA. UCLA came into Matthew Knight Arena and dominated Oregon by a final score of 73-57. Oregon had a difficult time putting the ball in the basket, again. This was the third game in a row where the Ducks scored fewer than 60 points. Oregon’s leading scorer in the loss was forward Kwame Evans Jr. with a career high 24 points.

This was Oregon’s seventh loss in a row and dropped their overall record to 8-13. The Ducks now have a mark in Big Ten conference play of 1-9. This has been the worst season for coach Dana Altman in his 16 seasons in Eugene.

Oregon has struggled to stay healthy all season and just hasn’t clicked as a unit. There was excitement for the Ducks heading into the season as they got back their two leading scorers from a year ago in guard Jackson Shelstad and center Nate Bittle.

Unfortunately for the Ducks, Shelstad has battled injuries and might not play again until next season. Bittle has also missed a chunk of time, but is still aiming to return at some point. Neither played against UCLA.