Terry Donahue

Terry Donahue passed away on July 4, 2021, at the age of 77 surrounded by family at his home on Balboa Island. Born on June 24, 1944, Terry was the second of five sons born to Dr. and Mrs. D.W. Donahue. Raised in North Hollywood, he attended St. Charles Borromeo elementary school and graduated from Notre Dame High School in 1962. After brief stints at San Jose State and L.A. Valley College, Donahue decided to walk on and play football at UCLA. He became a two-year starter on teams that registered classic victories over USC and the No. 1-rated Michigan State Spartans in the 1966 Rose Bowl. After graduating from UCLA, he became an assistant coach to the late Pepper Rodgers at the University of Kansas. It was there that he met the love of his life, Andrea Sogas. Terry and Andrea were married two weeks after she graduated from college and were happily married for 52 years. Coach Donahue followed Pepper Rodgers back to UCLA for three seasons. When Rodgers decided to leave for his alma mater, Georgia Tech, following the 1973 season, Terry remained on the Bruin staff with Dick Vermeil. Vermeil's Bruins are best known for their Rose Bowl upset of No. 1-ranked Ohio State. The following month, Vermeil left UCLA for the Philadelphia Eagles and Terry became the youngest coach in major college football, being named the head man of the Bruins at just 31 years of age. Donahue spent 20 years as the head coach of his alma mater, leading his teams to 13 bowl games and three Rose Bowl victories. He had a hand in all five of UCLA's Rose Bowl victories one as a player, one as an assistant coach and the three wins as head coach. His teams were ranked in the Top 20 nationally 12 times and he had five Top-10 finishes. Coach Donahue retired from the Bruins following the 1995 season as the winningest coach in Pac-8/10/12 history and a 10-9-1 winning record against the Trojans. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2000. In 2013 UCLA and the Rose Bowl recognized his unprecedented career by naming the press box at the Rose Bowl The Terry Donahue Pavilion. Terry spent three seasons as the lead college football analyst for CBS working with Jim Nantz and Sean McDonough. He then returned to football as the San Francisco 49ers director of player personnel, joining former (Stanford) rival Bill Walsh, who had hand-picked Donahue to replace him as general manager upon his retirement. Terry served as general manager for four seasons and ultimately left the 49ers after six years to focus on business interests and philanthropy. In 1993, he co-founded Credit Interlink with his former UCLA teammate, the late Tor Matheson. They grew the company from a small operation to a thriving enterprise specializing in credit reporting and mortgage technology. Terry was passionate about giving back and his philanthropic efforts focused on mentoring and supporting America's youth. He served on the board of The Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation for 16 years and on the board of the KidWorks Dan Donahue Center, an organization whose mission is to restore at-risk neighborhoods in their community. In partnership with the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame, Coach Donahue also founded the California Showcase, which provides graduating high school senior and second year community college student-athletes the opportunity to display their skills to NCAA Division II, III, and NAIA college football programs at a one-day combine to earn the right to a football scholarship or financial aid. Through its eight combines, the California Showcase has helped place over 1,000 student-athletes in colleges or universities across the country resulting in over $32 million of financial aid being awarded to deserving student-athletes. The 9th annual Showcase will be renamed in Coach Donahue's memory and will be held in February 2022 at the Orange County Great Park in Irvine, CA. For two years, Terry fought a courageous battle with cancer. In that time, the outpouring of love and support he received from family, friends, former players, and colleagues, as well as the entire football and sports community was immeasurable and gave him strength to continue his fight. He is survived by his loving wife, Andrea, and their three daughters, Nicole, Michele, and Jennifer, three sons-in-law and 10 grandchildren. He is also survived by three brothers and their families; Tim Donahue; Dr. Michael (Mick) and Sheri Donahue; and Patrick and Paula Donahue. Friends and family are invited to attend a Celebration of Life on Friday, July 23rd at 10:30am in The Worship Center at Mariner's Church located at 5001 Newport Coast Dr., Irvine, CA. In lieu of flowers the family requests donations be made to the Rose Bowl Legacy Foundation, www.TerryDonahueTribute.com.........GO BRUINS