From UCLA Newsroom:
Campus leaders and faculty bid farewell to UCLA’s class of 2010 on Friday and paid tribute to Coach John Wooden, who symbolized the highest values in life these young graduates can aspire to uphold.
Tears, resounding cheers and colorful pageantry marked UCLA’s largest commencement ceremony of the year. Nearly 5,000 students from the College of Letters and Science walked into Drake Stadium before a crowd of 9,000 admirers — family members, friends and guests bearing cameras, cell phones to find their graduates and flowers of all fragrances. Circling high above the stadium was a plane tugging a banner: "Congrats, UCLA Class of 2010 – Go Bruins – Way to go Terrence!"
The 45-minute procession was led by a flowing mass of graduating students, one of the largest groups to participate in a UCLA commencement ceremony in recent years. In a moving salute to Coach Wooden, 99 graduating student-athletes and scholars in caps and gowns solemnly carried blue and gold flags as photographs from Wooden’s career flashed on huge screens. Wooden was 99 years old when he died a week earlier, on June 4.
Among the student flag bearers was Mustafa Abdul-Hamid, a popular basketball player known for his sportsmanship and dedication to hard work in his studies and on the court.
"Carrying in this flag is the least of what we can do for Coach," Abdul-Hamid said. "It’s our way of honoring someone who honored us with all that he did. He carried the whole weight of this university for many years. He is and always will be our role model."
The spirit of the coach who won 10 NCAA basketball titles for UCLA and started a college basketball dynasty that remains unrivaled was pervasive as speakers alluded to Wooden’s life of grace and integrity.
Read rest of the release here. If any of you went to this and have videos from the event please feel free to share in this thread or in your own fanpost.
Also note for those of you who live in Southern California or have KTLA, the channel (5) will be airing a one-hour tribute show in honor of John Wooden this Sunday evening at 9 pm PT. The show is titled John Wooden: The Legacy. Lastly, don't forget there will also be a public memorial service for Coach on June 26th at Pauley.
GO BRUINS.