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| University President Michael Ortiz and former NFL star and Cal Poly Pomona football coach Roman Gabriel at the Bronco Golf Classic. |
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| Contestants participate in the putting competition at the Athletic department?s 25th Annual Bronco Golf Classic at Via Verde Country Club in San Dimas. |
Former National Football League star and Cal Poly Pomona football coach Roman Gabriel showed recently he can still fill a golf tournament.
Gabriel helped attract a sellout crowd to the Athletic department's 25th Annual Bronco Golf Classic. The 18-hole tournament, which Gabriel founded, drew a full field of 144 golfers and raised $27,000 in scholarship money for Cal Poly Pomona student-athletes.
“Scholarships are an integral part of our program,” said Julie Hall, Athletics director of development. “In many cases, an athletic scholarship is the only way students can afford an education and were fortunate to provide such a precious gift to our student-athletes.”
The Via Verde Country Club in San Dimas hosted this year's tournament, which raised about $6,500 more than last year's event. The tournament has raised more than $600,000 for student-athlete scholarships since it was founded in 1980.
Student-athletes served as caddies for each foursome. The foursome of Jim Hall, Dave Hopkins, Darrell Palmer and Ron Paschall took first place with a score of 15 under par 57, which was one stroke better than the second and third place teams.
John Jenkins, Tim Mayeda, Ed Barnes and John Kellogg took second place while Joe Lowden, Mark Marcus, Glenn Shenker and Harold Young placed third. Athletic Hall of Fame inductee and Cal Poly Pomona alumnus Romualdo Ochoa was the putting contest winner.
“This was the best golf tournament I've been involved with since I've been associated with Cal Poly Pomona,” said David Loud, Golf Tournament chair. “The support from the community has always been great, but Roman's return gave this a year's tournament a special boost. We appreciated Mr. Gabriel coming back to help us with the silver anniversary of the Bronco Golf Classic. We're looking forward to working with Roman at future events.”
Founded as the Roman Gabriel Pro-Celebrity Golf Tournament, the event raised money for the Bronco football program. When the fundraiser first started, NFL and television celebrities supported Gabriel's fundraising efforts. Three years later, it evolved into the Bronco Golf Classic, raising money for all of the departments' sports programs.
Gabriel, who was the 1969 NFL MVP for the Los Angeles Rams and four-time Pro Bowl selection,said he would like to attend next year's event and continue his support of the tournament.