Bernie Bickerstaff's return highlights second annual Empowering Black Legacy event

SAN DIEGO — On a sunny San Diego Sunday in mid February, USD’s first Black head coach who paved the way for many more, Bernie Bickerstaff, made his return to America’s Most Beautiful Campus as keynote speaker for the second annual Black History Month event, Empowering Black Legacy: Honoring Our Legends & Uplifting the Next Generation.

It was an evening celebrating the history, resilience, and impact of Black student-athletes and leaders at USD. Through storytelling across eras — past, present, and future — Bickerstaff and a panel of current USD student-athletes reflected on the moments that have shaped themselves, the community around them and explored the work still ahead.

“To me, it was a tough situation [coming to the event] and it tells you what I feel about the University of San Diego with my son and the remainder of my family in Los Angeles for the (NBA) All-Star Game,” the Torero Hall of Famer joked.   

Bickerstaff took time to share with the hundreds in attendance his experience as the first Black head coach at USD.  

Following Bickerstaff, four Torero student-athletes — women’s basketball senior twins Hallie and Jayden Rhodes, women’s rowing junior Jessica Carter, volleyball junior Nemo Beach, and football senior Elijah Johnson — spoke on a panel, sharing their perspectives on carrying forward Black legacies in college athletics. Football senior James Scott served as the event’s emcee.

This panel brought together four generations of Black scholar-athletes to discuss their experiences navigating college athletics, how they view their contributions to the sport, and the challenges they faced in leveraging their likeness in an era when opportunities weren’t always accessible. From life before NIL to today’s expanded possibilities, they shared insights on overcoming barriers and inspiring future Black student-athletes. More info on the backgrounds of each of the five student-athletes can be found here. 

Representing multiple sports and backgrounds, the student-athletes spoke candidly about their personal journeys at USD — the importance of representation, leadership, and building community — and how they hope to leave the program stronger for those who follow.

“It’s just so impactful to have this many people from different generations supporting Black Legacy and really special for Bernie to represent that,” Associate Vice President and Executive Director of Athletics Kimya Massey said. “I call Bernie the godfather of USD basketball, but also an upstream trailblazer in every sense of the word, not just at USD but the NBA. 

“It's really cool to see the event grow from year one to year two.” 

Support came in from all over campus. In attendance were USD President James T. Harris, Vice President for Student Affairs Charlotte Johnson, and Interim Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs Nicholas Santilli, among others.

“I thought it was great,” Bickerstaff said. “It was a nice crowd about Black History. The University of San Diego has been consistent in walking the walk and talking the talk. They’ve done a really good job. They had some great athletes and the contributions they gave were great. I thought it was an outstanding event.”

“He’s full of so much wisdom,” said USD women’s basketball head coach Blanche Alverson of Bickerstaff. “I think it's really powerful what he's talking about in terms of creating a legacy and having a responsibility here. So, to be in a place that he's been able to be a part of and just the words he's saying and sharing with our student athletes who are here, I think it's really special.”

Exactly 60 years ago, Bernie Bickerstaff was finishing his senior season as captain of the San Diego men’s basketball team. 

Even as a point guard, he was the team’s leading rebounder en route to being named team MVP. He was part of a team that made the NCAA DII tournament, playing in the Pacific Coast Regional.

Then, three years later in 1969 at just 25 years old, he returned to America’s Finest City to take over for the legendary coach Phil Woolpert, becoming the first Black head coach in program history. 

In four years as head coach, Bickerstaff led the Toreros to 55 wins and made a trip back to the 1973 NCAA DII tournament where he guided the Toreros to a third-place finish. 

After his time coaching the Toreros’ program, he took his talents to the next level where he would spend four decades as an assistant coach, head coach, scout and assistant general manager across 10 NBA franchises. 

Bickerstaff paved the way for more Toreros to coach at the next level. USD’s network of former players turned NBA head coaches runs five deep, third most among programs nationally, only behind blue bloods Indiana and North Carolina.  

Several of those “Toreros in the pros” stem from mentorship by Bickerstaff, including current head coaches such as Mike Brown with the New York Knicks and James Borrego, interim coach for the New Orleans Pelicans. The list isn’t limited to coaches but extends into front offices. For example, Nick U’Ren, who was the WNBA’s General Manager of the Year with the Phoenix Mercury. The list goes on and on.

All of Bickerstaff's contributions to the program, both as a player and coach, led to being inducted into the inaugural class of the Chet and Marguerite Pagni Family USD Athletics Hall of Fame in 1994. He also established the Bernie Bickerstaff Inclusive Excellence Fund while serving on the University’s Board of Trustees. 

However, many of Bickerstaff's accolades and opportunities trace back to his own college coach. 

“Coach Woolpert was the guy that turned everything around for me,” said Bickerstaff, who was also named to the West Coast Conference’s Hall of Honor in 2009. 

“That is my hero.”

The evening ultimately reflected the event’s purpose — connecting past trailblazers with the current generation shaping the future of USD Athletics. Through the Empowering Black Legacy event and the Bernie Bickerstaff Inclusive Excellence Fund, the impact continues beyond a single night, supporting student-athletes, coaches, and staff while strengthening community across the department.

The Bernie Bickerstaff Inclusive Excellence Fund was established in the Summer of 2020 and named in honor of USD's first Black head coach and Torero Legend. The fund provides holistic support, education, leadership and advocacy training for Torero scholar-athletes, coaches and staff while also celebrating and empowering the USD Athletics community.