When UCSB football shut down the second time in 1991, their quarterback, John Barnes, transferred to UCLA. After starting the year as QB5, injuries led him to start the final game against USC to lead an all time great comeback that I witnessed in the Rose Bowl. Eliminating football at UCSB led to my favorite college football game memory with his fourth quarter 90 yard TD pass to JJ Stokes
Yes. I came across his story, and thanks for sharing it. As part of the broader series, I focused on their demise rather than a cool story of a transfer's resurrection. I recall Stokes' performance agains the Badgers in the 1994 Rose Bowl, which the good guys in red won.
After I graduated from UCLA in 1993, I got married and moved with my wife to follow her to grad school in…Madison. I had season tickets for that Badgers team and cheered them on every game until that Rose Bowl. I went to a number of Badgers hoops games that December and sat with the students in full UCLA gear. The good guys definitely lost that Rose Bowl
The pattern of smaller state universities trying to jump up in competition without adequate funding is remarkably common. UCSB's story mirrors so many others—build an impressive stadium (17,000 seats!), join a more competitive conference, then discover that increased travel costs and scholarship obligations without corresponding revenue increases create an unsustainable situation. Chancellor Cheadle's unilateral decision to end the program without consulting the AD was particularly jarring, especially after he'd championed the facilities and conference upgrades. The fact that the program managed a brief D-III revival before NCAA Division I requirements killed it again shows there was genuine interest in football at UCSB, just not at the funding levels required for major college competition.
Was Spud Harder the coach when the Gauchos went to the Potato Bowl?
Stan Williamson was the coach in 1948, so ol' Spud did not lead the Gauchos when they mashed Willamette in the Potato Bowl.
When UCSB football shut down the second time in 1991, their quarterback, John Barnes, transferred to UCLA. After starting the year as QB5, injuries led him to start the final game against USC to lead an all time great comeback that I witnessed in the Rose Bowl. Eliminating football at UCSB led to my favorite college football game memory with his fourth quarter 90 yard TD pass to JJ Stokes
Yes. I came across his story, and thanks for sharing it. As part of the broader series, I focused on their demise rather than a cool story of a transfer's resurrection. I recall Stokes' performance agains the Badgers in the 1994 Rose Bowl, which the good guys in red won.
After I graduated from UCLA in 1993, I got married and moved with my wife to follow her to grad school in…Madison. I had season tickets for that Badgers team and cheered them on every game until that Rose Bowl. I went to a number of Badgers hoops games that December and sat with the students in full UCLA gear. The good guys definitely lost that Rose Bowl
Glad you enjoyed both roles. That is what it should be about.
The pattern of smaller state universities trying to jump up in competition without adequate funding is remarkably common. UCSB's story mirrors so many others—build an impressive stadium (17,000 seats!), join a more competitive conference, then discover that increased travel costs and scholarship obligations without corresponding revenue increases create an unsustainable situation. Chancellor Cheadle's unilateral decision to end the program without consulting the AD was particularly jarring, especially after he'd championed the facilities and conference upgrades. The fact that the program managed a brief D-III revival before NCAA Division I requirements killed it again shows there was genuine interest in football at UCSB, just not at the funding levels required for major college competition.