Ecker was not a marquee player for
UCLA. Over three championship seasons, he played in nearly every game, though his playing time was limited and typically came when the outcome of the game was already decided. The skinny, reserve served as a backup at both
forward and
center. Ecker entered UCLA as a
walk-on without an
athletic scholarship, and was a starter on the freshman team in 1966–67. He was joined in the lineup by Seibert, his former high school teammate. The following season, Ecker
redshirted and did not play. On the first day of practice in
1969–70, students at UCLA had scheduled a walkout to protest the
Vietnam War. Ecker joined teammate
Andy Hill, who was also a former high school teammate, in requesting Wooden to cancel practice to support of the antiwar effort, but the coach refused. With the graduation of three-year starting center Lew Alcindor (known later as
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), Ecker was promoted to second-string as starter
Steve Patterson's backup. During the season, Ecker made a
layup with five seconds remaining for a 72–71 win over
Oregon State. He had entered the game for a
jump ball with 16 seconds left after
Sidney Wicks had fouled out, and controlled the tip before making the winning shot. UCLA finished the season 28–2, and won the national championship game over
Jacksonville. At the annual team banquet after the season, Seibert delivered a speech that was highly critical of Wooden. Afterwards, the coach was determined to eliminate "all possible sources of trouble" from the team. He interrogated Ecker, Hill, and
Terry Schofield, advising them to transfer from UCLA if they agreed with Seibert, but all three players insisted that they wished to stay. In
1970–71, Ecker made two
free throws in the final seven seconds in a 57–53 win over
Washington State. The team's top free throw shooter at 88 percent, he made the shots in place of an injured Schofield. The Bruins won their fifth straight national championship, and seven of the previous eight. ==Professional career==