$1.25M Gift Received for Wasserman Football Center
October 25, 2017 | Football
The UCLA Athletic Department is pleased to announce a generous commitment of $1,250,000 to the Wasserman Football Center project from UCLA alumnus and former Football assistant coach Carl D. Peterson. In honor of Peterson's generosity, UCLA will proudly name the Coaches Locker Room of the Wasserman Football Center in honor of the former President, General Manager, and Chief Executive Officer of the Kansas City Chiefs.
"On behalf of the Athletic Department, I'd like to thank Carl Peterson for his extraordinary support of UCLA Football and this important gift to the Wasserman Football Center," said UCLA Director of Athletics Dan Guerrero. "Having coached here, Carl knows just how impactful this gift will be for our student-athletes. We are honored and grateful that following a successful career in collegiate and professional football, he chooses to give back to his alma mater."
Peterson, who grew up in Long Beach, earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology in 1966, followed by earning a Master's Degree in Kinesiology in 1968 and a Doctorate in Administration in Higher Education in 1970, all from UCLA. The triple Bruin began his collegiate football coaching career as an assistant at Sonoma State University in 1969, taking over the role of head coach the following year. He held that position for three seasons before coming back to UCLA, where he spent the next four seasons coaching the receivers, first under Pepper Rodgers, then Dick Vermeil, also serving as Coach Vermeil's administrative assistant.
"I am personally very pleased to make this contribution to my alma mater where all of my vocational beginnings started. In early 1973, as a young football coach, I was extremely privileged, and honored to be asked to return to UCLA to coach the game I love," said Carl Peterson. "UCLA epitomizes the very best in academics, and athletics, and I am very humbled to be a small part of the success of both."
"The Wasserman Football Center is a great center for the current and future student-athlete football players of UCLA," said Peterson. "It will enhance all who experience it, and will ensure the ability of future teams to compete successfully both on and off the football field. Chancellor Block, Casey Wasserman, Dan Guerrero, Jim Mora and the UCLA Staff, have ALL done a magnificent job of bringing this facility to fruition. I am very proud to be a small part of this great facility."
In 1976, Vermeil was named head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles and brought Peterson with him as his director of player personnel. Peterson's Eagles teams reached the playoffs for the first time in 18 years. By just his fifth season in Philadelphia, the Eagles made it to Super Bowl XV. Two years later, in July 1982, Peterson was selected to build the United States Football League's Philadelphia Stars. As the franchise's president and general manager, he and Head Coach Jim Mora, Sr. assembled the most successful team in the league's three-year existence, capturing titles from 1983 toย 1985. He was named The Sporting News' USFL Executive of the Year in 1983 and 1984.
"I've known Carl personally for almost my entire life and this gift is indicative of what a selfless man he is," said UCLA Head Football Coach Jim Mora. "Carl's ties to UCLA Football run deep, and his generosity will ensure that his legacy is linked not only to the program, but also to the Wasserman Football Center. I thank him from the bottom of my heart for making a difference in the lives of our student-athletes."
In late December 1988, Kansas City Chiefs Owner Lamar Hunt hired Peterson to take over as president, general manager and CEO of the franchise. Peterson led the Chiefs for 20 seasons, one of the longest and most successful tenures for someone in that role in modern NFL history. Under Peterson's leadership, the Chiefs became the winningest team in the NFL in the 1990's, selling out 149 consecutive home games in one of the NFL's largest venues, despite Kansas City being the league's sixth-smallest television market. Ultimately, the Chiefs led the NFL in attendance for six consecutive seasons (1994โ99) and the AFC every year from 1992-2008.
After stepping down from Kansas City in 2009, Peterson was named the Chairman of USA Football at the request of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, a role from which he retired this past March 2017. Peterson still serves on the Commissioner's NFL Career Development Committee, and on numerous other boards, plus as a principle and partner with Dick Vermeil Wines, located in Calistoga, California.
Peterson was inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in 2009, into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2005 and into the Long Beach (CA) Sports Hall of Fame in 2003. He has received major football awards from Pop Warner Little Scholars, the Maxwell Football Club and the Greater Kansas City Sports Commission. He also received the Pete Rozelle Award while serving as the president, general manager and CEO of the Kansas City Chiefs.
The UCLA Athletic Department opened the Wasserman Football Center, the new home to the UCLA football program, in August 2017, two years after the groundbreaking and just four years after the project was publicly announced. The state-of-the-art training facility, which was designed by ZGF Architects LLP and constructed by PCL Construction of Los Angeles, spans approximately 75,000 square feet of space that encompasses the Troy Aikman Strength and Conditioning Center, the Jim and Carol Collins Head Football Coach's Office, the Chuck and Annie Winner Offensive Coordinator's Office, the Beverly and James Peters Defensive Coordinator's Office, locker rooms, training and treatment rooms, the Gregory and Jodi Perlman Nutrition Center and meeting spaces such as the Terry and Andrea Donahue Team Auditorium, the Chris and Leslie Johnson Defensive Team Auditorium and the Bob and Marion Wilson Football Staff Meeting Room. Other amenities include the Joseph and Patricia Yzurdiaga Barbershop, the Andy and Shannon Meyers Players' Lounge, and the Marilyn Silva-Lund and David Lund Recruiting Lounge and Terrace.
With Peterson's commitment, the UCLA Athletic Department has now raised more than $50 million in private funds toward its $65 million goal. Additional monies raised will be applied to outstanding debt service on the project, ultimately securing its place as one of the elite privately funded football-specific training facilities in the nation. Additional naming opportunities for the Wasserman Football Center remain. For more information or to become involved in the campaign, contact the UCLA Athletics Development Office at 310-206-3302, or visit www.UCLAFootballFacility.com.
