UCLA History: Pauley Construction

The photo shows UCLA Chancellor Franklin Murphy, basketball coach John Wooden, and donor Edwin Pauley at the groundbreaking ceremony for Pauley Pavillion, probably around 1964.  (The official opening was in 1965.)  Pauley - whose wealth came from oil - was a prominent Democrat.  However, the fundraising drive for the structure (which Pauley matched) was headed by H.R. Haldeman of Watergate fame.  Pauley, a Regent, played a major role in the dismissal of UC President Clark Kerr due to student protests, primarily at UC-Berkeley.

Speaking of firing, we haven’t featured sports on this blog.  But there is so much news surrounding the firing and hiring of the current UCLA basketball coach that the issue is worth noting:

UCLA Director of Athletics Dan Guerrero announced today the appointment of Steve Alford as the 13th Head Men's Basketball Coach in program history. With 22 years of collegiate head coaching experience, Alford led the University of New Mexico to a 29-6 record this season, winning back-to-back Mountain West Conference regular-season and tournament titles, and a berth in the NCAA Tournament for the third time as the Lobos' head coach."Steve is the perfect fit for UCLA," said Guerrero. "He is part of the storied history of the game of college basketball and understands the tradition and uniqueness of UCLA. Yet he also connects with a new generation of players and brings an up-tempo and team-oriented brand of basketball to Westwood. We welcome Steve, his wife Tanya, and children Kory, Bryce and Kayla to the Bruin family and look forward to many years of success." Alford will be formally introduced to the Los Angeles media at a press conference on campus on Tuesday, April 2...

Full UCLA release at http://www.uclabruins.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/033013aaa.html

Earlier views and news on firing of previous coach Ben Howland:

http://www.latimes.com/sports/college/basketball/la-sp-plaschke-ben-howland-20130325,0,7489477.column

http://www.latimes.com/sports/college/basketball/la-sp-0326-ben-howland-20130326,0,2664988.story

http://www.latimes.com/sports/college/basketball/la-sp-dwyre-20130328,0,2294992.column