University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
True Blue Celebration Another Success
June 9, 2008
The UCLA Athletic Department would like to thank all of its fans and supporters who participated in the third annual True Blue Celebration last Saturday night at the John Wooden Center.
"We want to thank everyone who supported the event and made it a success, especially the fans and donors who came to campus and helped us raise money to support our student-athletes," said Athletic Director Dan Guerrero. "Everyone had a great time and there were some outstanding items, both in the silent and live auctions, that any Bruin fan would be excited to own. It was also a great experience to rub elbows with some of our great student-athletes of the past."
Approximately 800 people, including Bruin fans, coaches, staff and former and current student-athletes attended the event, which benefited student-athletes in all sports.
The evening started at 5:00 p.m., when the Wooden Center doors opened for the silent auction. Fans had until 7:00 p.m. to bid on close to 700 different items. There were autographed items from some of the top athletes and coaches in UCLA history, including John Wooden, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Walton, Troy Aikman, Don MacLean, Kenny Easley, Gary Beban, Tracy Murray, Karch Kiraly and Gail Goodrich, just to name a few.
There were various vacation packages, restaurant packages, entertainment packages and all types of autographed uniforms from UCLA players and other local teams. Among the autographed uniforms were the "First to 100" 2007-08 men's basketball uniforms of Lorenzo Mata Real, Russell Westbrook and Kevin Love.
There were also several former and current players in attendance during the silent auction and dinner, including 1977 NCAA men's basketball player of the year Marques Johnson, 1960 Olympic gold medal winner Rafer Johnson, two-time Super Bowl champion safety James Washington, Hall of Fame football coach Terry Donahue, NCAA champion basketball stars Mike Warren, Lynn Shackelford and Lucius Allen and quarterbacks Cade McNown, Wayne Cook, David Norrie and Matt Stevens.
Also in attendance were coaches and student-athletes from virtually every UCLA team, including new head football coach Rick Neuheisel, new women's basketball head coach Nikki Caldwell and men's head basketball coach Ben Howland, who has led the Bruins to three straight Final Fours.
At 7:00 p.m., dinner was served. Several outstanding restaurants provided fans with "A Taste of UCLA," as fans could choose from pasta to Asian food to barbeque and everything in between.
At the conclusion of the dinner, the live auction program started. UCLA football radio announcers Chris Roberts and Matt Stevens served as the emcees. The program began with Roberts and Stevens introducing the current head or assistant coaches and student-athletes in attendance, with a special mention for the three teams - women's water polo, women's tennis and men's golf - that won NCAA titles this year. Virtually every sport was represented, and the coaches and players sat at various assigned tables with Bruin fans.
Roberts and Stevens then introduced James Washington, who moderated a football panel consisting of former head coach Terry Donahue and four of his quarterbacks who led the Bruins to Pac-10 titles - Wayne Cook, Cade McNown, Davis Norrie and Rick Neuheisel. They all told stories about their recruitment by Donahue, among other items and the crowd was very appreciative of the panel.
Then it was time for the live auction. Bidding for a VIP package for the USC football game that included two people running through the Rose Bowl tunnel with the team and watching the game from the sideline sold for $10,000. At one point, Neuheisel joked about letting the winner call the first play to spur the bidding, and then added that he had the right to call an audible.
Another VIP football package for four fans to run through the tunnel and watch the Tennessee game from the sidelines sold for $10,000, as did a trip with the football team to Washington for two, including sideline passes.
Dinner for four with Ben Howland sold for $12,000, a "First to 100" banner signed by all the living UCLA head coaches to win an NCAA championship sold for $3,000 and the opportunity to play a basketball game for the winning bidder and 20 friends in Pauley Pavilion sold for $7,000. A 2007 Blue Pearl Harley Davidson sold for $12,000, two courtside seats for the USC basketball game brought in $3,000 and the 1968 NCAA basketball championship banner, autographed by the team, went for $5,000.
 Head women's basketball coach Nikki Caldwell on the Harley Davidson  |
|
Overall, the night was a great one for Bruin fans, coaches, student-athletes and staff. The coaches mingled and enjoyed their discussions with the fans and thanked them for their participation. Once again, all of those involved with the True Blue Celebration want to extend their thanks to the fans that attended and made the event so memorable.
Remember True Blue Celebration IV will take place next year at about the same time. You should plan early to join the athletic department for a great night of fun and excitement.