Eastern Washington University Athletics

Eventually becoming a standout in the NFL, Jeff Ogden came to Eastern as a walk-on who previously competed in track and field at a community college. By the time he was a senior in 1997, he developed into a second team All-America receiver and first team Academic All-American. In fact, until Cooper Kupp from 2014-16, Ogden was the only football player in school history to earn both NCAA Football Championship Subdivision All-America honors and Academic All-America honors in the same season. He caught a school-record 71 passes in 1997 for school records at the time of 1,376 yards and 13 touchdowns as Eastern finished with a 12-2 record, won the outright Big Sky Conference title and advanced to the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA) “Final Four.” Both of his school records stood for seven seasons. Including playoff games, he closed his career with 84 receptions for 1,632 yards and 13 touchdowns, and his average of 19.4 yards per reception stood as a school record for two years. In a 40-35 victory at Montana on Oct, 18, 1997, he caught six passes for 217 yards and three touchdowns. Two weeks later he had 151 receiving yards with several big catches down the stretch in a 24-21 Governor’s Cup victory over Idaho on Nov. 1, 1997, at Albi Stadium in Spokane. The 1997 football team he played on was inducted into the Eastern Athletics Hall of Fame in 2012. He was selected by the Eastern Athletic Department to the “100 for 100” All-Time Football Team, which was honored on Sept. 27, 2008, to commemorate Eastern’s 100th year of football. In 1999, Dick Zornes selected Ogden to the "Z" Team consisting of 36 players that he felt were the best players and made the largest contributions toward the 158 games Eastern won in Zornes' 26-year association with Eagle Football. Ogden was born with foot problems that led doctors to believe he might forever walk with a limp, but he eventually became a top-ranked youth gymnast. In high school, he bounced from receiver to running back to quarterback, as well as defense, while battling a back injury. After one year as a pole vaulter at Clackamas Community College, he came to Eastern after his brother and former Eagle football player Pat Ogden (1986-87-88-89) convinced the coaching staff to allow him to walk on. An undrafted free agent, he spent his professional career defying the odds. Ogden played five seasons in the NFL with the Dallas Cowboys (1998 and 1999), Miami Dolphins (2000 and 2001) and Baltimore Ravens (2002) as a wide receiver and return specialist. In five NFL seasons, he played in 67 regular season games – including 64 of a possible 64 games in his first four years in the league with 28 catches for 304 yards (10.9 average) and one touchdown, plus two had 57 punt returns (one an 81-yard touchdown), 15 kickoff returns and also played on kick coverage units. He set five records for the Dolphins – two in the regular season and three in the playoffs – and his 13.7 career punt return average is still a franchise best. In two NFL Playoff games for Miami, he also had a pair of catches and six punt returns for a 13.1 average with a long of 45. He concluded his career in 2002 by playing in three games for the Ravens and had two punt returns for 21 yards. However, in the previous four seasons, he played in all 16 games each year. In 2001, he caught six passes for 73 yards and a touchdown, and also returned 32 punts for 377 yards (11.8 average to rank eighth in the NFL). In 2000, he had two catches for 24 yards, and returned 19 punts for a franchise-record 17.0 average per return with an 81-yard return for a touchdown. Had he met the minimum to be ranked, he would have led the NFL in average per return. His 81-yard touchdown provided the final points in a 28-0 Dolphins run, as Miami won 28-20 after rallying from a 17-0 deficit. In 1999, he played in all 16 games for the Cowboys and finished with 12 catches for 144 yards and returned 12 kickoffs for a 21.0 average and four punts for a 7.0 average. As a rookie at Dallas in 1998, Ogden earned a spot on the team’s 53-man roster after catching seven passes for 126 yards in the preseason. He played in all 16 regular season games, finishing with eight catches for 63 yards, one rush for 12 yards and three kickoff returns for a 21.7 average. He also had 10 special teams tackles. He had his best day as a rookie against Seattle when he caught four passes for 26 yards, rushed once for 12 yards and had a tackle on special teams. He spent the spring/summer of 2000 leading the Rhein Fire of NFL Europa to the regular season championship (7-3 record) and the championship in the World Bowl. He earned All-Europa honors after ranking third in the league in receiving with 44 catches for 635 yards and seven touchdowns. He earned three player of the week awards before missing the last two weeks of the season with an injury. During his professional career, he worked with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Athletes in Action. He also created his own foundation; Jeff Ogden's Catch a Star Foundation, which provided financial aid to prospective adoptive parents. After his professional playing career was over, he was involved in a head-on car accident on Aug. 22, 2007, that left him bed-riden for four months with a variety of broken bones and injuries. The accident occurred when the driver of the other car, whose 13-year-old stepson died in the crash, veered into the lane of oncoming traffic. Ogden recovered and lived in the Pittsburgh, Pa., area where he owned a fitness club and helped coach a team that played in the Independent Women’s Football League. Ogden then moved to Austin, Texas, where he was a fitness club owner and instructor. In 2014, he appeared on “Millionaire Matchmaker” on the Bravo television network.­­­ He later ran the Jeff Ogden Training Camp in West Palm Beach, Fla., and now resides in Charlotte, N.C. He has an 18-year-old daughter named Peytan. Pat and Jeff grew up in Snohomish, Wash., and their parents are Lloyd and Janet Ogden.