Ed Kezirian has spent more than half of his life at UCLA. That means 32 years as a player, coach and enthusiastic towel-waver. Over this time, he has given a lot to UCLA and the athletic department, but he has decided that it is finally time to hang up his towel.
Kezirian, who is known to most as Coach K, started his time at UCLA in 1972 as an offensive lineman. After this winter quarter, he will be retiring from his current position as the football team’s assistant director of academic services.
“As a student athlete at UCLA over 35 years ago, it was fantastic,” Kezirian said. “It was a clean, safe, beautiful environment and campus to walk each day. Not much has changed over the years. They have done a really nice job to preserve the campus over the years. I’ve been walking around UCLA in some capacity for 32 years. It’s been a blast.”
When Kezirian graduated in 1975 with a degree in sociology, his time at UCLA was just starting. In 1976 he became a graduate assistant under head football coach Terry Donahue. He spent two seasons in the position before he took a coaching job at Hawaii. The four years Kezirian spent working in Hawaii would be the only four he spent away from UCLA.
“Coach Donahue, who really was a mentor for me, said “˜You’ll appreciate UCLA even more once you leave, if you ever have an opportunity to come back,'” Kezirian said.
That opportunity arose in 1982 with the offer to return to UCLA to coach tackles and tight ends. After working on the coaching staff for some years, Kezirian realized that he wanted to pursue a career in administration. In 1992 a job became available and he jumped at the chance to transition to a new spot in the athletic department as an administrative analyst.
In 1994 Kezirian made his return to the field. He had been spending the games watching from the stands with the players’ parents when Donahue offered him a field pass. His famous towel waving began at the Stanford game that season when, with 20 seconds left in the game, the Stanford kicker lined up to attempt the game-winning field goal.
“One of the kids had thrown a towel that kind of only went to the hash mark; it didn’t go all the way off the field,” Kezirian said. “So I walked out to pick it up and the next thing I know I’m running over to the student section and I started waving this towel to get everyone to stand up and cheer.
“We had lost five (games) in a row and we were kind of straining at that time. And I started running down the other side of the field to the alumni section and just trying to get everybody to stand up and cheer and everything, and he missed the kick and we won the game.”
With that missed kick, the towel-waving tradition that so many people know him for began. While that towel helps encourage the fans to get loud, it also helps pump up the team.
“Whenever you’re down on the field and you look over and see Coach K waving that towel around, you find a way to win or some more energy,” former defensive end Bruce Davis said. “He’s one of those guys that never says quit and believes we can do it down to the last second.”
What many people might not know about Kezirian is that his work extends far beyond the field. Kezirian’s greatest contribution to UCLA has come through his work in his current position dealing with academics.
Kezirian values education and he has tried to make sure student athletes stay on top of their school work and are able to excel both on and off the field. It is his personal involvement with so many athletes that has made him a significant part of the athletic department over the years.
“It is an important thing to have someone to oversee all the athletes academically,” Donahue said. “I knew Eddie was so reliable, dependable and would work hard. He cared about the players and I wanted someone to oversee them that really cared about them.”
Kezirian has always been willing to help and advise players on issues on and off the field.
“He was someone guys could talk to off the field about any problem they had,” former free safety Dennis Keyes said. “He was so friendly.”
Kezirian is also dedicated to making sure that the players stay focused on academics.
“I left class a little early one time and I saw him,” Davis said while laughing. “I turned to evade him and you know, he’s an older man, but he moves pretty well. He ran me down and gave me that Coach K look and looked me right in the eyes and told me I needed to go back.”
The role Kezirian fills for the program is a significant one, and many in the athletic department are wondering how they will be able to replace him.
“I was really sad he was going to leave UCLA,” Donahue said. “He’s been a terrific asset for so long and had such a strong influence on so many players over the years. It will be a tremendous loss for UCLA. He is one of the nicest and best guys you’d ever meet in your life. It won’t be easy to replace him.”
After so many years at UCLA and so many athletes helped, Kezirian felt it was a good time to leave. With the hiring of head coach Rick Neuheisel, a former Bruin, and a coaching staff with UCLA experience, Kezirian saw an opportunity to retire knowing the program would be left in good hands.
“I felt like, “˜Wow, this is feeling good because the tradition is in place and it’s being handed over to wonderful coaches,'” Kezirian said. “I also felt like academically, we were in good shape.”
At the conclusion of the winter quarter, Coach K will be leaving UCLA to move to the Central Valley with his wife Kay, where most of their family lives. While his departure will be a sad day for UCLA, he won’t be forgotten.
“He was one of a kind,” Donahue said. “There won’t be anyone quite like him. I think he will be remembered by hundreds and hundreds of athletes who remember how much Eddie cared about them and the effort he put into their success.”
So while he says a cameo appearance at the Rose Bowl in the future is not out of the question, next season there will be a decidedly large gap, not only on the sidelines, but in the athletic department and in the lives of many student athletes.
“Few names are synonymous with UCLA,” Davis said. “John Wooden, Jackie Robinson ““ and I think Ed Kezirian is one of those names. He is a part of UCLA history. He has helped so many athletes and helped shape the future for so many people. He will be missed forever.
“There can’t and never will be another Coach K.”