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BRUIN UP A DYNASTY by Paul Schwarz In seven years of working with UCLA's Bruins, Mike Bunkley has seen the growth of a dynasty that hinges not on Top-20 rankings, but on trust, patience, and sincere friendship.       Look up "dynasty" in the dictionary, and you might find "UCLA" listed as a definition. Why not, considering UCLA teams have won 210 collegiate championships in 10 different sports over the last seven years. That doesn't even include the Bruins' 10 men's basketball titles in 12 years from 1964 to 1975—the most celebrated dynasty in college sports history.        Now there's a new dynasty in Westwood, and this one's not ruled by Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) and Bill Walton. And it's not coached by John Wooden. This dynasty features a 29-year-old, sore-kneed, ex-football player named Mike Bunkley.        This dynasty is not dependent on winning records, nor is it measured by national championships. And it will last more than 12 years. It will outlast Mike. It will last forever.        Mike's dynasty is spiritual. He directs the Athletes in Action ministry at UCLA. AIA is a branch of Campus Crusade for Christ that helps lead college and professional athletes to a personal relationship with Christ and helps them grow in that relationship.        Mike joined AIA in 1982 after graduating from San Diego State, where he played football for three years until knee injuries forced him to quit. But not so long before then, sports with Mike's god.        Loving football and loathing church marked Mike's youth in San Bernardino, CA. Family-mandated Sunday church sessions cut in on precious television time spent watching the Minnesota Vikings and other competitive icons.        "Athletes were my heroes," Mike recalls. "I wanted to do the things they did on the field. I was engulfed in their abilities."        Exhorted by their examples, Mike worked hard enough at his own talents to earn a football scholarship to San Diego State. He showed up there as a 185-pound linebacker. By the end of his freshman year he'd muscled up to 225. But inner emptiness grew in proportion to outward sinew, and the off-the-filed "spoils" he sought soon left him disillusioned.        "Everywhere people asked us for autographs," says Mike. "I even remember sitting in my dorm room and people introducing themselves and saying, ‘I know you're on the football team. Would you be my friend?'        "I saw that I didn't control my destiny. People asked me to solve their problems. Yet I couldn't even solve my own. I'd look inside and ask myself, My goodness, who am I?"        When Mike began asking these foundational questions about his existence, he didn't immediately turn to God or the Bible for answers. He'd never read the Bible, despite his church background. In fact, he'd vowed never to go to church again. It took a year of incessant invitations from teammate Reuben Henderson to attend a Bible study until Mike ran out of excuses and finally went.        That first night, Campus Crusade staff member Greg Ericks talked about assurance of salvation. Mike had made a commitment to Christ at age 12, but uncertain of what that meant, he began meeting with Greg weekly, learning how to grow in his knowledge of Christ. He started devouring the Bible, though he admits he often snuck off to read it in the bathroom, overly conscious of what his non-Christian roommate would think.        Mike's faith fully emerged from the bathroom when he became involved with Campus Crusade at San Diego State during his junior year. After he graduated in 1981, he turned down a job offer from the state of California to instead present the gospel to athletes full time for AIA.        In seven years at UCLA, Mike has seen the growth of a dynasty whose effectiveness hinges not on Top-Twenty rankings or national tournament appearances, but on trust, patience and sincere friendship.        "I admire Mike, because he's emphatic about what he believes," says head football coach, Terry Donahue, "but he's good at not coming on too strong. Many of my players have responded to that, and he's become a good friend to them and to me."        Mike has become a friend to players because he identifies with their physical and emotional pains. "Most of the guys I meet have struggled with things I've struggled with," he admits. "It's like deja vu—they're telling me what I did, what I felt. It gives me compassion and gives them hope. They ask, ‘You did that? Wow! How did you stop doing that? How did God do that for you?' They see me as more father than big brother."        Watching Mike on campus reveals him to be, however, more big brother than father. Frequent stops at the team's training table and the athletic department offices reveal his sibling-esque rapport with players. He even holds his own in keeping up with current handshake choreography.        Whether it be in those spontaneous meetings or formal Bible studies, Mike is always ready to help UCLA athletes grow spiritually. Sometimes it's a quick word about handling a problem with a coach. Other times it can be sideline counseling.        At the UCLA-Long Beach State football game last September, Mike talked and prayed with Charles Arbuckle as the tight end agonized on the bench. Charles needed two human crutches to limp off the field when, one knee already braced, he injured the other one. Mike himself carries long, ominous scars on his knees from visits to the surgeon (he's had two operations on each).        Mike's honesty about his pains equips him to help players. He's willing to admit if he's having a hard time believing that God can do something, or if he's needing to lose a few pounds and get down to "playing weight."        Weight talk is one of the many light moments he shares with the players. Another is fishing. After closing out a Bible study, it's not unusual for Mike to pull out a jar of salmon eggs or other fishing paraphernalia. He grew to love fishing during the eight childhood years he spent in Alabama, surrounded by fishing holes.        Football reserve quarterback Ron Caragher loves fishing too. But he prefers the briny Pacific deep for his catches. In fact, he wants to get Mike, the lake lover, down to the sea. Ron is a product of Mike's "fishing trips" to the football team.        "When I was a freshman, Mike introduced himself to the team," recalls the junior. "Some older teammates I admired were Christians, and they met with him. I started going to his Bible study, and that's how I got to know him."        Ron received Christ as a boy, but Mike taught him the importance of developing his relationship with Christ. "Mike puts God first in everything he does. I really look up to that," he says. "Actions speak louder than words, and Mike to me is action. He doesn't just talk about the Christian life; he lives it."        Mike's words and actions currently influence players from seven different sports, including UCLA's powerhouse track and field team. "Any guy who wants to walk with the Lord is my favorite guy to work with," he says.        His most familiar element, however, is football. He leads a mid-week Bible study and a game-day morning chapel meeting with an average turnout of about 20.        One such chapel visitor was Kevin, a freshman forced to sit out the season. Kevin expressed interest in receiving Christ at one of the meetings, so Mike met with him one morning in the Tree House, a dining hall in the student union. Amidst the clanking of dishes form the nearby kitchen, Kevin admitted the frustrations of not playing because of a leg injury.        Mike carefully re-explained the gospel, and Kevin's easy-going manner gave way to seriousness as he intently listened. Mike asked him why he wanted to receive Christ. Kevin sheepishly squirmed. At a loss for words, he finally said, "Because I think it's time." So with his teammates strolling to and from the lunch tables behind him, Kevin prayed out loud and asked Christ to be his Savior.        Kevin symbolizes the potential growth of the new UCLA athletic dynasty. "A large percentage of athletes are interested in spiritual things," Mike says. "They are probably the most insecure, fearful people there are. Guys come right out and tell me they're insecure, they fear failure, they fear rejection. Yet because they're worshiped, they hang onto a facade of showing no weakness."        The "worship" of athletes provides them with a unique platform for communicating the gospel. "Athletes are the key to reaching the world for Christ," Mike declares. "They can go anywhere—even behind the Iron Curtain. And people will listen to a quarterback before they listen to the man on the street, because people give credibility to someone who can throw, catch or shoot a ball."        The crowds of people who hear Mike's players speak at evangelistic functions in the Southern California area prove that point. Mike took UCLA athletes to six high schools last spring to perform weightlifting clinics, talk about the importance of academics and talk about Christ. Of the 400 teens they talked to, 122 received Christ. At a meeting with another collegiate football team, 40 out of 54 players indicated decisions for Christ.        Whether it's other athletes, high school students, businessmen, church groups or even father-and-son banquets, Mike Bunkley's "dynasty" at UCLA reaches light-years past the shadow of Pauley Pavilion. He points out, "I can reach the world for Christ by reaching athletes at UCLA.        "For example, say a guy comes to UCLA from Alabama and comes to know Christ. He goes back to Alabama over spring vacation and speaks to half his high school. He's reaching parts of the world I could never reach myself."        The world is ever-present on Mike's mind. One of the first athletes he met at UCLA, former track star Alex Gonzalez, is now a missionary in the ghettoes of London, England.        Mike and his wife, Eldra, hope to serve overseas someday themselves. "I'm most motivated by being around people who have not heard the gospel," Mike says. "That's what I'm all about. I'm going to heaven, and I want to take as many people with me as I can."        Mike Bunkley is already taking numerous athletes at UCLA to heaven with him. Undoubtedly he'll take more before he's through.        Move over, John Wooden. Another dynasty has begun.