Honoring a Rugby Life: Loc Vetter Memorial Cup
On a February afternoon in San Diego, when UCLA Bruins met the University of San Diego for the inaugural Loc Vetter Memorial Cup, the scoreboard felt secondary.
Because this wasn’t simply a fixture added to the calendar.
It was a story coming full circle.
A Bruin Before Anything Else
William Laughlin “Loc” Vetter first found rugby at UCLA in 1969. Like so many American players of that era, he stumbled into the sport and never left. What began as a curiosity quickly became a calling.
By 1975, Vetter was part of a Bruins side that captured a national championship — a milestone that cemented UCLA’s place in collegiate rugby history. But for Vetter, the trophy was only part of the journey. The deeper imprint was cultural: the discipline, the camaraderie, the expectation that you showed up for the man beside you.
Those lessons never left him.
At UCLA, he pursued degrees in physical education, kinesiology, and ultimately medicine. He became Dr. Vetter — but he remained “Loc” on the sideline. Scholar and sportsman. Teacher and teammate. The game was never separate from the classroom, nor from life.
Building More Than Teams
After his playing days, Vetter’s path led him south.
At the University of San Diego, he inherited a developing rugby program and began to shape it the only way he knew how: patiently, deliberately, relationally.
Players didn’t just learn structure and systems. They learned accountability. They learned to “do the basics really well.” They learned that culture — not talent — sustains success.
Under his guidance, USD rugby found identity and competitiveness. But more importantly, it found standards. Former players often speak less about wins and more about expectations — how Loc insisted you respect the jersey, respect your opponent, and respect the game.
In Southern California’s rugby community, his influence became connective tissue. Bruins who knew him as a teammate watched him mold Toreros into confident young men. Programs that once met only as opponents began sharing something deeper: a common mentor.
Writing It Down So It Wouldn’t Be Lost
Late in life, Vetter did something many coaches talk about but never complete: he wrote it all down.
His book, Notes From and About Coaching College Rugby: Ya Gotta Buy the T-Shirt, published in 2024, is not a technical manual. It doesn’t diagram lineout calls or defensive systems.
Instead, it reads like a conversation.
Across roughly 90 pages, Vetter distilled more than four decades around the college game into reflections on leadership, preparation, humility, and joy. The title itself — “Ya Gotta Buy the T-Shirt” — captures his belief in full investment. If you’re going to be part of something, commit to it. Show up. Wear it proudly.
The book blends anecdotes from championship runs, rebuilding years, touring sides, and countless training sessions. It offers lessons not only for rugby coaches, but for teachers, captains, parents, and anyone tasked with guiding young people.
There’s a simplicity to the writing that mirrors his coaching philosophy:
Be clear.
Be honest.
Care about people.
Perhaps most tellingly, proceeds from the book support the very college programs that shaped him — including UCLA and USD. Even in print, he was still building.
Why the Cup Matters
So when UCLA and USD met for the first Loc Vetter Memorial Cup, it felt less like a rivalry game and more like a reunion.
Two programs. One shared story.
At UCLA, he was part of a championship foundation.
At USD, he became a builder of culture.
Across both, he became a mentor whose influence extended far beyond the touchline.
The Memorial Cup ensures that new generations — players who never met him — will still learn his name. And perhaps, in time, they’ll learn his principles.
Because that’s the quiet power of a life like Loc Vetter’s.
Trophies tarnish. Seasons fade.
But the standards you set — the way you teach young men to carry themselves — endure.
And now, each year when UCLA and USD meet, they don’t just compete.
They remember.