Todd Bankhead then and now- He barely looks like he's aged

Todd Bankhead wasn't highly recruited when he arrived at UMass as Mark Whipple's first quarterback recruit, but the quarterback from California was a perfect fit for Whipple's offense and helped lead the Minutemen to the 1998 Division I-AA Championship.

THEN

What years were you at UMass? 1998-2000

What did you major in at UMass? Sports Managment

Favorite class? Any of my Sport Managment classes

Favorite professor? Professor Wong

Where did you live while you were a student? Southwest, John Adams tower

Favorite off campus spot? Antonio's.....best pizza I ever had

Favorite Antonios slice? Buffalo Chicken

Greatest Game Playing for UMass? Had to be the National Championship game. I
didn't do much personally, Marcel was busy shredding the Georgia
Southern Defense. I will never forget the feeling of winning a National
Championship, especially because so little was expected from us that
year. I can't begin to describe how crazy and how much fun that season
was.

Do you have any souvenirs from your playing career? Pictures, old jerseys, other memorabilia? Too
much to list, most notably the National Championship ring, Conference
Championship ring, my helmet, and picture

NOW

What do you do for a career? Feel free to include any interesting details about you've lived or worked since leaving UMass -
I'm a Police Officer in San Diego. It's a little different than most Police
jobs because we are cross trained as marine firefighters and work on a
boat quite a bit. I'm also a scubadiver for our department. I kinda
gave it a shot after I was done playing football because I didn't know
what I wanted to do and now love it. It's similar to football in that
it's a team environment, I work with a lot of good people. Before that,
I played football in the CFL for a year and played in the Arena League
for 3 years. I enjoyed living in different parts of the country
including Atlanta, LA, New Jersey and Tampa Bay.

Where do you live now? I live in Encinitas CA, it's a small beach town just north of San Diego

Married? Yes

Children? Yes, my wife Susanne and I have a 3 year old boy named Jackson

Last time you visited Amherst? 2008 homecoming for the 1998 football reunion, great time.

Do you still play at all? No, not football. I play basketball and surf a lot.

Do you still follow UMass sports? Absolutely, mainly football and
basketball. I subscribe to the live streams and watch football and
basketball games. I'm excited with everything going on with the
football program and want to come back for a visit soon. I also can't
wait for Basketball season, I think DK is gonna get it rolling this
season. I check out the UMass football blog and lurk on the UMass hoops
forum to stay current. Can't forget Gazette net and Matty V who's
always on it.

If so are there athletes you particularly follow? Definitely follow the players on the football team, no one in particular I guess. As far as basketball, it's fun to watch Freddie Riley get it going and am looking forward to Putney doing some big things.

What teammates do you stay in touch with: It's kinda of tough being out here
in San Diego with most of the guys on the east coast. Facebook is great
for that reason. I definately wish I could see everybody more, I love
all my old teammates. One guy who lives close who I've always been good
friends with is Ryan Woods, I also see my old roommate Kelly Seibert
from time to time.

Anything else you'd like to add? Sure, I'm very proud to have gone to
UMass and feel blessed to have played on what's got be one of the
greatest UMass teams of all time. I never took a second of my time at
UMass for granted and loved every second of it.