Dave Loveton, the sports information specialist at SBCC for the past 15 years, is going into the Vaquero Hall of Fame.
Loveton is the sole inductee of the Hall of Fame Class of 2021, SBCC Athletic Director Rocco Constantino announced to his coaching staff in a Zoom meeting that included Loveton as a special guest.
“I’m overwhelmed,” Loveton said. “I’m surprised and happy to go into the Vaquero Hall of Fame.”
He’ll be honored along with the Class of 2020 in a virtual ceremony on a date that has yet to be determined.
The 2020 class includes former athletes Jesse Orosco (baseball), Don Ford (basketball), Tim Tremblay (football), Cindy Banks (track and field) and Kieran (O’Leary) Roblee (volleyball), coaches Ed DeLacy and Kathy O’Connor, and the 1983 state-champion men’s volleyball team.
“Dave is a Hall of Famer in every way, and we’re really happy we can honor him as an inductee to the SBCC Vaqueros Hall of Fame,” Constantino said. “The time he has dedicated towards helping our coaches and student-athletes is hard to comprehend. I can’t think of anyone who champions the students and coaches as much as Dave. His knowledge of SBCC and sports in Santa Barbara in general is unsurpassed.
“Our committee unanimously decided to elect Dave, and they were ecstatic to do so. You simply cannot tell the history of the SBCC Vaqueros without including the contributions by Dave Loveton, and, to me, that’s the hallmark of a true Hall of Famer.”
Loveton, 62, started working at SBCC in 2006. He took care of game statistics and recaps for all of the athletic teams, produced media releases on athletic department news, updated the athletic website and served as the public address announcer at many events.
His relationship with the college goes back to 1988. As a sports writer for the Santa Barbara News-Press, he was the beat writer for SBCC sports.
Football coach Craig Moropoulos has worked with Loveton during his entire career at SBCC.
“I appreciate everything you do; you’re a stud,” Moropoulos said in the meeting. “You’re well deserving of this honor.”
“I’m so grateful for everything you do,” women’s basketball coach Sandrine Krul said. “I’m so honored to call you a friend.”
Baseball coach Jeff Walker noted that it took three people to handle Loveton’s responsibilities when he was unable to work.
Loveton was diagnosed with stage 4 kidney cancer in January 2018 and had one of his kidneys removed. He returned to work in the fall of 2019. He is currently receiving immunotherapy at the Ridley-Tree Cancer Center in Santa Barbara.
Loveton continues to write media releases on the latest athletic department news.
“I’m so impressed with Dave. He’s helped my program out so much,” women’s water polo and swim coach Chuckie Roth said. “You’re so invaluable and an asset to my program.”
Loveton has been part of the Santa Barbara sports media for 40 years. He started at the News-Press in 1981 and has worked for Noozhawk for the past five years. He was hired at SBCC by then-AD Mike Warren in the fall of 2006.
— Noozhawk sports editor Barry Punzal can be reached at bpunzal@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk Sports on Twitter: @NoozhawkSports. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.