The University of Oregon has a Buckeye tree because it lost a bet
Oregon and Ohio State don't face off in the national championship game until next week, but OSU has already left its mark on the UO campus.
In 1958, the two schools made a bet on the outcome of the Rose Bowl. The Ducks lost, 10-7, so Ohio State sent a Buckeye tree to be planted on the Oregon campus in Eugene.
Courtesy of UOregon.edu
The tree, which was planted next to the business school complex, has grown to more than 60 feet tall. Last fall, the school commissioned a plaque to commemorate the 55th anniversary of the tree's planting. Ducks running back De'Anthony Thomas attended the ceremony.
Courtesy of UOregon.edu
The stakes for Monday's game are obviously quite high, high enough for one town in Ohio to change its name. But so far no one has threatened to chop down the Buckeye tree.
- Dan Gartland
