Commencement Speakers and Singers
Commencement Keynote Speaker, Ann Meyers Drysdale
Famed basketball player Ann Meyers Drysdale, the first woman to receive a full athletic scholarship to UCLA and one of the first women inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, has been chosen as the keynote speaker for the UCLA College of Letters and Science's dual commencement ceremonies on Friday, June 14. Meyers Drysdale will speak at both the 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. ceremonies in the newly renovated Pauley Pavilion, where she competed as a student–athlete in the 1970s.
"We are thrilled that College Commencement is returning to Pauley Pavilion this year," UCLA Chancellor Gene Block said, speaking of the storied arena that has been home to countless UCLA championship teams, including those coached by the legendary John Wooden. "And we are so pleased that Ann could be our inaugural speaker because of her own stellar accomplishments and her connection to UCLA and Coach Wooden, with whom her family was close. Her record as a role model, leader, inspirational speaker, outstanding citizen, and extraordinary professional and college athlete makes her the ideal candidate to provide a motivational send-off to our College graduates."
Meyers Drysdale, the wife of late Hall of Fame Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Don Drysdale, with whom she had three children, is the sister of former NBA player Dave Meyers, who also played basketball at UCLA and was the captain of Coach Wooden's final championship team, in 1975. Several of her family members also are Bruins, including her daughter Drew, a UCLA sophomore, and have a strong connection to Wooden.
"UCLA helped mold who I am today," said Meyers Drysdale, who is a strong supporter of her alma mater. "There is no question that I am a Bruin and always will be."
On the UCLA court, Meyers Drysdale was a dominant force. She guided UCLA to four conference titles and a women's college basketball national championship, in 1978, while also competing on the volleyball team and the track team, which won a national title in 1975. She was awarded the Broderick Cup in 1978 as the top female college athlete of the year and ended her UCLA career as the first four-time All-American in collegiate basketball history.
While still a student at UCLA, Drysdale was a starter on the United States' first women's Olympic basketball team, which won the silver medal in 1976 in Montreal. She is the only woman to have had a tryout with the NBA, as a free agent in 1979 with the Indiana Pacers, and was the first player drafted by the Women's Professional Basketball League, earning most valuable player honors in that league in 1979–80.
Over the last 35 years, she has had a successful career as sports broadcaster, providing commentary for five Olympics, including the 2012 London Games, as well as men's and women's basketball, softball and volleyball. A resident of Huntington Beach, Calif., Meyers Drysdale is vice president of the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury and the NBA's Phoenix Suns.
Student Speakers and Singers
Would you like to be the student speaker at one of the College Commencement Ceremonies on Friday, June 14, 2013?
Or, would you like to sing the national anthem or the UCLA Alma Mater?
To apply to be a College Commencement student speaker or singer, review the Guidelines (revised 4/18/2013).
The application deadline has been extended to Friday, April 26.
Commencement Keynote Speaker, Ann Meyers Drysdale
Famed basketball player Ann Meyers Drysdale, the first woman to receive a full athletic scholarship to UCLA and one of the first women inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, has been chosen as the keynote speaker for the UCLA College of Letters and Science's dual commencement ceremonies on Friday, June 14. Meyers Drysdale will speak at both the 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. ceremonies in the newly renovated Pauley Pavilion, where she competed as a student–athlete in the 1970s.
"We are thrilled that College Commencement is returning to Pauley Pavilion this year," UCLA Chancellor Gene Block said, speaking of the storied arena that has been home to countless UCLA championship teams, including those coached by the legendary John Wooden. "And we are so pleased that Ann could be our inaugural speaker because of her own stellar accomplishments and her connection to UCLA and Coach Wooden, with whom her family was close. Her record as a role model, leader, inspirational speaker, outstanding citizen, and extraordinary professional and college athlete makes her the ideal candidate to provide a motivational send-off to our College graduates."
Meyers Drysdale, the wife of late Hall of Fame Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Don Drysdale, with whom she had three children, is the sister of former NBA player Dave Meyers, who also played basketball at UCLA and was the captain of Coach Wooden's final championship team, in 1975. Several of her family members also are Bruins, including her daughter Drew, a UCLA sophomore, and have a strong connection to Wooden.
"UCLA helped mold who I am today," said Meyers Drysdale, who is a strong supporter of her alma mater. "There is no question that I am a Bruin and always will be."
On the UCLA court, Meyers Drysdale was a dominant force. She guided UCLA to four conference titles and a women's college basketball national championship, in 1978, while also competing on the volleyball team and the track team, which won a national title in 1975. She was awarded the Broderick Cup in 1978 as the top female college athlete of the year and ended her UCLA career as the first four-time All-American in collegiate basketball history.
While still a student at UCLA, Drysdale was a starter on the United States' first women's Olympic basketball team, which won the silver medal in 1976 in Montreal. She is the only woman to have had a tryout with the NBA, as a free agent in 1979 with the Indiana Pacers, and was the first player drafted by the Women's Professional Basketball League, earning most valuable player honors in that league in 1979–80.
Over the last 35 years, she has had a successful career as sports broadcaster, providing commentary for five Olympics, including the 2012 London Games, as well as men's and women's basketball, softball and volleyball. A resident of Huntington Beach, Calif., Meyers Drysdale is vice president of the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury and the NBA's Phoenix Suns.
Student Speakers and Singers
Would you like to be the student speaker at one of the College Commencement Ceremonies on Friday, June 14, 2013?
Or, would you like to sing the national anthem or the UCLA Alma Mater?
To apply to be a College Commencement student speaker or singer, review the Guidelines (revised 4/18/2013).
The application deadline has been extended to Friday, April 26.
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