Donahue was a class guy. Actually, my favorite UCLA coach. Probably my favorite non-Trojan coach in college football. Competitive yet very gracious. Great member of the Newport Beach community, as well. Everyone liked TD down here. Funny, Haden dropped into Wilma's Diner on Balboa Island a few years ago and everyone ignored him. Pretty amazing that a Bruin was more liked and respected in Trojan Country than Pat.
Thanks for the classy comments. Ask the USC fans on this board how they feel about Haden and you won't be amazed that everyone ignored Haden and liked and respected Donahue more than Haden.
I knew some of the slapdicks on this board would use this opportunity to shit on Donahue. Of course, as always, that speaks volumes about them and nothing about Donahue.
Terry was not a great coach, but he was a good coach, a great Bruin, and an excellent ambassador for UCLA and the conference. He will be missed. R.I.P., Terry.
@tempomacdougall He'd been there forever, probably needed some distance. He probably should've moved on by 1990 or so. And he continued to remain a good ambassador for UCLA and did serve as a consultant for many years. Even Chip Kelly paid tribute to how helpful Donahue was when Kelly was hired.
No, sorry, his ceiling as a football coach may have been limited, but no one can question his dedication to UCLA.
It's still the Green Board, waldo. Just slightly neutered. I wouldn't take it personally. Donahue was a good coach and represented the conference well. He had em rolling in the early/ mid 80's. The '82 game still stings as SC's two point conversion to win at the end of the game failed. JROB went for the win - to his credit. That ucla team definitely had more talent on the field. At least on offense. Great kickers then, Lee for ucla and Jordan for SC. I think it was the first year for the bruins at the rose bowl but don't quote me. I don't remember much other than friggin' Scott Tinsley with the crazy comeback only to be denied. ucla's defense was damn good that year.
Terry was great taking the Pac10 title from USC so many times... Gaston Green baby... eric ball... Terry Tore up the Trojans in the 80s and 90s... Terry was 10-5 from 1980 to 1995 when he retired. 10-5 ain't too shabby for a fag school... how does a prviate school with all that money let fags beat them so often?
@art_vandele I'm glad at least one of the posters here bought their style from the old board with em. Too bad John didn't follow you here as well. Guess he's not as tech savvy.
One of my all-time favorite non-Oregon coaches. There was a very relatable, likable presence that he exuded around him. Not your typical tough-guy coach, more like a Marv Levy type. Great coach and great guy!! Very sad. He will be missed.
I Remember JROB at the MQB luncheon talking about the annual steak dinner bet they made on the big game. They seemed to genuinely like and respect one another. With their legacies on the line they were decent & classy competitors. Pretty cool way to do it.
And he so loved UCLA that he left at the first good chance and never returned in spite of many requests. He privately disdained UCLA and its cheap-knockoff counterfeit averageness.
it's not his fault he was "elected" to the college football hall of fame, but by accepting it he alone ruined the entire institution forever. that's his legacy.
doubt he joins wormfood wooden in hell who never took any responsibility for his CRIMES. sc
Terry Donahue, the winningest coach in Pacific-12 Conference and UCLA football history, passed away on Sunday evening, July 4, at his home in Newport Beach, Calif., surrounded by family, following a two-year battle with cancer. He was 77.
Donahue devoted the majority of his adult life to championing UCLA after enrolling at the school as a walk-on defensive lineman. In his first season (1965) in Westwood as a student-athlete, the 190-pound lineman helped lead the Bruins to the program’s first-ever Rose Bowl victory with an upset of previously unbeaten and No. 1-ranked Michigan State. He went on to serve as an assistant coach for the Bruins under Pepper Rodgers and Dick Vermeil and then took over the reigns as UCLA’s head coach, at age 31, beginning with the 1976 season.
Donahue, the first person to appear in a Rose Bowl Game as a player, assistant coach and head coach, would go on to post a conference-record 98 wins (98-51-5) and a school-record 151 wins (151-74-8). In a 20-year span, he won or shared five conference titles (1982, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1993) while finishing first or second in the league standings 12 times. The Bruins captured wins in three Rose Bowls (1983, 1984, 1986) during his tenure and he became the first college coach to come away with bowl game victories in seven consecutive seasons (1983 Rose Bowl, 1984 Rose Bowl, 1985 Fiesta Bowl, 1986 Rose Bowl, 1986 Freedom Bowl, 1987 Aloha Bowl, 1989 Cotton Bowl), including four New Year’s Day wins in a row. Donahue’s Bruins recorded seven straight top-20 finishes in the final Associated Press football poll from 1982-88.
During his 20-year head coaching reign, Donahue’s Bruin teams produced 40 wins over ranked opponents culminating with his final coaching victory, a 24-20 decision in the L.A. Coliseum over No. 11 USC in 1995. He posted a 10-9-1 career ledger in battles against the crosstown rivals. Donahue’s UCLA teams yielded 34 first-team All-America team selections, a list featuring some of the top performers in school history --- LB Jerry Robinson, S Kenny Easley, RB Freeman McNeil, K John Lee, LB Ken Norton Jr., QB Troy Aikman, LB Carnell Lake, S Eric Turner and OL Jonathan Ogden. Fourteen of Donahue’s Bruins were chosen in the first-round of the NFL Draft, including future Pro Football Hall of Famers Aikman, Easley and Ogden.
Donahue himself was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2000. In 1997, he was welcomed into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame. Donahue joined the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame with the class of 2001.
@BigBallss Good question. I take partial responsibility for the 8-game streak.
I turned 40 in '88 and decided I was too old to be bringing the bear into the game, besides which it took up a lot of space and security measures were making it more difficult to get in every year. So beginning in '89 I would take the bear in my car, display it during our tailgate, then return it to the car. If SC won, someone in the car would hold it through the moon roof on the drive home. The other 364 days each year, it resides in my garage.
This is my second bear. I made the first one in '67. After the '68 game I took it onto the field, where I encountered the UCLA yell leaders (this was the Engineer Geoff era) and the Kelps, who took it and tossed it into the Bruin Band; the band tore it up. I made a new one in '69, the year I met my wife. For her, the bear was, shall we say, an acquired taste. The picture in the avatar shows me and a buddy on the Coliseum track after the '72 game.
@SC Gator great story, the bruin yell leaders grabbed the bear? I had a brief encounter with the UCLA yell leaders at the rose bowl. Minding my own business too. For guys wearing powder blue they were quite aggressive. No calming effect on them.that pic from 1972 is about to turn 50 years old next season. Great run! I have a pic from 2005 where I w3nt on the field post game and I’m standing next to Reggie Bush. I recorded the game and later took the pic from the TV still. Maybe one day I will post it, I’m wearing a #3 jersey and Reggie is looking at me sideways like, “ do i know this guy? Why the fawk is he standing next to me? Security!”. thanks For the context regarding your avatar.
Donahue was a class guy. Actually, my favorite UCLA coach. Probably my favorite non-Trojan coach in college football. Competitive yet very gracious. Great member of the Newport Beach community, as well. Everyone liked TD down here. Funny, Haden dropped into Wilma's Diner on Balboa Island a few years ago and everyone ignored him. Pretty amazing that a Bruin was more liked and respected in Trojan Country than Pat.
I knew some of the slapdicks on this board would use this opportunity to shit on Donahue. Of course, as always, that speaks volumes about them and nothing about Donahue.
Terry was not a great coach, but he was a good coach, a great Bruin, and an excellent ambassador for UCLA and the conference. He will be missed. R.I.P., Terry.
There must be two of them by now, but they are too busy being serviced by a long line of bruins to respond.
Terry was great taking the Pac10 title from USC so many times... Gaston Green baby... eric ball... Terry Tore up the Trojans in the 80s and 90s... Terry was 10-5 from 1980 to 1995 when he retired. 10-5 ain't too shabby for a fag school... how does a prviate school with all that money let fags beat them so often?
One of my all-time favorite non-Oregon coaches. There was a very relatable, likable presence that he exuded around him. Not your typical tough-guy coach, more like a Marv Levy type. Great coach and great guy!! Very sad. He will be missed.
I Remember JROB at the MQB luncheon talking about the annual steak dinner bet they made on the big game. They seemed to genuinely like and respect one another. With their legacies on the line they were decent & classy competitors. Pretty cool way to do it.
can’t believe JROB outlived him.....
And he so loved UCLA that he left at the first good chance and never returned in spite of many requests. He privately disdained UCLA and its cheap-knockoff counterfeit averageness.
Rot in Hell public school shitbag!
RIP to a fellow Notre Dame High alum. His father was a very well respected doctor in Los Angeles. Good family
Terry Donahue, the winningest coach in Pacific-12 Conference and UCLA football history, passed away on Sunday evening, July 4, at his home in Newport Beach, Calif., surrounded by family, following a two-year battle with cancer. He was 77.
Donahue devoted the majority of his adult life to championing UCLA after enrolling at the school as a walk-on defensive lineman. In his first season (1965) in Westwood as a student-athlete, the 190-pound lineman helped lead the Bruins to the program’s first-ever Rose Bowl victory with an upset of previously unbeaten and No. 1-ranked Michigan State. He went on to serve as an assistant coach for the Bruins under Pepper Rodgers and Dick Vermeil and then took over the reigns as UCLA’s head coach, at age 31, beginning with the 1976 season.
Donahue, the first person to appear in a Rose Bowl Game as a player, assistant coach and head coach, would go on to post a conference-record 98 wins (98-51-5) and a school-record 151 wins (151-74-8). In a 20-year span, he won or shared five conference titles (1982, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1993) while finishing first or second in the league standings 12 times. The Bruins captured wins in three Rose Bowls (1983, 1984, 1986) during his tenure and he became the first college coach to come away with bowl game victories in seven consecutive seasons (1983 Rose Bowl, 1984 Rose Bowl, 1985 Fiesta Bowl, 1986 Rose Bowl, 1986 Freedom Bowl, 1987 Aloha Bowl, 1989 Cotton Bowl), including four New Year’s Day wins in a row. Donahue’s Bruins recorded seven straight top-20 finishes in the final Associated Press football poll from 1982-88.
During his 20-year head coaching reign, Donahue’s Bruin teams produced 40 wins over ranked opponents culminating with his final coaching victory, a 24-20 decision in the L.A. Coliseum over No. 11 USC in 1995. He posted a 10-9-1 career ledger in battles against the crosstown rivals. Donahue’s UCLA teams yielded 34 first-team All-America team selections, a list featuring some of the top performers in school history --- LB Jerry Robinson, S Kenny Easley, RB Freeman McNeil, K John Lee, LB Ken Norton Jr., QB Troy Aikman, LB Carnell Lake, S Eric Turner and OL Jonathan Ogden. Fourteen of Donahue’s Bruins were chosen in the first-round of the NFL Draft, including future Pro Football Hall of Famers Aikman, Easley and Ogden.
Donahue himself was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2000. In 1997, he was welcomed into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame. Donahue joined the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame with the class of 2001.