UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava will want to impress more than his coaches and teammates Saturday.<\/p>\n
A glance around the practice field could reveal \u2026<\/p>\n
Gary Beban, the school\u2019s only Heisman Trophy winner. Tom Ramsey, the star of the Bruins\u2019 1983 Rose Bowl victory over Michigan. Cade McNown, the only quarterback from either UCLA or USC to go 4-0 as the starter in the crosstown rivalry.<\/p>\n
Those legends are expected to be among the 24 former UCLA quarterbacks returning to campus this weekend for a charity fundraiser benefiting UCLA Mattel Children\u2019s Hospital.<\/p>\n
Heisman Trophy winner Gary Beban, Rose Bowl star Tom Ramsey and \u2018Trojan Slayer\u2019 Cade McNown will be among a group of two dozen former UCLA quarterbacks returning to campus this weekend for a charity fundraiser benefiting UCLA Mattel Children\u2019s Hospital.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have guys flying in from all over the country,\u201d Patrick Cowan, a former Bruins quarterback and the primary organizer of the event, told the California Post. \u201cAnd I still get giddy being able to hang out with these guys because I remember watching them and they were my heroes and even the guys that have played after me, it\u2019s been fun to cheer for them.\u201d<\/p>\n
This is the 20th anniversary of Cowan\u2019s own historic moment, when he helped UCLA edge then-No. 2 USC, 13-9, in 2006 in one of the greatest upsets in the rivalry.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the longer it\u2019s been since that game, the lore of it continues to grow,\u201d Cowan said with a chuckle, \u201cbut luckily we\u2019re on the right side of it, so I\u2019ll let it keep growing.\u201d<\/p>\n
The quarterbacks are scheduled to visit children at the school\u2019s on-campus hospital Friday morning before convening for lunch at favorite hangout spot Phil Trani\u2019s in Long Beach. That\u2019s the same restaurant where the idea was conceived in 2018 to start holding reunions that could double as fundraisers.<\/p>\n
Gary Beban, the 1967 Heisman trophy winner (only winner in UCLA history), was a dynamic quarterback known as \u201cThe Great One\u201d who led the Bruins to a 24-5-2 record over three seasons. AP<\/p>\n
The plan was to hold the inaugural event in 2020 before the pandemic pushed it back to 2023. Beban was among the 22 quarterbacks who showed up that year, raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for the special-needs fund of UCLA Mattel Children\u2019s Hospital. The money was used for expenses such as the transportation of severely immunocompromised children and the hiring of staff to meet specialized patient demand.<\/p>\n
This will be the second fundraiser hosted by the quarterbacks.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe opportunity provided by the UCLA quarterback club event uniquely transfers the time, bruises and results spent playing a game to provide financial support promoting scientific advancements and health care for youngsters in need of life-enhancing solutions and discoveries,\u201d Beban told the Post.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have found it very personally fulfilling to experience the ease one has to exercise to rally UCLA quarterbacks to huddle and share their good fortunes with their teammates and supporters for such a worthwhile cause.\u201d<\/p>\n
The quarterbacks will attend practice Saturday before reconvening at the Luskin Center on campus for \u201cAn Evening with the UCLA Quarterback Club,\u201d with UCLA radio broadcaster Josh Lewin serving as the emcee. Ramsey and McNown \u2013 whom Cowan labeled the \u201cTrojan Slayer\u201d \u2013 will be the keynote speakers.<\/p>\n
UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava throws a pass during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Washington, Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025, in Pasadena, Calif. AP<\/p>\n
Among the other quarterbacks expected to attend is Brett Hundley, who was still playing during the first event three years ago. Beban, who will turn 80 in August, said he was looking forward to attending \u201cexcept for the probability of being the oldest Bruin quarterback in the huddle.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the last reception, I found myself undergoing a similar exhilaration as I did winning USC and Rose Bowl games,\u201d Beban said. \u201cI expect to do the same [this time] with teammates who share common values and commitments which were discovered, developed and shared on Spaulding Field.\u201d<\/p>\n
Money will be raised through sponsorships, donations, ticket sales and a silent auction including autographed footballs, helmets and jerseys. The event will start with a cocktail reception at 5 p.m. followed by dinner and a panel discussion.<\/p>\n
Tickets are $1,250 each and table sponsorships are available for $10,000 and $25,000. For more information, go to giving.ucla.edu\/uclaquarterbackclub2026 or call (310) 569-9657.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava will want to impress more than his coaches and teammates Saturday. A glance around…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":583061,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[399,24499,398,396,397,99,17392],"class_list":{"0":"post-583060","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ncaa-football","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-heisman-trophy","10":"tag-ncaa","11":"tag-ncaa-football","12":"tag-ncaafootball","13":"tag-sports","14":"tag-ucla-bruins"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/583060","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=583060"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/583060\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/583061"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=583060"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=583060"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=583060"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}