From UCLA Rugby Alumni Larry Lane. Larry made a generous three commitment to UCLA Rugby and wanted to pen an open letter to other UCLA Alumni

To the Bruin rugby alumni, parents and, supporters,

I played rugby at UCLA as a graduate student in the 70’s and coached the team in the 75/76 season which saw us beat Palmerston College from New Zealand 26-16, Stanford 36-18, and UC Berkeley 12-6. I have been a longtime supporter of the team due to the impact rugby had on my life and my fond memories of playing rugby at UCLA. Many of the lessons I learned about teamwork, hard work and, humility, came from playing rugby, and were applicable as I began looking for my career and building my company.

I would like to thank Brian Smith, and the search committee he put together, for the tremendous work in finding our new coach. I think they did an excellent job bringing Dave Clancy to UCLA with his extensive background in Rugby. Dave comes to UCLA after an amateur career in Ireland followed up by 10 years of experience including work with the Cayman Islands, the Chicago Lions and both USA Falcons teams. Finally, I would also like to thank Russ Ortiz and the recently formed Board of Directors for their work in re-engaging the alumni to bring this team back to prominence.

Dave and I recently spent some time together and during that meeting, it was delightful to hear his vision to return the team to greatness. He also has a plan to connect the alumni with the program while creating a culture of mentoring and supporting positive role models with the students-athletes. I am grateful to UCLA Recreation and specifically the Club Sports department for the extensive search process to find a suitable candidate that I believe will achieve great things with UCLA Rugby in the coming years with the right support.

To jumpstart that support, I have decided to make a three-year pledge to financially back the program. This pledge will be the first step in allowing the coach’s vision to come to life, which includes high-level coaching, consistent weight training, skill development, and providing them with a tremendous experience. I want the current athletes to look back at their rugby experience with the same fondness that I do.

To my fellow alumni, I encourage you to follow my lead and support what I believe will be a prosperous new era of UCLA Rugby. We have an opportunity to return UCLA to the pinnacle of collegiate rugby and solidify the club’s extensive alumni network through the newly formed alumni association. There is some real momentum behind the program and I hope that my gift will be the first of many to support it.

Yours in rugby,

Larry Lane ('77)

We would love to hear from other alumni as well. Please email us at info@uclarugbyalumni.clom with you stories and comments.