The 69-acre (28 ha) campus is directly south of the Oregon State Capitol, affording students access to internships in the institutions of Oregon government. Much of downtown Salem, including the Capitol, is on land once owned by the university. Railroad tracks are located directly east of the school, with the Salem Amtrak Station near the southeastern edge of campus.[14] South of the school is Salem Hospital, with Bush's Pasture Park and the school's McCulloch Stadium on the opposite of the hospital.[14][15] Willamette's core area lies between State Street on the north, Bellevue Street on the south, Winter Street to the west, and 12th Street on the east.[14] On the west side of Winter Street lie the university's graduate programs in education, management, and law.[15] Additional school properties outside of the core area are the Hallie Ford Museum of Art, the Oregon Civic Justice Center, the Tokyo International University of America campus, and several residential buildings.[15] Willamette owns several other properties along state street west of the main campus.[14] The school plans on redeveloping portions of the west end of campus in order to better tie the campus to downtown Salem.[14] These plans include adding a performing arts center.[14] Academic buildings on campus include Eaton Hall and Smullin/Walton Hall, which are primarily used by liberal arts departments. Science classes are generally held in the Collins and Olin buildings. Willamette's music program is housed by the G. Herbert Smith Auditorium and Fine Arts building, as well as the Mary Stuart Rogers auditorium. Administrative offices are found in the Putnam University Center and Waller Hall, Willamette's oldest building. Waller Hall was built using bricks made of clay from the campus quad. Willamette's newest buildings, including the Goudy Commons, Kaneko Commons (a residential college opened in the Fall of 2006),[16] and Rogers Music Center have all been designed by the Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Architects. Ford Hall, near Gatke Hall on State Street, is a new academic building completed in the Fall of 2009. In addition to Greek housing, eleven residence halls exist on the Willamette campus. Undergraduate students are under contract to live on campus for two years, after which they may move into private residence or one of the university's apartment complexes. Lausanne Hall, originally home of the university's Women's College, is now one of the university's undergraduate dormitories. The building commemorates the ship that brought the reinforcements to Lee in 1839. York Hall commemorates the university's first graduate. Hudson's Bay and the Mill Race that runs through campus A stream runs through the middle of the campus. Starting across 12th Street and flowing through the length of the campus, it passes by the Martha Springer Botanical Garden, the Hatfield Library, Hudson Hall, the University Center, Smith Auditorium and Goudy Commons. This artificial stream is named the Mill Race, although it is commonly referred to as "the Mill Stream." It forms a "W" shape when viewed from the University Center. Also from this vantage point one can view "the impossible triangle," a metal structure erected at the suggestion of a physics professor, M. B Stewart. As a tradition, undergraduate students are thrown into the Mill Stream on their birthday. Biology and environmental science classes utilize the Mill Stream as an authentic research venue. As part of the freshman matriculation ceremony, new students place a lit candle into the Mill Stream and watch it float downstream. On campus athletics facilities are located in the southeast portion of the campus. These include a soccer field, tennis courts, and the Sparks Center.[15] Softball, football, and baseball stadiums are located outside of the main campus. Willamette also operates the Willamette University Forest at Zena, a 305 acres (123 ha) research forest in the Eola Hills west of Salem.[17]

The Willamette University Bearcats compete at the NCAA Division III level. Willamette fields teams in baseball, basketball, cross-country, golf, football, rowing, soccer, softball, tennis, track & field, and volleyball. Willamette is a founding member of the Northwest Conference league. The football team plays home games at McCulloch Stadium south of the main campus, while basketball, swimming, and volleyball teams use the Lestle J. Sparks Center for home events. At or adjacent to McCulloch are the Charles Bowles Track used for track meets and Roy S. "Spec" Keene Stadium where baseball plays its home games.[46] In 1991, the university started the Willamette University Athletic Hall of Fame. In 1993, the school earned its only team sport national championship when the men's basketball team earned the NAIA Division 2 title.[42] As an undergraduate, Olympian Nick Symmonds won the 800 NCAA championship race all four years and the 1,500 NCAA championship race as a freshman, junior, and senior.[47] Symmonds later went on to place fifth in the 800 meter run at the 2012 Olympic Games. In 2007, Sarah Zerzan won the NCAA Division 3 title in cross country.[48] The football team finished its best season in 1997 when they lost in the national championship game, and that year Liz Heaston became the first woman to ever play in a college football game when the Bearcats beat rival Linfield College.[42]