Don Regan

Steve Virgen

Don Regan has remained active throughout his life.

At age 69, he continues to maintain a busy schedule, which

includes a healthy dose of volleyball, skiing and body surfing.

He is the setter for the Mid-Atlantic Conference Classic squad set

to compete in the 70-and-over division of the United States

Volleyball Association national championship in Atlanta, May 28

through June 5. Regan will turn 70 this year.

The secret to his desire to stay in shape?

“I never grew up,” said Regan, a Newport Beach resident who has

had plenty of toys to play with, considering he co-founded the

American Basketball Association, World Hockey Association,

International Volleyball Association, World Team Tennis and the World

Football League. “I thoroughly enjoy competing. There’s just

something unique and great about it; sitting around afterward and

trash talking.

“Now it’s just ingrained into my lifestyle,” he continued. “I

should maybe try to tone it down, but I can’t. It’s a great way to

live.”

Regan’s ability to compete was in question after a serious

accident in 1992. While participating in St. Patrick’s Day

festivities, Regan suffered severe head trauma when he slipped and

fell from dancing on tables. He fractured his skull and, for a period

of six months, he could not function as he used to.

Doctors told Regan’s wife, Sara, her husband might suffer from

brain damage and would never be the same. But he rehabilitated and,

after six months, he became Don Regan once again.

“I’m really lucky,” Regan said. “I didn’t want to spend the rest

of my life not getting to tie my shoes.”

Regan’s will and athletic ability traces back to his college days.

He excelled in volleyball as an All-American setter at UCLA in 1956,

when he helped lead the Bruins to the national title.

However, when Regan first began his life at UCLA, his dreams were

more about basketball. After graduating from Loyola High, he

attempted to progress in hoops and started with the Bruins’ freshman

basketball team. He said he was involved in a few practices with

coaching legend John Wooden.

Before Regan became a sophomore, he was recruited for the

volleyball team, joining a few of his friends from the Fiji

fraternity. When Regan first played on the squad, he backed up and

learned from volleyball great Rolph Engen.

In 1956, after Engen graduated, Regan took over and was the

Bruins’ team captain. He and teammate Dick Davis formed a devastating

duo, which led UCLA to the victory over Stanford for the national

championship.

Before the match, Regan said he was able to hear the Stanford

players talk about the Bruins. The then-Indians bad-mouthed Regan,

saying he was incapable of playing at their level, so he made sure to

prove them wrong.

“That was one of the greatest feelings of my life and my greatest

sports moment ever,” Regan said.

After college, he spent four years in the U.S. Navy Reserves. In

1961, he earned his law degree at UCLA and, after a few years of

practicing commercial law, he turned his attention to sports

business.

Along with law-school buddy Gary Davidson, Regan co-founded the

ABA, which began a rush of lucrative sports leagues the duo brought

to fans. Regan was also the founding owner of the Kentucky Colonels.

In 1974, he helped start the World Football League, which lasted

through 1975.

While he worked with his business, he also kept his feet in

competition. In 1969, when he was 35, Regan played for the Balboa Bay

Club squad that won the USVBA national title in the 35-and-over

division. Regan said it was the best team he ever played on.

Now, he hopes to win another championship in Atlanta. He practices

and plays religiously at Big Corona, which is not too far from where

he lives, as he has a home near the Newport Beach pier.

He lives with his wife, Sara. They have been married for 48 years

and have four children and 15 grandchildren.