Danny Rogers was UC Irvine's first men's basketball coach, guiding the Anteaters to 15-11 records each of the first two seasons. The fledgling UCI team won its first two contests over UC Riverside and Cal Poly and strung a six-game winning streak together that first season. Former UCI volleyball coach Charlie Brande was a member of Rogers' team and shared his memories.

Danny Rogers, A Special Man
By Charlie Brande
 
Every athlete has a former coach that they call "my coach".  This determination is usually tied to winning, but as we mature and progress with our lives, we realize the qualities that truly make somebody your special coach. Success is always important, but those things that make a role model exceptional are the life skills that the coach exhibits.  Things like passion to help people, strong family values, exceptional and non-wavering faith, and lasting friendships, make a very special definition of "My Coach".  Danny Rogers, UCI's first basketball coach, was that person for me.
 
After a very successful playing career at the University of Southern California followed by success as an assistant coach for the Trojans, Danny signed to be the University of California at Irvine's first men's basketball coach in 1964 with the first classes starting in late September, 1965.  He brought knowledge, enthusiasm, and a desire to build success through recruiting and teaching.  Imagine recruiting to a school that had not even opened.  I was lucky enough to be in that first class in UCI history.
       
I remember talking to my freshman teammates during our first season at UCI and telling them how Coach Rogers had left our gym by swishing a right-handed hook shot from the corner as he walked out.  Dave Fontius, another freshman, trumped that by explaining that Coach had done the same thing at his gym, only left-handed.  Legendary!
 
Danny and his wife, Sheila, made the freshman transition from high school, much easier with their "family" approach.  They were married in 1960 and had four children, three boys (John, Joe and Pete) and finally a girl, Tracy. I actually babysat them many times.  He coached all of their teams as they grew into excellent athletes and team players. Sheila became one of the most renowned teachers and teacher-of-teachers in Newport-Mesa School District for many years.
 
After back-to-back 15-11 seasons, Danny left UCI to enter the world of marketing.  It was hard for those of us who started with him to understand but those things happen.  One of the things that he taught me about coaching beyond his integrity, passion for competition, and fairness, was about the importance of your coach-to-player relationships after you have finished coaching the team.  After graduating from UCI in 1969, I continued to play on teams with Danny, some of his former teammates and other players that he had coached. Those were friends of his that he has kept for all of these years.  Loyalty and friendship.  I consider myself very fortunate to have been a part of the Rogers family at their Thanksgiving dinners.
 
One of my first coaching jobs was coaching Danny's Boys' Club third grade team which his son Pete played on.  Dan had taken a job of the general manager of the Hawaiians in the newly formed World Football League in Hawaii and left me with the team.  It is when coaching that you truly fall back to the principles of your former coaches.  Organization, fairness and simple explanation were some of those cornerstones that I remembered.
 
We lost Danny on July 7, 2020.  His family was at his side as he peacefully passed with extreme strength in his faith and the knowledge that he would now be joining his beloved Sheila.  With the family and his special small group, there was an outdoor Mass on July 20^th.  There are plans for a typical Rogers celebration of his life once the COVID-19 has been solved.
       
Danny Rogers was that special role model that all people should emulate.  Giving created some of his happiest times as he spent almost 20 years as the President and CEO of Goodwill Industries of Orange County.  Loyalty is measured by the numbers of lifelong friendships that he developed through sports, business and life.  He cared tremendously and people knew it. 
       
Those close to Danny called him "Chief" very affectionately.  He was the leader and always made sure that everybody was happy.  I didn't call him Chief because he was always "My Coach".