UC Santa Barbara Football Assistant Is Killed in One-Vehicle Accident

Dick McBride, an assistant football coach at UC Santa Barbara the last two years, was killed in a one-vehicle accident late Saturday night, the California Highway Patrol said. He was 47.

According to the California Highway Patrol, McBride was traveling north on U.S. 101 at a speed of between 80 and 90 m.p.h. and failed to negotiate a curve.

The truck he was driving slammed into a guard rail and became airborne before hitting an embankment, the CHP said, adding that McBride was pronounced dead at the scene.

Before becoming an assistant under Mike Warren at Santa Barbara, McBride coached at Santa Ynez High for 22 years, the last 8 as head coach.

McBride, who coached the offensive backs at Santa Barbara, survived the crash of the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo football team at Bowling Green, Ohio, on Oct. 29, 1960. Sixteen of his teammates were killed in that accident.

McBride, a defensive back at San Luis Obispo, was one of 26 survivors. Another survivor was former USC coach Ted Tollner, now an assistant for the Buffalo Bills.

McBride is survived by his wife, Janet, and five daughters.

Santa Barbara had an 8-2 record last fall in its second season after bringing back football. The sport had been dropped by the school after the 1971 season. Santa Barbara has played at the National Collegiate Athletic Assn. Division III level since being brought back.