09/17/26 | Football
Friday, September 18
Eugene, OR
7:30 PM
University of Oregon
vs
Portland State
Game Coverage:
Photo by: Eric Evans/GoDucks.com
Local Kids and Veterans Will Enjoy Autzen Experience Friday Night
09/17/26 | Football
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With help from non-profits The Hope Project and Vet Tix, Oregon’s game against Portland State will feature hundreds of first-time attendees in Autzen Stadium.
By: Rob Moseley
EUGENE, Ore. — To step through the gates at Autzen Stadium is to enter a whirlwind of community camaraderie, on-field intensity and quintessential Americana. A couple thousand very worthy members of the local area will get to experience all of it Friday thanks to the generosity of the UO athletic department and its supporters.
When the Oregon football team hosts Portland State on Friday evening, around 1,000 local kids and about as many veterans will be in attendance. The veterans will be on hand after securing tickets through Vet Tix, a platform through which ticket holders can donate seats to U.S. military veterans, while the kids’ visit is being facilitated by The Hope Project, a local non-profit.
The UO athletic department has worked with each organization for the better part of a decade, helping facilitate access to Ducks athletic events for those who might otherwise not be able to attend. The Hope Project works with local school districts to identify local kids who would benefit most from the service.
“They allow us to bring kids to these games who otherwise wouldn’t experience it,” said Ken Brown, a local pastor who is The Hope Project’s executive director. “A lot of these kids, this is their only time, especially in Autzen.”
Brown said The Hope Project has facilitated close to 10,000 opportunities for local kids and their families to attend UO athletics events in recent years, including NCAA and Big Ten championship meets at Hayward Field. In the past it has partnered with prominent Oregon alums such as Marcus Mariota, Sabrina Ionescu and Justin Herbert to provide free tickets for the kids.
Fans who have heard jubilant cheering from sections packed with kids at nonconference matinees for programs such as UO women’s basketball and softball know well the efforts of The Hope Project. Friday night, those cheers will emanate from sections of Autzen Stadium.
The action on the field will stoke the kids’ jubilation, as will other aspects of the game-day experience in the stadium.
“When we get thank you cards and stuff, they’ll say, yeah, the game’s great,” Brown said. “But they also write things like, man, there’s a motorcycle! And there’s a Duck! And we were on the big screen!”
Vet Tix, meanwhile, is a platform by which existing ticket holders can donate tickets they might not otherwise use. Veterans and their families can apply to receive the tickets free of charge. As with The Hope Project, it often provides the first chance for a local fan to attend a match-up in Autzen, and share in the joy of an Oregon football game day in the stadium.