Oregon Ducks AD Rob Mullens Joins 750 The Game To Talk Spring Sports Success And Football Scheduling
750 The Game Staff
Oregon Ducks athletics director Rob Mullens joined John Canzano (Afternoons 3-6 p.m.) on 750 The Game on Friday, hours ahead of watching the Ducks softball program host Liberty in the Super Regionals.
Oregon is two wins away from punching a ticket to the eight-team Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City, Okla., next week.
“Super excited,” Mullens opened. “(Coach Melissa Lombardi) and the team have done a phenomenal job. We had a great year winning the Big Ten regular season. And you get the opportunity when you do that to host and to create an atmosphere like we did last weekend and carry us through Sunday night, late, incredible buzz built immediately for this week, we were sold out at The Jane by the middle of the week. So excited to get to tonight.”
Mullens is thrilled to see the support for the softball program by other athletes on Oregon’s campus, including the football team.
“It makes us quite proud. We speak about family, we speak about culture, we like for our student-athletes to get out of their individual team locker room, and connect with other student-athletes. That’s next level. Student-athletes support student-athletes and be part of that family. It was fun to see.”
As for what it would mean for this Oregon softball team to win two of the next three with Liberty?
“It would be the cherry on top,” Mullens said. “This team has done amazing things. The energy in that dugout, the togetherness, how they support one another. The connection is pretty deep. All these young women dream of this opportunity to play a Super Regional at home, for the chance to go to OKC, and it’s always fun to see young people get to live a dream.”
Mullens also touched on the upcoming ramifications of the House settlement on athletic departments across the country including at Oregon, and what it means for the future of the industry. He also answered a question about the future of the Civil War rivalry football game with Oregon State, which currently is not scheduled past next season.
“That game matters to us, for our state, to our fans,” said Mullens. “We’re fortunate we have that game at Autzen this year. The two years after that are a little complicated. We’re still continuing to have dialogue with Oregon State, we’d love to make that happen. It is a little complicated for those two years, for ’26 and ’27. We don’t have a solution yet. But I do see that game continuing in the future, for sure.
“The appeal is that we’re forty miles apart and it matters to our communities, it matters to our state. And there’s something fun about playing folks who are in close proximity. Where the visiting fans can come en masse. So that’s fun. Not having to pay the cost of another charter is helpful as well, it helps on both sides of the ledger.”
Check out the full conversation with Rob Mullens on 750 The Game at the podcast below.
John Canzano delivers the Bald Faced Truth afternoons 3-6 p.m. on 750 The Game.