Former UCLA and Dallas Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman contributed $1 million to UCLA football’s Wasserman Football Center project, UCLA announced Monday.
UCLA will name the strength and conditioning facility of its planned football complex “The Troy Aikman Strength and Conditioning Center” to honor the Hall-of-Fame quarterback’s donation.
“Today, he is demonstrating this commitment as an alumnus, giving back to the place where he laid the foundation for a remarkable career both on and off the field,” said UCLA Athletics Director Dan Guerrero in a press release. “We cannot thank Troy enough for his tremendous generosity and are excited to have his name play as prominent a role in our future as it has in our past.”
The California native transferred to UCLA from the University of Oklahoma after the 1985, but did not play for the Bruins in 1986 due to transfer restrictions.
The former Bruin signal caller ended both of his seasons at UCLA with 10-2 records, becoming the first UCLA quarterback to finish two consecutive seasons with 10 wins. Aikman was named the 1987 Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year in his first year as a UCLA starter. The former Bruin football player finished his UCLA career as a consensus All-American and the 1988 Davey O’Brien Award – an award given to the nation’s top quarterback. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2008.
“Troy is a once in a generation type player,” said UCLA coach Jim Mora in a press release. “He could have pledged nothing, and we would still stand in awe of his accomplishments and continue to recognize him as one of the all-time greats. Instead, Troy not only continues to redefine what it means to be great, he continues to redefine what it means to be a Bruin.”
Aikman moved on to a career playing professional football after he was drafted No. 1 overall by Dallas in 1989. Aikman led the Cowboys to three Super Bowl championships, including Super Bowl XXVII, where he was crowned MVP.
The quarterback retired from the sport in 2000, after spending 12 years at Dallas and setting a new all-time passing-yards record for the Cowboys with 32,942 yards.
“In many eyes, I’ll always be a Dallas Cowboy, and I’m extremely proud of that. By making this contribution to UCLA football, It’s clear that I am, and always will be, a UCLA Bruin as well,” Aikman said in a press release. “My time at UCLA helped mold me into the person I am today, and I want the Bruin student-athletes that come after me to have the same opportunity I had to achieve their boyhood dreams.”
UCLA football is currently 18 months since it first announced its campaign to raise funds for the Wasserman Football Center. After Aikman’s donation, the team has raised $54 million of its goal of $65 million in funding.