Go Ducks, go! Fight, Ducks, fight! Swim Ducks, swim? As Big Ten Media Days kicked off this week in Indianapolis, a new face to the conference made a big splash.
A giant inflatable Oregon Ducks mascot was floating in the White River. The Duck was next to White River State Park, a prime location for Media Days attendees to walk past on their way to Lucas Oil Stadium and a premonition of games to come at Lucas Oil as the Ducks seek to earn their spot in the Big Ten Championship this year.
It is unclear just how tall the floating duck is, but it’s head towers over the bridge, more than a dozen feet above the river. Sources from the Indy Star say it weighs 1,600 pounds. The Indy Star also shared photos of set up crew swimming through the White River with ropes and bungee cords, trying to secure the duck.
Oregon is one of four new schools to join the Big Ten. Joining alongside the ducks is UCLA, USC and Washington. In the now 18-school-sized conference, competition for the spotlight is even tougher than before. At least as far as the spotlight at Media Days is concerned, Oregon has won their spot in the limelight thanks to the floating mascot stunt.
The former Pac-12 schools aren’t the only new faces for Big Ten Media Days. New head football coaches for Indiana, Michigan and Michigan State will all take the stage to talk about their upcoming seasons.
Unfortunately for all the other programs at Media Days, though, all social media can talk about is the floating duck. So far, no other schools have pulled off a competing stunt. Fans will debate season records and Heisman winners another day. Some of the most popular posts to X and Instagram are below.
