Mark Patton: UCSB’s 1965 Gauchos Still Savor the Football Season That Became Their Camelot

Mark Patton: UCSB’s 1965 Gauchos Still Savor the Football Season That Became Their Camelot

UC Santa Barbara was a young, blossoming campus in 1965. It hadn’t been scarred yet by the thorns of political unrest that arose during the Vietnam War. Forty-four Gauchos enjoyed the flower of their youth that autumn during a surprisingly glorious football season. It reached full bloom at the Camellia Bowl, a small-college regional championship that was played 60 years ago this week in Sacramento. UCSB lost in a rainstorm to second-ranked, smal…