Portland State Vikings | |
---|---|
University | Portland State University |
Conference | Big Sky Conference |
NCAA | Division I (FCS) |
Athletic director | John Johnson |
Location | Portland, Oregon |
Varsity teams | 14 |
Football stadium | Hillsboro Stadium |
Basketball arena | Viking Pavilion |
Softball stadium | Gordon Faber Recreation Complex |
Soccer stadium | Hillsboro Stadium |
Other venues | Blue Lake Regional Park Langdon Farms Golf Club |
Mascot | Victor E. Viking |
Nickname | Vikings |
Colors | Green, white, and silver[1] |
Website | www |
Portland State Vikings is the nickname of the NCAA-affiliated, intercollegiate athletic teams representing Portland State University of Portland, Oregon. The Vikings compete at the NCAA Division I level in basketball, soccer, volleyball, golf, tennis, softball, indoor and outdoor track and field, and cross country. The university has been a member of the Big Sky Conference since 1996. Along with the other Big Sky football programs, Viking football takes-part in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as NCAA Division I-AA.
Prior to joining Division I, the school won NCAA National Division II Championships in women's volleyball and wrestling. The school has also placed second twice nationally in football and once in women's basketball at the Division II level. Portland State's colors are forest green and white, and its mascot is the Viking manifested as "Victor E. Viking".
Among the more notable former PSU athletes are Freeman Williams and Neil Lomax. Freeman Williams was the NCAA Division I national men's basketball individual scoring leader in 1977 and 1978. Neil Lomax was a record-setting quarterback who went on to star for the then St. Louis Cardinals in the NFL. Football's "Run & Shoot" offense was first implemented at the college level at PSU by then coach Darryl "Mouse" Davis. Davis' quarterback protégées were Lomax and June Jones. Jones, the former head coach at the University of Hawaii and then at SMU, is also a proponent of the Run & Shoot.
Torre Chisholm was named new athletic director March 26, 2007. Chisholm replaced interim AD Teri Mariani, who filled that role since February 2006 when Tom Burman left for the University of Wyoming. Washington State University AD Jim Sterk preceded Burman as PSU AD. After an extensive nationwide search for an athletic director, John Johnson was selected by PSU president Stephen Percy and introduced on March 15, 2022. He began work on campus May 1. From 2019-21, Johnson served as senior deputy athletic director at the University of Nebraska. From 2004-2019 he was the senior associate director of athletics for Washington State University. His career has also included being director of athletics at Weber State University (1997-2004) and Eastern Washington University (1993-97).
Home games for football and soccer are held at Hillsboro Stadium, and home games for basketball are held on-campus at the Peter W. Stott Center.