UCLA's 'over the wall' tradition began with Terry Donahue
UCLA FOOTBALL
Then the longtime coach tried to talk his Bruins out of it, including a quarterback by the name of Neuheisel.
Former UCLA football coach Terry Donahue remembers climbing up the tower overlooking the Bruins' practice field, trying to stay dry. That, he said, is how "over the wall" day began in 1980.
The Bruins were coming off a victory over USC and were preparing to play Oregon State in Japan in their season finale.
"The players thought it would be a good idea to throw the coaches in the shower, then go over the wall," Donahue said. "That's exactly what they did. I climbed up the tower so they couldn't get me. Then they proceeded to wander around campus singing Christmas carols."
UCLA beat Oregon State, 34-3, and the tradition had legs. It surfaced again Tuesday, when UCLA players gathered in a huddle, then sprinted through the gate at Spaulding Field, ending practice before it had begun.
First-year Bruins Coach Rick Neuheisel immediately met with seniors to "make sure they were all doing it together," he said. Still, Neuheisel was visibly upset by the decision, especially because he had asked the team before spring practice to forgo the tradition because of the amount of work that needed to get done.
"Yeah, you know where he learned that speech?" Donahue said. "From me. I would talk to the team, say 'Please don't do this, we have work to do and there are only so many days.' Sure enough, it would fall on deaf ears.
"I think what probably made Rick most mad is he probably thought he was a pretty good salesman with that speech, just like I did. I gave that speech, thought I sold it, and there were a couple years where Rick led groups over the wall after I gave it. It's interesting how your perspective changes as you get older."
Donahue said that he was OK with the tradition during the weeks leading into a bowl game, but, "somehow, unbeknownst to me, it escalated into spring practice."
UCLA coaches have been dealing with it ever since. One season during the Bob Toledo years, players made their escape only to find that Toledo had caught wind of the plan and had locked the locker room doors. Players were left milling around campus in their uniforms for hours.
The tradition was banned by Toledo, only to be restored under Karl Dorrell, though he managed it. Last season, he picked the day for the players but did not inform his assistant coaches.
"I objected more to it in the spring," Donahue said. "When it happened in the fall, we were always practicing for a bowl game and I felt players and coaches had all worked hard. Yeah, it interrupted the practice routine and plans, but you were going to a bowl game. I dealt with it best I could."
Still, Donahue said, "It wasn't something I was wild about."
chris.foster@latimes.com
