Without doubt UCLA has best college sports legacy in U.S.

Monday, June 29, 1998

Without doubt UCLA has best college sports legacy in U.S.

COLUMN: Wise selections may help some squads succeed, while the
future looks bleak for others

Growing up in the Bay Area, I was constantly reminded by my
parents of rooting for certain college programs over others. It was
always Stanford over Cal, but ultimately the Santa Clara Broncos
over everyone else. Now you’re probably thinking, "What is this guy
talking about? He must be pretty screwed up to root for a school
like that."

The Broncos were that small school team that had little skill
and still managed to win. They are remembered by few for their
great baseball and basketball teams of earlier decades and for
providing a training ground for Kurt Rambis, whose name is forever
associated with the showtime era of the Los Angeles Lakers. Today,
they are most notably known for one of the greatest upsets in the
history of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, over the Arizona
Wildcats in 1993, led by current Dallas Maverick point guard Steve
Nash.

My perception changed when I arrived here in Westwood a year
ago. The history of UCLA athletics has been something I always took
to be unparalleled, even mythic.

For example, walking around campus and asking anyone about the
Wizard immediately sparked a long discussion about the man most
ingrained in Bruin sports lore: former men’s basketball coach John
Wooden.

The 10 titles in 12 years that Wooden managed to pull off – an
NCAA record – is a feat that may never be duplicated. The fact that
UCLA has been lucky enough to have witnessed the development of Lew
Alcindor (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), Bill Walton and Reggie Miller at
one time or another is unmatched. Most schools would flip head over
heels to have any one of these players to play for them and launch
their athletic programs off the ground. I’ve mentioned just this
tidbit of history, and we’ve only started with men’s
basketball.

Bruin athletics is filled with the names of former players that
are currently at the top of the professional ranks. UCLA football
has seen the likes of quarterback Troy Aikman, a three-time Super
Bowl champion with the Dallas Cowboys. And for all of you 49er fans
out there like myself, you were overjoyed when San Francisco stole
linebacker Ken Norton, Jr., another Bruin football great, from the
Cowboys.

Baseball has been fortunate to have had many former players make
their marks in the major leagues. First baseman Eric Karros of the
Dodgers and outfielder Troy Glaus of the Angels have been rising
stars in baseball in recent years. But, the sport can forever give
gratitude to UCLA for educating Jackie Robinson, a man of amazing
athletic ability and incredible spirit that enabled him to break
baseball’s color barrier and set the tone for integration in
American sports, and society as well.

Although I have only mentioned the "Big Three," do not be fooled
by my random order of discussion. UCLA was not named the top jock
school in the country in 1996 based on the achievements of a few
sports. Volleyball has brought the likes of Holly McPeak and Karch
Kiraly to grace the floor of legendary Pauley Pavilion before their
eventual illustrious careers on the AVP tour. Water polo, under
head coach Guy Baker, has garnered three national championships in
four years for the women’s team, while the men have established
themselves as a program not to be taken lightly, as evidenced by
their constant position near or at the top of the collegiate
rankings. Men’s cross country has seen the greatest Bruin distance
runner ever: Recent graduate Mebrahtom Keflezghi completed his
terrific career at UCLA with multiple NCAA titles and the first
Carl Lewis award, which is given to the nation’s top collegiate
runner. Men’s soccer won a national championship last year against
Virginia and has seen three of its top players drafted into the
ranks of MLS soccer. Finally, track and field has showcased the
talents of heptathlete Jackie-Joyner Kersee (whose husband Bob
Kersee is a former UCLA women’s head coach and currently an
assistant), sprinters Gail Devers and Ato Bolden, and jumper Mike
Marsh.

Featuring a wide variety of club sports ranging from crew to
rugby, sailing to surfing, fencing to shooting (with air guns, of
course) and many others, UCLA features an incredibly diverse array
of sports and athletic activities on one of the most beautiful and
spacious sport-venued campuses in the nation.

UCLA also features the largest intramural field in the country,
where soccer, football and softball are played year round. Played
during the winter and spring quarters at Pauley Pavilion, IM
basketball gives students a chance to play a fun and intense game
in the same place that some of the NBA’s greatest players still
practice. Magic Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant have been
the most recent players to have been spotted shooting around on the
floor at Pauley.

(And for all you rusty players, the rims are much more forgiving
when compared to the Wooden Athletic Center.)

Now that I have given you a slight glimpse of the past and
present of UCLA athletics and the impact that they have made to
what Bruin athletics truly is, let me make a proposition regarding
the future. This year, especially for the incoming freshmen and
outgoing seniors, may be your first and last time to make an impact
on UCLA history. True, studies are important and the main reason
why you are here. But, the fact must be acknowledged that athletics
are a part of the Bruin mystique.

For the freshmen, this is your first opportunity to experience
the aura and magic of UCLA. Sports are a major part of that,
whether you realize it now or not. Go see a game or two, especially
of a sport you may have never seen before or you think you may not
like. You’ll be surprised at how fun it can be. Whether it be at
the Rose Bowl, Pauley Pavilion, Jackie Robinson Stadium, Spaulding
Field, Easton Stadium, Drake Stadium or the Los Angeles Tennis
Center, UCLA athletics will be something you’ll always remember.
And one more thing; The Trojans prefer to be called the University
of Second Choice.

For the sophomores and juniors, you pretty much know the drill
and better be there.

For the seniors, this is your last chance to see the teams you
have been watching for the past three years (or maybe more).
Whether it be the basketball team making another run in March
Madness, the football team at the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day or
another team making its presence at the top of the rankings felt,
make an effort to see a few extra games. The last few games you see
will stay with you for probably the rest of your life after you
leave this mecca of collegiate sports in the best part of Los
Angeles: Westwood. And to not offend anyone, make sure you say
"Beat ‘SC!" and not something else that is profane.

Lastly, let me say that once you step on this hallowed ground
that we call "campus" to start class in the fall, make your plans
to attend UCLA athletic events. Your responsibility is to be a
full-time Bruin, whatever your previous or hometown loyalties may
be.

Cadman is a second-year student and assistant sports editor.