Los Angeles, CA- The Los Angeles Sparks rallied from 17 points down to secure the win over the Dallas Wings 76 -74 on Friday night.
The rally charge was led by Nneka Ogwumike scoring 20 points, with new comer Destanni Henderson dropping a career high18 points for the Sparks.
“Attacking and finding my teammates open and stay focus on getting to the rim,” said Henderson “We got a win.”
Destanni Henderson drives (Photo by Eric Brown Jr. / fi360 News)
The Wings were a tough matchup for the Sparks and they currently sit second in the Western Conference behind the defending champions the Las Vegas Aces.
Arike Ogunbowale coming off her late game ejection Wednesday night against the Atlanta Dream, got to work early in the first half with 14 points but was held to just 2 points in the entire second half.
Arike Ogunbowale comes down the court. (Photo by Eric Brown Jr. / fi360 News)
Sparks guard Jordin Canada had a solid game of her own with 18 points and 6 assists and was locked in defensively with 3 steals on the night. The win tonight snaps a 3 game losing streak at home for the Sparks.
Jordin Canada looks to score. (Photo by Eric Brown Jr. / fi360 News)
“Grit, passion, being competitive,” said Canada as key to the rally. “Came down to who wanted it more, and who had the most grit and we showed it tonight.”
With less than 5 minutes left in the 4th quarter, Chiney Ogwumike picked up her 6th foul, sending her to the bench early.
Ogwumike hugs Henderson after the win. (Photo by Eric Brown Jr. / fi360 News)
Although Dearica Hamby struggled offensively, she did manage to collect 10 rebounds tonight as was a consistent force on the defensive end of the court.
The teams face off again on Sunday at Crypto.com Arena before the Sparks head to the Windy City to play Chicago on Wednesday June 28th.
Seattle, WA – In another physical, challenging battle, the Seattle Storm fell to the Indiana Fever in a frustrating defeat. Seattle held strong throughout the first half, holding a lead over Indiana until a minute and a half were left in the third quarter. After that, things turned for the worse for the Storm, as the Fever went on a 17-point run that ran late into the fourth quarter. Seattle, like their loss to Connecticut just a few days ago, hit a speed bump offensively that ultimately hindered their ability to win this ballgame.
Through the first half, the Storm were able to avoid a poor start that they’d seen in a run of their past few games, trading baskets with a young and talented Fever team that somewhat mirrors this Seattle squad in ways. It was a balanced effort on both sides, as both starting fives seemed to trade baskets and each team got solid contributions up and down. Seattle seemed to have the offensive creativity flowing early, as Kia Nurse was very active, Ezi Magbegor continued to show strong paint presence, Ivana Dojkic flashed speed at the point guard position that earned her the starting job, Mercedes Russell was showing strength inside and Jewell Loyd was playing like herself. All seemed to be flowing well for Seattle, except perhaps some more stops defensively.
Seattle’s issue in their past two games, coincidentally against two teams that have more size than the Storm, has been a lull in offensive production in the second half. While Seattle was able to make a strong effort against the Sun to comeback, today’s deficit against the Fever put them in too much of a hole to try and crawl out of in the time left remaining in the game. After a Kia Nurse three-pointer with 4:11 to play in the third, Seattle had seemed to swing the momentum pendulum in their favor as they regained the lead for the first time in the middle of the second quarter. The offensive production had continued to spread across the starting five to that point, and it seemed like the Storm were finding the second gear that they needed to help them get over the hump.
Seattle Storm (Photo by Stan Morris / fi360 News)
“Couldn’t hit a shot. 21 missed shots, we can’t win games shooting 30% from the floor. I thought our defensive activity was fine. We were creating and generating turnovers and we’re taking contested shots and couldn’t hit a shot.” Noelle Quinn, Seattle Storm head coach, on what happened in the third quarter.
“I think so. I mean, there is a point in the game where we got over a hump, got up at 59-58 and then from there, not good things happened. The rebounding was an issue, the things that brought us success we were not doing, and that is a sign of what this season is kind of for us. It’s just recalibrating, and yes on the growth chart, it does happen to go up and back and down and around for this group. We can’t do it. Just don’t have the luxury of making the same mistakes and this was the first time Yeah, I did feel like that,” Noelle Quinn, Seattle Storm head coach, on if this loss felt like a regression as opposed to growth.
With two losses in their current homestand through as many games, the Storm aim to close out this current slate on a positive note when they play the finale of this three-game slate at Climate Pledge Arena. That game is on Saturday, June 24th, with a tipoff time of 6PM PST as the Phoenix Mercury come to town for the first time since their preseason battle back in May. That game will be broadcast on Twitter, FOX 13+, and Amazon Prime Video.
Seattle, WA – Returning from a road trip that saw them take two of three games, the Seattle Storm fell in a tightly contested battle with the Connecticut Sun. Some may have written the Storm off coming into this contest considering that the Sun have the second most wins in the WNBA, but Seattle was able to hang with Connecticut all the way until the very end of this contest. Storm guard Jewell Loyd had another monster performance, pouring in 33 points and being only one of three players that reached double digits for Seattle. Every Connecticut starter found double digits, including Alyssa Thomas who tallied a double-double, proving too much for the Storm who failed to capitalize on chances to close the gap.
Despite a sequence that saw the Sun get an early layup off the opening tipoff and an ensuing six point run, the Storm were able to overcome the early stumble to get situated in their own offensive attack. Despite several turnovers early on into that first quarter, the Storm were able to handle the Sun size in the paint early on to force missed shots and turnovers. While a mismatch in terms of size on paper, Seattle wasn’t letting that gain any sort of space in their mindset, and used their switches and help inside to mitigate that size. Ezi Magbegor slashing into the paint and presence on the paint helped to stretch out the Sun front court, and allowed the rest of Seattle to find the necessary pockets to get their offensive attack going.
Photo by Dylan Stewart / fi360 News
“I don’t think we started the game well either. You know, we missed a jump ball, gave up a layup, foul, missed two free throws. I just think our starts to those two quarters were indicative of how that quarter went. Obviously in the first, we picked it up, but the teaching point is we have to hold ourselves accountable especially after halftime and not settle. Continue our focus and do exactly what we did to get us here. Now obviously we do adjust as the game adjusts, but I thought we got away from our transition, ball screens, area before ball screens. I thought we defensively kind of were not communicating as much, miss on the defensive assignments, and so that’s just focus,” Noelle Quinn, Seattle Storm head coach, referencing the first half and what changed after halftime.
In the second half, the third quarter particularly, the Storm offense went into a lull. While Loyd was strong through the first half, the Sun did a better job of trapping her to limit the quality looks that she saw, and the issue of Seattle finding more consistent scoring came around. The usual contributors of Loyd and Ezi Magbegor were getting involved, with Jordan Horston finding a double-double off the bench, but the rest of Seattle’s roster failed to get much going. Veterans Kia Nurse and Sami Whitcomb continue to search for a spark, as they struggled from the field again. Starting point guard Ivana Dojkic, who earned the starting spot over Yvonne Turner, struggled tonight as well.
“We just had a lull. They elevated, and we stayed the same. Then we got going again in the fourth, but you can’t do that when you’re playing really good teams. We can’t do that in this league,” Jewell Loyd, Seattle Storm shooting guard, on what happened in the third quarter.
Photo by Dylan Stewart / fi360 News
Following tonight’s loss to the Connecticut Sun, the Storm continue a three game homestand when they return to action on Thursday, June 22nd against the Indiana Fever. With a tipoff time of 7PM PST at Climate Pledge Arena, the Storm will be celebrating their Pride Night presented by AT&T. Seattle hosts a Fever team that has largely struggled, sitting with a 4-7 record, but has some young talent in last year’s top overall pick Aliyah Boston that has the future looking bright. Broadcast wise, you can find that game on Amazon Prime Video, and FOX 13+ locally.
Los Angeles, Ca- The Minnesota Lynx just seem to have the Los Angeles Sparks number after 67-61 victory on the road.
The Sparks just don’t have an answer for Napheesa Collier(24) who dropped 26 points and 14 rebounds for a strong double-double. She had to step up even more when her front court teammate Dorka Juhasz left the game early due to on court injury.
Photo by Full Image 360
“Man we didn’t execute all game,” said Curt Miller, “We just couldn’t find any success shooting.”
Nneka Ogwumike(30) played better offensively tonight scoring 20 points and 9 rebounds all offensive. She was not on the defensive block to stop second chance baskets in the paint.
At the half it was still anybody game with the Sparks having a slim 33-32 lead. The Lynx changed up its defense by playing hands on to disturb the flow of Jordin Canada(21).
Collier(24) was a driving force in first half for the Lynx with a team high 12 points and 6 rebounds from her forward position.
Photo by Full Image 360
The lack of perimeter shooting by the Sparks continues to show on the stat sheet 8 for 26.
“We didn’t score the last 2:47 seconds of the game,” said Miller, the Sparks need to put points on the board.
Last week when these two faced off Ogwumike (30) was held in check with double teams and physical play in the paint. With only scoring 3 points in first quarter last meeting, Ogwumike (30) stepped up earlier to lead all scorers with 11 points in 1st quarter this time.
Photo by Full Image 360
The Sparks strong start kept it tight only trailing 19-18 to the Lynx. But by the 4th quarter came about the Lynx just made more shoots down the stretch and took the game away from the Sparks.
The Sparks will get to practice a few days before back-to-back Friday Jun 23, Sunday Jun 25 game against the Dallas Wings here at Crypto.com arena. The Minnesota Lynx will host the Connecticut Sun Thursday June 22.
Los Angeles, CA- With 20 points tonight, DeWanna Bonner led the Suns to the win over the Los Angeles Sparks. Connecticut came into tonight’s game as the No. 1 team in the Eastern Conference – and it showed.
Nneka Ogwumike bounced back from her last game with her sixth double-double of the season, logging 19 points and 15 rebounds. That now makes Ogwumike 15th in WNBA history with 2,461 career rebounds.
Photo by Eric Brown Jr / fi360 News
As the 3rd quarter came to a close, neither team showed signs of slowing down, ending the period all tied up 63 – 63.
As time began to wind down in the 4th quarter, Karlie Samuelson hit a jumper from deep that made it 74-all with three minutes to play but the Sparks couldn’t close out the tight game. Brionna Jones who had 17 pts made a clutch layup late into the game and Los Angeles coach Curt Miller was called for a technical foul with 1:27 to go.
When asked what led to the technical, Miller answered with a smirk “I thought they missed a call in a big moment and so I asked her about it.”
Photo by Eric Brown Jr / fi360 News
Bonner made the free throw and added a layup before Carrington hit two free throws to put the game out of reach of the Sparks with 38.1 seconds left.
After the game, coach Miller seemed to be in good spirits saying, “ Well that was fun. I love playing against really good teams. I love playing against really good coaches.”
“We did so many good things tonight and I’m proud of them. We’ve got to protect our home court and we’ve got numerous players that are rotating in and out but we can definitely play with the top teams in the league.”
Photo by Eric Brown Jr / fi360 News
Despite back to back losses, the Sparks will get their chance at revenge against the Minnesota Lynx, on Tuesday a 7:00PM PT at Crypto.com Arena.
Ogwumike battles in the paint. (Photo by Full Image 360)
Los Angeles, CA- With :33 seconds on the clock the Los Angeles Sparks down 74-72 to the Minnesota Lynx. The Sparks went down low to Nneka Ogwumike who lost the handle that resulted in a steal and eventually a 77-72 defeat at home.
Ogwumike didn’t play well tonight with the physical play by the front court of the Lynx who held her to 8 points 5 rebounds and 7 assists.
Canada looks to drive. (Photo by Full Image 360)
Jordin Canada led the Sparks with a team high 22 points and 5 assist but her single effort and energy wasn’t enough.
“A grinding game, we put ourselves in position to win,” said Sparks coach Miller, “I didn’t love the amount of three pointers we shot tonight.
After three quarter of play the Lynx shot a three pointer for 58-57 lead going 4th and started off hot. This made Sparks coach Miller call an early time out trailing 63-57 with 8:35 left in the game.
Mitchell ran the offense for the Lynx. (Photo by Full Image 360)
The Lynx offense was led by Napheesa Collier with 25 points in 38 minutes of play. Kayla McBride dropped 16 points from the front court.
The Lynx record of 2-7 is little deceiving because night in night out they took first quarter lead 18-16, making the Sparks grind out tough quarter to start. The Sparks did manage to hold 19-18 lead going into the second quarter.
Defense for both teams kept this game exciting early with most of half being a game of will.
The Sparks point guard Canada (21) took matters in her own hands with effort. She jumped from the floor to tip back a ball to Ogwumike that passed to Hamby for a basket that caused the Lynx to call a timeout with 3:52 left before half and 35-28 lead.
Samuelson shots a three. (Photo by Full Image 360)
Now the team’s energy jumped with back-to-back three-point baskets by Samuelson (44) & Hamby (5) along with 38-31 score. But for 40 minutes the Lynx just out performed the Sparks.
“Tonight, Minnesota was better under the bright lights then us tonight.” Said Miller.
The Sparks will host the #2 Connecticut Suns on Father’s Day June 18th at 4:30pm. The Lynx will travel to Vegas to take on the defending champion Aces on Sunday at 6pm.
Seattle, WA – In similar fashion to their only victory of the season, June 6th over the Sparks, the Seattle Storm used a thunderous comeback to overcome an ugly start to their game against the Washington Mystics. The Storm once trailed by as much as 28 points before rumbling back into this game with their suffocating defensive performance and big performances from Ezi Magbegor, Kia Nurse, and Ivana Dojkic. The surge from Seattle wasn’t enough, as the Storm ran out of time in a six-point loss to the Mystics on the day that the team honor Sue Bird and send her retired jersey into the rafters of Climate Pledge Arena.
“Just weren’t hyper aware and focused with our speed and our scope. I think we just struggled to score. Jewell had to really focus on that and help us offensively. Not playing well in transition, we made some mistakes…” Noelle Quinn, Seattle Storm head coach, on today’s game.
These past three games for Seattle have seen slow and sluggish starts in the first half, immediately pitting themselves in a hole to begin the contest and putting them at a huge disadvantage. In all three games, the Storm have been able to come back and keep themselves in the fight thanks to adjustments and improvements on defense plus some quality contributions from the starting lineup and Ivana Dojkic. Washington built an early lead with domination in the paint while hitting more than half their shots from beyond the arch, taking advantage of Seattle’s aggressive defensive play. It wasn’t as if the Storm weren’t displaying the right effort on defense, they were almost displaying too much as they overcommitted and left Mystics players open.
Seattle’s offensive struggles in the first half were ugly, as the Storm made four shots in each quarter and eight total in that first half. In the first quarter in particular, Seattle struggled heavily in the paint to create offense. The Storm missed their last nine shots and saw the Mystics go on a 12-point run in the final four and a half minutes of that frame. Those struggles continued into the second quarter, as Seattle continued to miss shots while Washington buried jumper after jumper. It was getting ugly, as the halftime mark saw the Mystics more than double the Storm score.
Photo by Stanley Morris / fi360 News
As the fourth quarter rolled around, with the Storm down by 21 points, young center Ezi Magbegor began to go to work in the paint and seemingly dragged the team’s offensive effort back into the game. Their big push came as that fourth and final quarter began, as Seattle went on a 17-point run in the first six minutes. The Storm defense suffocated and battled hard, while the starters and Ivana Dojkic gave their all towards the effort. A Kia Nurse three-pointer brought them within a basket, but that was the closest that Seattle got. On a possession a little over two minutes later, Nurse got a rebound and gave a little bit of a shake on Washington’s Ariel Atkins which earned Nurse a technical foul. It pushed the Mystics lead to four, and the Storm couldn’t battle back. A tough loss to put a cap on a strong and ferocious effort.
“Confidence. Here understanding of our schemes and being in the correct place, especially on the defensive end. She’s an elite athlete, it’s so important for her to hone in on the how-to things and she’s doing that on the defensive end. Then offensively, just playing basic in transition and finding things to learn,” Noelle Quinn, Seattle Storm head coach, on Jordan Horston’s recent play that earned her a starting spot.
Following these past two games against the Mystics at home and their third straight contest at Climate Pledge Arena in general, the Storm will head out on the road for their next three games. The first of those three is on Tuesday, June 13th in Phoenix against the Mercury with a tipoff time of 7PM PST. It’ll be a battle of the struggling sides, as the Mercury aren’t much better than the Storm with an abysmal 1-5 record on the season. One of the sides will pick up their second win of the year, when those two teams battle it out on the CBS Sports Network inside of the Footprint Center.
Los Angeles, CA – The Los Angeles Sparks hold off the hot Chicago Sky for a much need victory 77-62 to get them back over .500 ball. Now Sparks record is 4-3 in the Western Conference.
Sparks were led by Dearica Hamby (5) who had a great fast half scoring 16 points for a season high. Then for the game Nneka Ogwumike (30) scored 19 points with 5 assists.
“I’ve had a rough last six, seven months and I come out every game and I’m trying, I’m trying. Statistically, 6-of-14 is not great for me, but it just was a game that I could get some confidence back.” said Hamby,
Hamby ( Photo by Full Image 360)
The Sparks pushed off to 7-0 start to kickoff the game and never let go of the lead.
They allowed the Sky to tie the game but even down the stretch in the 4th quarter they held a 6-point lead with 3:20 left in game 66-60.
Sparks head coach Kurt Miller was vocal all night for his team to keep the defense tight and the referees to stop holding their whistle and make a call.
“It was from the first quarter on with her desire to run the floor and put pressure on their defense in transition,” said Miller.
Coming into tonight match-up the 4th place Chicago Sky (5-3) were on a two-game winning streak, while 7th place Los Angeles Sparks (3-3).
Stevens #23 (Photo by Full Image 360)
The Sky front court played a sound game with both Elizabeth Williams (1) scoring 14 points, Alanna Smith (8) 19 points and Marina Mabrey (4) 10 points.
With Chiney Ogwumike sitting out this game the team still made it work for the win.
Jordin Canada (21) in the backcourt dropped 16 points and 5 assists to push her teammates to be involved.
Now the Sparks will enjoy this victory and be back on the court Sunday at 4pm against Minnesota Lynx.
Seattle, WA – The close games continue to slip away from the Seattle Storm in their 2023 season, as even without the league’s leading scorer in Jewell Loyd they hung around with the Washington Mystics. Storm center Ezi Magbegor brought the offensive aggression early and often, tallying a career high 24 points, and no one star shone brightest for Washington to give Seattle a fighting chance. Rebounding and second chance points continue to be points of emphasis for the team, as those departments may ultimately have been the different in this contest. Considering how close of a battle this was, the Storm have a solid chance of winning on Sunday when the teams meet again.
“Not having Jewell was a big loss, I think we definitely felt her presence still. During the game, she’s very talkative, throughout the game, at halftime, before the game. Even though she wasn’t on the court with us, we definitely still felt her. felt so sorry. But it was definitely next one up. And I think we did a great job of playing together as a team tonight and you know, like I’ve said previously, I think we just get better and better every game timing. Just building that chemistry really helped,” Ezi Magbegor, Seattle Storm center, on playing without Jewell Loyd.
Photo by Stanley Morris / fi360 News
With shooting guard and the leading scorer in the WNBA sidelined as Jewell Loyd was held out with a foot injury, Seattle was essentially written off before tipoff. The Storm didn’t care, as the game was close throughout, beginning in the first quarter. The Mystics appeared to begin to pull away as they got inside often, but the Seattle defense started to click and force Washington into mistakes and missed shots. With their defense getting back to basics, the Storm bench found a spark and ran with it as names like Arella Guirantes, Ivana Dojkic, and Jade Melbourne all chipped in to make this a three-point game after ten minutes. With their bench out-performing their starters point wise, Seattle continues to display that when the pieces of the puzzle fully get put in place, they’ll be dangerous in their new era.
The defensive effort continued to keep Seattle in this one through the first five minutes of the second quarter, before things went south. The final five minutes before the halftime break saw the Mystics go on a 19-5 run where the Storm had numerous missed shots, fouls, and turnovers. It can certainly be viewed as a “growing” quarter for the young team that continues to get acclimated with their roles and playing with each other, but in the present, it was a stretch that pit Seattle in a 14-point hole at the halfway point of the game.
“I feel like we tightened up on our defense in the second half. We played really hard, i felt like we gave the effort. We just gotta clean up on some things, we’re gonna watch film and we’ll clean that up, then we’ll see them Sunday. I feel like everybody on the team gave their all, I felt like everybody was pulling for each other. I feel like the effort was there, we’re gonna figure it out,” Jordan Horston, Seattle Storm forward, on the team’s defensive adjustments.
In crunch time, the Storm remained competitive but couldn’t bring the game to a tie, let alone complete their comeback effort. The first three minutes of the fourth saw a tough defensive showing from both sides before the Mystics began to take advantage of Storm mistakes. Turnovers, fouls, and missed shots came back to bite Seattle down the home stretch despite some big made shots that kept them within striking distance. With less than three minutes left, the Storm were down by six-points with the ball. Seattle missed their next three shots before a Tiana Hawkins layup made it a three-possession game that the Storm couldn’t recover from. Washington pulled away, and took the first of two games that the teams will play this weekend.
The Storm will remain at home, their sixth in the first seven games, and face these Washington Mystics once again on Sunday, June 11th with a tipoff time of 12PM PST. Following the gritty and tight contest, Seattle will look to get their party started with a victory as after the game, the Storm will raise Sue Bird’s iconic and now retired #10 jersey to the rafters of Climate Pledge Arena. Seattle’s winningest athlete with four WNBA Championships, it’s the weekend of Bird as prior to this game a copy of the banner was raised atop the Space Needle and a mural of the legend was unveiled within the city.
PASADENA, Calif. (June 8, 2023) – The winningest coach in UCLA football and Pac-12 Conference history, Terry Donahue, will be celebrated with a statue at the Rose Bowl Stadium this Fall. The unveiling and dedication event, which is open to the public, will take place on Friday, October 27th at 3:00 PM at America’s Stadium in Pasadena.
The statue of Coach Donahue will be surrounded by 151 bronze roses of varying shapes and sizes. As a gift by over 100 donors to the Rose Bowl Legacy Foundation, the non-profit that supports the preservation, protection and enhancement of the Stadium’s future, each rose has been supported by an individual or family and honors one of the conference- and school-record 151 wins during Donahue’s career on the UCLA sidelines.
UCLA Field ready for Spring Ball 2019 in Los Angeles. Photo by Jevone Moore
Coach Donahue’s statue will be the fourth on Rose Bowl property to represent key moments and people in the venue’s history, joining Jackie Robinson (dedicated in 2017), the 1999 Team USA FIFA Women’s World Cup Champions (dedicated 2019) and iconic broadcaster Keith Jackson (dedicated 2019). The commemorative statue will celebrate Donahue’s presence as a coach as well as commemorate his 151 wins. It will be the first, statue located inside the Stadium’s gates with the other three located outside the venue’s fence line near the Stadium’s main entrance at Gate A.
The statue’s location inside the venue will be an area of enjoyment and education for all fans, student-athletes, coaches, and visitors to the Stadium. Adjacent to the Charles E. Young Locker Room, UCLA players and coaches will pass by the iconic coach before each home game.
Over 20 years, Coach Donahue had more wins than any football coach in the school’s history, including seven consecutive bowl championships. He became the face of football at UCLA as a player and coach, staying in the latter position for two decades and leading the school to seven consecutive bowl-winning seasons in the 1980s.
“Coach Donahue’s spirit and what he meant to his players, colleagues, the UCLA community and to the history and preservation of the Rose Bowl Stadium was larger than life,” said Dedan Brozino, President of the Rose Bowl Legacy Foundation. “He represented the integrity, sportsmanship and care for teaching that is emblematic of only the special coaches in the game – and Terry was beyond legendary.”
Donahue won more games than any other coach in the school’s and the Pac-12 Conference’s history. He ended his career with a winning record against each of the conference’s teams, including the Bruins’ crosstown rival, the University of Southern California Trojans.
Overall, he won 151 of the 233 games he coached, and 98 of those victories were in the Pac-10 (as the conference was known before adding two teams in 2011). His eighth and final win in a bowl came in the 1991 John Hancock Bowl.
UCLA BRUINS
Donahue’s streak of bowl victories included Rose Bowl Game® wins in ’83, ’84 and ’86. He was the first person to appear in the Rose Bowl Game® as a player, an assistant coach and a coach.
“On behalf of the Terry Donahue family, we are humbled by this outpouring of support for the Terry Donahue Statue and 151 Roses Dedication,” said Andrea Donahue. “The Rose Bowl has always played a meaningful part in our lives and provided us many opportunities and great joy. We can’t begin to express our gratitude for this iconic stadium and all the people that make it so special. It is a great honor to continue Coach Terry Donahue’s legacy so that he may continue to impact the lives of others.”
On the field, Donahue played in UCLA’s 1966 Rose Bowl Game® victory, the upset win over Michigan State was UCLA’s first Rose Bowl Game® victory. The team earned the nickname “Gutty Little Bruins” because nobody on the defensive line weighed more than 225 pounds. Donahue, a walk-on, weighed just 195 pounds.
“Coach Donahue impacted thousands of young men from all over America, not just in football, but in life,” said Troy Aikman. “As good as he was at coaching the game, his greatest gift was being an example for how to be better men. We all carry a part of him deep within us. I’m so proud to support this project at the Rose Bowl to honor Coach and his lasting impact on so many.”
“On behalf of the Rose Bowl Stadium, we want to thank all the donors who made this project possible. We are proud to honor a man who is not only iconic to the legacy of UCLA football, but to all of college football,” said Chief Executive Officer / General Manager Jens Weiden. “This statue will stand at America’s Stadium for generations to come so we can remember his impact, and all that he represented for the Bruins and the game of college football.”
Having hosted two Olympic Games (with a third coming in 2028), two FIFA® World Cup Finals, five Super Bowls, and countless first-class entertainment moments, the Rose Bowl Stadium has highlighted key moments around the venue over the years. Statues, historical markers, historical photos, paintings, timelines, the 1922 Locker Room Museum, and the soon-to-open California High School Football Hall of Fame have transformed the world-renowned venue into a walking museum of sports and entertainment excellence.
