Former Rose Bowl CEO Darryl Dunn to be Inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame Class of 2022

Retired Rose Bowl Stadium CEO Darryl Dunn, former Oregon and Penn State coach Hugo Bezdek, and 1977 Rose Bowl Game MVP Vince Evans and 1987 All-American Lorenzo White will be inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame as the Class of 2022, the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association said this week.

Bezdek, Dunn, Evans and White will be recognized during this year’s Rose Bowl Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at a private event the week of the Rose Bowl Game. They will also be honored in the Rose Parade presented by Honda and on the field during the 109th Rose Bowl Game on Monday, January 2, 2023.

Due to the Tournament of Roses’ “Never on a Sunday” rule, the Rose Parade and the Rose Bowl Game will not be on New Year’s Day.

Hugo Bezdek is the only coach to bring three different teams to the Rose Bowl Game. He led the Oregon Webfoots to a 14-0 victory over Pennsylvania in 1917, marking the first win for a West Coast team in The Granddaddy of Them All. In 2018, he coached the Mare Island Marines in the Rose Bowl Game, which featured two military teams due to World War I. In the 1923 Rose Bowl Game, Bezdek brought Penn State to Pasadena for the first Rose Bowl Game to take place at the Rose Bowl Stadium. He is also the only person to be a head coach in the NFL and serve as the manager of a Major League Baseball team.

Bezdek was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1954. He died in 1952 at the age of 68.

Darryl Dunn spent 27 years working at the Rose Bowl Stadium, including the last 23 as the stadium’s CEO. Under his leadership, the Rose Bowl hosted countless concerts, international soccer matches, UCLA home football games, the Rose Bowl Game, College Football Championships and CFP Semifinals. He oversaw several renovations, including the locker rooms and the Terry Donahue Pavilion. He also helped establish the Rose Bowl Legacy Foundation, which has raised millions of dollars to fund additional stadium upgrades.

After leading the Rose Bowl Stadium through the pandemic, Dunn retired in July.

As a two-year starter at quarterback for USC, Vince Evans led the Trojans to the Pac-8 title in 1976, earning a spot in the 1977 Rose Bowl Game against Michigan. USC won the game, 14-6, as Evans completed 14-of-20 passes and scored the game-winning touchdown on a fourth-and-goal rush from the one-yard line. For his efforts, he was named MVP of the game. The Trojans would finish the season with an 11-1 record and ranked No. 2 in the final polls. In 1977, Evans was selected by the Chicago Bears in the NFL Draft and went on to a 16-year professional career that spanned three decades in the NFL and USFL.

Since retiring from football, Evans has led a successful career in real estate in Southern California.

A two-time first-team All-American and two-time Big Ten MVP at Michigan State, Lorenzo White led the Spartans to a 20-17 victory in the 1988 Rose Bowl Game, running for 113 yards and scoring twice in the win. His 35 carries in the game ranks as the third most in Rose Bowl Game history. White went on to be drafted in the first round of the 1988 NFL Draft and played eight years in the NFL. He ran for more than 1,200 yards in 1992 and was selected to the Pro Bowl.

White was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2019.

With the addition of this year’s class, the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame includes 140 inductees over its 33-year history. Inductees are honored with a permanent plaque that includes their name and year of induction at The Court of Champions at the Rose Bowl Stadium.