University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Coach Terry Donahue (l) and Kenny Easley (5)
Donahue, Easley to Be Inducted Into California Sports Hall of Fame
June 22, 2023 | Football
Two of the Bruins' best in football, head coach Terry Donahue and standout safety Kenny Easley, will be inducted into the California Sports Hall of Fame on Sunday, June 25. The induction reception and dinner will take place at the Ontario Convention Center. Also included in the Class of 2023 are Alexi Lalas, Rick Lozano, Norm Nixon and Dave Stewart.
Coach 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 reins as UCLA's head coach, at age 31, beginning with the 1976 season.
The first person to appear in a Rose Bowl Game as a player, assistant coach and head coach at his alma mater, Donahue would go on to post a conference-record 98 wins (98-51-5) and a UCLA 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 coaching tenure, 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: Easley, QB Troy Aikman, LB Carnell Lake, K John Lee, RB Freeman McNeil, LB Ken Norton Jr., OL Jonathan Ogden, LB Jerry Robinson and S Eric Turner. 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 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. ESPN named Donahue one of the 150 Greatest College Coaches in its 2019 celebration of College Football's 150th Anniversary.
Easley was regarded as one of the nation's best defenders, playing free safety for the Bruins from 1977-1980. He started from the second game of his true freshman season and went on to become only the second three-time consensus All-American in UCLA and Conference history (1978-1980). The native of Chesapeake, Va. finished ninth in voting for the 1980 Heisman Trophy. He became the first four-time first-team all-conference selection in league history. Easley ranks first on the all-time UCLA career interceptions list with 19 and is fifth in all-time tackles (374). He also still ranks among the all-time top 10 at UCLA in career punt returns (45). His No. 5 jersey is one of nine Bruin retired numbers.
A four-time first-team All-Pro and five-time Pro Bowl safety, Easley was selected by the Seattle Seahawks with the No. 4 overall pick in the 1981 NFL Draft. He recorded 32 interceptions through seven professional seasons, racking up 538 return yards and three touchdowns in the process. He earned AFC Defensive Rookie of the Year honors in 1981 and had a League-leading 10 picks including two pick-sixes in 1984, when he was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year. Easley was named to the NFL's All-Decade Team of the 1980s. Easley was the sixth Bruin to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2017. In 1991, he was inducted into the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame and the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame (College Hall of Fame).
The California Sports Hall of Fame, founded in 2006, has a mission to capture the passion children and young adults have for sports and direct that energy to enhance their educational and personal goals. Through the organization's efforts and resources, the California Sports Hall of Fame supports and promotes education and sports for underprivileged children and young adults. The qualification for nomination is to have had an impact on sports in California while playing, coaching, writing or announcing sports for any school, team or sports media company in the state.
Coach 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 reins as UCLA's head coach, at age 31, beginning with the 1976 season.
The first person to appear in a Rose Bowl Game as a player, assistant coach and head coach at his alma mater, Donahue would go on to post a conference-record 98 wins (98-51-5) and a UCLA 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 coaching tenure, 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: Easley, QB Troy Aikman, LB Carnell Lake, K John Lee, RB Freeman McNeil, LB Ken Norton Jr., OL Jonathan Ogden, LB Jerry Robinson and S Eric Turner. 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 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. ESPN named Donahue one of the 150 Greatest College Coaches in its 2019 celebration of College Football's 150th Anniversary.
Easley was regarded as one of the nation's best defenders, playing free safety for the Bruins from 1977-1980. He started from the second game of his true freshman season and went on to become only the second three-time consensus All-American in UCLA and Conference history (1978-1980). The native of Chesapeake, Va. finished ninth in voting for the 1980 Heisman Trophy. He became the first four-time first-team all-conference selection in league history. Easley ranks first on the all-time UCLA career interceptions list with 19 and is fifth in all-time tackles (374). He also still ranks among the all-time top 10 at UCLA in career punt returns (45). His No. 5 jersey is one of nine Bruin retired numbers.
A four-time first-team All-Pro and five-time Pro Bowl safety, Easley was selected by the Seattle Seahawks with the No. 4 overall pick in the 1981 NFL Draft. He recorded 32 interceptions through seven professional seasons, racking up 538 return yards and three touchdowns in the process. He earned AFC Defensive Rookie of the Year honors in 1981 and had a League-leading 10 picks including two pick-sixes in 1984, when he was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year. Easley was named to the NFL's All-Decade Team of the 1980s. Easley was the sixth Bruin to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2017. In 1991, he was inducted into the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame and the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame (College Hall of Fame).
The California Sports Hall of Fame, founded in 2006, has a mission to capture the passion children and young adults have for sports and direct that energy to enhance their educational and personal goals. Through the organization's efforts and resources, the California Sports Hall of Fame supports and promotes education and sports for underprivileged children and young adults. The qualification for nomination is to have had an impact on sports in California while playing, coaching, writing or announcing sports for any school, team or sports media company in the state.
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