Linda Dawson

Linda Dawson, Hall of Fame Inductee
Linda is the first female coach inducted into Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table Hall of Fame. She was selected as Coach of the Year in both 1976 and 1977 by the SBART. In high school, Linda played bo~ basketball and volleyball. As a student at UCSB, she was Captain of the Volleyball Team from 1970 to 1973.

During seven years as girls’ volleyball coach at Bishop Diego High from 1973 to 1980, Linda Dawson guided the Cardinals to the CIF playoffs all seven years and winning the “AA” title once and the “AAA” crown three times. During these same years, she took the Bishop basketball team to the playoffs six of seven years and won the CIF “AA” title in 1977 and 1978. During her teaching career at Bishop, she was the Athletic Director of the combined male and female athletic programs, and taught physiology, biology, and government. The following year, Linda went to the USSR on a Comparative Physical Education Study Tour.

Although she left Santa Barbara in the early 1980’s, she still ranks as one of the coaches with the greatest number of wins in local history. In 1980’s she wrote and published articles on volleyball and conducted various athletic workshops. Attending Eastern Kentucky University in 1984, She was selected as the outstanding graduate student in Physical Education. Linda’s athletic interests include running, biking, swimming, tennis, golf and racquetball.

She also enjoys computers, music, movies and travel. She currently is in the San Diego area where she is the coordinator and a teacher for the English as a Second Language program.