Hall of Fame
Position: Quarterback
Years: 1995-1998
Place of Birth: Portland, OR
Date of Birth: January 12, 1977
Jersey Number: 18
Height: 6-1
Weight: 209
High School: San Benito HS (Hollister, CA) / West Linn HS (West Linn, OR)
At a school with a long line of College Football Hall of Fame quarterbacks, it was Cade McNown who finished his career as UCLA's all-time leading passer. His record-setting four years has earned his place as the 13th Bruin player to enter the Hall of Fame.
A consensus First Team All-American in 1998, McNown took home the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award and finished third for the Heisman Trophy after a stellar senior campaign. The 1998 Pac-10 Co-Offensive Player of the Year and Davey O'Brien Award finalist racked up 3,470 passing yards and 3,652 total offensive yards that year – both single-season records at the time. The senior team captain and UCLA offensive MVP was named the National Quarterback of the Year by the Quarterback Club of Washington D.C. and the Pop Warner Award recipient as the top player on the West Coast. McNown led the Bruins to the 1998 Pac-10 title, a No. 8 final ranking and a berth in the 1999 Rose Bowl, where he set a school bowl record with 340 passing yards. His 513 passing yards in a shootout loss to Miami (FL) remains a UCLA single-game record.
McNown remains UCLA's all-time leader with 10,708 passing yards and 1,250 passing attempts while his 11,285 yards of total offense and 68 touchdown passes both rank second in the school record books. As a junior, he guided UCLA to a share of the Pac-10 title while leading the nation in passing efficiency. The 1997 Bruins would finish the season with a No. 5 national ranking after a win over Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl in which McNown would earn Offensive MVP honors. He boasts 11 games with 300 yards passing, the second most in Bruins history, and he led the team to a 20-game winning streak during his junior and senior seasons. He played for College Football Hall of Fame coach Terry Donahue during his freshman season in 1995, and he is the only player in school history to start at quarterback in four straight wins over archrival Southern California. McNown is a member of both the UCLA Athletics and Rose Bowl halls of fame.
The 12th overall pick in the 1999 NFL Draft, McNown played four seasons in the pros with the Chicago Bears, Miami Dolphins and San Francisco 49ers.
McNown entered the financial sector after his football career, and he is currently a senior managing director for Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors in Los Angeles where he is responsible for business development and client relations. He serves on the advisory board for West Coast Sports Associates and the board of directors for Friends of Golf while participating on various committees at the California Club. He has also volunteered at the California Showcase, an event sponsored by the NFF and headed by Coach Donahue that gives unsigned high school football players an opportunity to try out for divisional college football programs and earn scholarships.
