Quick Links: Fans In Attendance This Weekend, and WBB Picks Up Another Transfer

Time for a quick round up of Beaver news from the past few days.

Ted Bates, a former Beaver football player and an Oregon State Hall of Famer, has passed away at the age of 84. Bates play for Oregon State from 1956 to 1958. During that time he played in the 1957 Rose Bowl, and was named a First Team All American by the American Football Coaches Association and Walter Camp.

After his time at Oregon State, Bates was selected by the then Chicago Cardinals in the fifth round of the NFL Draft. He played in Chicago, later St. Louis, from 1959 to 1962, then played for the AFL’s New York Jets in 1963.

After his football career, ended by a back injury, Bates worked for the City of Pasadena’s Parks and Recreation department, focusing on programs for underprivileged inner city children.

Bates was inducted into the Oregon State Hall of Fame, and in 1996 the State of Oregon Sports Hall of Fame followed suit.

After a tense few days, it appears that fans will be able to attend this weekend’s Oregon State athletic events. Tuesday, it appeared that Benton County’s Covid-19 risk level was going to be raised to “Extreme Risk,” but later that day it was announced that Benton would remain at “High Risk” instead. That means fans will be allowed at 15% capacity.

This weekend’s events will be headlined by a scrimmage Saturday morning, giving fans their first glimpse at 2021’s football team. Tickets are first come, first serve, and the gates open at 9:30 AM, so get there early. This weekend also brings a home series for Oregon State baseball against the USC Trojans, and for Oregon State softball against Arizona State.

In other Covid-19 news, the university announced earlier this week that they would require all staff and students to be vaccinated this fall. OSU is not the only university making this call, fellow Pac-12 member Washington has a similar rule in place, and other Oregon schools such as Willamette University and Lewis & Clark will also require vaccination.

Oregon State Women’s Basketball picked up another big grad transfer, with Saint Mary’s Emily Codding announcing her decision to play for the Beavers earlier this week. Codding, a 6’0” guard, has been a huge scorer for the Gaels. Last season she was limited by injury, but during her junior year she averaged 14.7 points per game and 8.4 rebounds per game. She’ll bring some much needed depth for the Beavers, and could compete for a starting spot.