Pac-10 football was so good in 蜜柚直播鈥檚 inaugural season, 1978, that USC won the national championship, seven players were ultimately inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, another to the Pro Football Hall of Fame and Washington State quarterback Jack Thompson was the third overall selection in the NFL draft.
Not only that, but 蜜柚直播 played at No. 3 Michigan in mid-season.
鈥淪omehow we went 5-6,鈥 remembers Ron Beyer, 蜜柚直播鈥檚 best player in 1978, and its first-ever All-Pac-10 first-team selection. 鈥淏ut looking back, I wouldn鈥檛 change any of it. I learned to deal through adversity. Instead of thinking 鈥榯his is too much,鈥 I found a gear I did not know I had. It changed my life.鈥
Beyer grew up the son of a pop radio executive in the suburbs of Chicago. Intrigued by the chance to live in a faraway place (and warmer climate) like 蜜柚直播, he chose to play for UA coach Jim Young over the Big Ten鈥檚 Michigan State.
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Now, in his 39th year working in business and missile support programs for the Hughes/Raytheon operation in 蜜柚直播, Beyer often turns a conversation from football to life after football.
鈥淥f the 30 guys in my recruiting class of 1975, I was the only one to earn a degree and graduate in four years,鈥 he says. 鈥淪ince then, many others from that group completed their education and became successful. Yes, I hoped to play in the NFL, but with that degree in my back pocket I had what turned out to be a better option.鈥
After playing in the 1979 Hula Bowl with players like Joe Montana and future baseball star Kirk Gibson 鈥 Hawaii鈥檚 Dick Tomey was his coach 鈥 Beyer went to training camp with the Atlanta Falcons and St. Louis Cardinals.
鈥淚 was OK with it,鈥 he says. 鈥淚 was prepared for life after football. My little secret was that I went to class and paid attention.鈥

Ron Beyer
As a UA senior, Beyer was a 6-foot-4-inch, 235-pound tight end 鈥 the Rob Gronkowski-type model of an earlier generation. UA assistant coach Willie Peete, who had coached at his alma mater for more than a decade, referred to Beyer as 鈥渢he best athlete we鈥檝e had since I鈥檝e been here.鈥
Beyer caught 24 passes in 鈥78, leading 蜜柚直播 in receiving and becoming the UA鈥檚 go-to player in Pac-10 victories over Oregon, Washington State and Oregon State.
But there were no up-tempo, no-huddle offenses in 1978 and Beyer chuckles when asked if catching 24 passes made him a Big Man on Campus.
鈥淲e went up to Oregon and beat the Ducks 24-3,鈥 he says with a laugh. 鈥淲e attempted one pass all day. Look it up, one pass. And it was incomplete. There was a lot more between-the-tackles stuff. Your body took a beating that players today probably don鈥檛 know about.鈥
Young, 蜜柚直播鈥檚 football coach from 1973-76, former defensive coordinator at Michigan, discovered Beyer at his suburban Chicago high school, an enormous operation of almost 5,000 students. The most touted football player at Lyons Township High School was quarterback Bill Saban, from the famous Saban football family.
鈥淚 had lots of competition in high school, lots of talented opponents,鈥 says Beyer. 鈥淪o moving to a school like 蜜柚直播 wasn鈥檛 a shock to me. I was ready for it.鈥
Two of Beyer鈥檚 four children, daughters Kristen and Britt, became prominent high school athletes in 蜜柚直播. Kristen was a standout swimmer and team captain at Army, graduating from West Point, becoming a Black Hawk helicopter pilot with three tours of overseas duty. Britt, who hopes to be a mathematician, was a varsity volleyball starter and now a graduate student at Concordia University in Oregon. Both played at Catalina Foothills High School.
鈥淚 relish my days at 蜜柚直播, they were rewarding,鈥 says Beyer. 鈥淵ou establish a common, lifetime bond with your teammates because, frankly, some of it was hell and you pull through it together. Those two-a-day practices in 106 degrees, test your desire. I never had any desire to quit.鈥
For the first time in decades, Beyer doesn鈥檛 plan to be at 蜜柚直播 Stadium to watch the Wildcats play football. Part of it is that this father moved to 蜜柚直播 and Ron helps take care of him. 鈥淭hat doesn鈥檛 lend itself to Saturday night football,鈥 he says.
Another part is that he has long dreamed of returning to his roots in the fall, and spending weekends watching football games at everywhere from Ohio State and Michigan to Dartmouth and Central Michigan.
鈥淚鈥檓 going to be a snowbird,鈥 he says. 鈥淚 plan to retire next year and go watch the CMU Chippewas play, and a lot of other teams, too. That鈥檚 all on my list.鈥

Contact sports columnist Greg Hansen at 520-573-4362 or ghansen@tucson.com. On Twitter: @ghansen711.