PORTLAND, Ore.-- After over four decades of dedication, commitment and service to the University of Portland, University President Rev. E. William Beauchamp honored the legacy of former Pilot baseball coach and athletic director Joe Etzel in the most appropriate manner, by renaming Pilot Stadium to Joe Etzel Field. The announcement came at a tribute dinner for Etzel Thursday night as part of the Alumni Weekend celebration.
“It is fitting that Joe’s remarkable legacy on The Bluff as teacher, coach, and administrator be celebrated by renaming the baseball field where his commitment to the University began,” said University president Rev. E. William Beauchamp, C.S.C. “Under Joe’s leadership, the University’s athletic programs rose to national prominence, and they did so with our trademark attention to academic quality, service to the community, and responsibility to mission. Joe Etzel did his job with a rare commitment to helping his student-athletes become not only superb athletes but superb men and women. For that he will always be honored by the University.”
“This was a complete surprise. It is a tremendous gesture by the University to honor me in this way,” said Joe Etzel.
Etzel, who retired on June 1 to cap a 43-year run in Pilot athletics, served as the head baseball coach from 1966 until 1986, while also taking over athletic director responsibilities in 1970. Etzel came to The Bluff as a pitcher for the Pilot baseball team in 1957 and still ranks high on the list of several school records. He is first in career win percentage (.741) with a 20-7 record, second in career ERA (2.45) and wins (20), fourth in walks per nine innings (2.18) and was a member of the 1957 and 1958 Pilot NCAA playoff teams.
Etzel’s 21-year reign as the university’s head baseball coach was highlighted by being named the Nor-Pac Baseball Coach of the Year in 1979 after the Pilots captured the conference title and an NCAA regional playoff berth. Under Etzel’s coaching tenure, 34 players went to the pro ranks with four reaching the major league level. Among the notable professionals was Ken Dayley, who played 12 years in the bigs after being the third overall selection in the 1980 Major League Baseball Draft. Bill Krueger, Tom Lampkin and Steve Wilson also went on to have successful major league careers after playing for Etzel.
His success as a coach carried over to one of the longest administrative careers in NCAA history, as Etzel led the athletics department for 34 years. The University’s intercollegiate athletic program consisted of three coaches and five men’s teams when Etzel took the reigns in 1970. Today, there are 20 full-time and nine part-time coaches for 16 men’s and women’s teams - all competing at the NCAA Division I level.
Twelve Pilot teams have become members of the West Coast Conference during Etzel’s tenure, the first being men’s basketball, in 1976. Volleyball, women’s basketball, cross country, tennis, golf, and soccer followed. Portland’s baseball program joined the Pacific-10 Northern Division in 1982 before moving to the WCC in 1996.
The University also has built four athletic facilities throughout the Etzel era: The Earle A. and Virginia H. Chiles Center (basketball/volleyball), Louisiana-Pacific Tennis Center, Harry A. Merlo Field (soccer) and of course, Pilot Stadium.
The construction of Pilot Stadium began following the 1986 season and was completed just before the 1988 baseball season. With a seating capacity of 1,500, a press box, batting cages, concession stand and one of the finest natural grass surfaces in the region, Pilot Stadium was a vision that Etzel made a reality.
