Oregon Women

Women's basketball (as a zoned, single-dribble game) at the University of Oregon started as a club in 1899, brought to Oregon by physical education instructor Alice Chapman, wife of University President Charles Chapman. With a women's intercollegiate game emerging at Willamette University, Oregon Agricultural College, Pacific University, and elsewhere, an effort was made during the 1902–03 academic year to organize a women's university team. This effort was waylaid by the Oregon faculty athletic committee early in January 1903, however, with the committee deeming it "not advisable" for the "young ladies' basketball team" to enter into intercollegiate games. Instead, it was hoped that two campus teams could be organized to keep competition on a local level.

The sport became an "interest group" in 1965. Intercollegiate games also began in 1965, and in 1966, the women's team entered the Northwest College Women's Sports Association (which would eventually become the AIAW Region 9 conference). The program became official in 1973, the year following the passage of Title IX, which required federally supported universities to offer equal opportunities in men's and women's athletics. They have an all-time record (as of the end of the 2015–16 season) of 706–507. They previously played in the Northwest Basketball League from 1977 to 1982 (47–5 all-time record) and the NorPac Conference from 1982 to 1986 (34–12 all-time record) before the Pacific-10 Conference, now known as the Pac-12 Conference, began sponsoring women's sports in 1986. The Ducks' current all-time conference record is 260–280. They won the Women's National Invitation Tournament in 1989 over San Diego State, 67–64; and in 2002, with a 54–52 win over Houston.