The nostalgia hit Ross Niederhaus in the grocery store as he stocked up for what might be his last Rose Bowl tailgate.
This has been nearly a lifelong tradition for the native of Linda Vista, starting in 2005 when he was 8 years old and UCLA romped over Oregon State. When he got his driver’s license in 2012, Niderhaus started throwing his own tailgates, bringing chicken-in-a-biscuit crackers because he couldn’t afford fancier fare.
He was back Saturday afternoon underneath a tent on the grass in Lot H, wearing his favorite No. 2 Eric McNeal jersey, possibly here for the last time as the Bruins contemplate whether they will remain at the place they have called home since 1982 or move to SoFi Stadium for the 2026 season.
“I wish we knew whether or not this was the last time,” Niederhaus said, “because if this was the last time for sure I could at least be saying my goodbyes to my favorite tradition. This is my favorite thing to do. My ashes are willed to be spread at the Rose Bowl.”
UCLA fan Ray Hoit sets up a tent while tailgating at the Rose Bowl before Saturday’s game against Washington.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
On the other side of the stadium, on the sprawling Brookside Golf Course, Nicholaus Iamaleava was prepping his pregame tailgate below four tents alongside his brother Matt, the siblings expecting about 60 family members to indulge in a potluck spread of burgers, hot dogs, wings, fries, hot links, sushi and fried rice.
Both brothers were hoping for more tailgates to come outside the century-old stadium. But just in case, they were preparing for the alternative.
“Today, we’re going to go in early,” said Nicholaus Iamaleava, the father of the UCLA starting quarterback by the same name. “Normally we go in right before kickoff but this time, we’re going to go in and soak it all in, man. It might be the last game, right, so we want to enjoy every bit of it and just hang out.”
Matt Iamaleava said he didn’t think moving to SoFi Stadium would solve the attendance issues plaguing the Bruins at their longtime home.
UCLA fan Nathan Nguyen sets up while tailgating outside the Rose Bowl on Saturday.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
“There’s nothing like playing at the Rose Bowl,” Iamaleava said. “Hopefully, it works itself out.”
Added Nicholaus Iamaleava: “We’re praying on it. That would be great.”
Nearly 6½ hours before UCLA’s kickoff against Washington, Jamie Hickcox-Baker and Dee Fitzgerald-Cardello lugged a table across the pavement in Lot K, having already unfurled a couple of folding chairs. The UCLA graduates were awaiting the arrival of a massive ice sculpture that would hold margaritas for their group of 25 friends.
“I’m very sad because I live in Altadena and so this is in my backyard and I just hate to see it leave,” Fitzgerald-Cardello said. “It’s just such a tradition. I’m very saddened by it.”
Even though she’s been making the drive from Fresno to tailgate at the Rose Bowl since 1993, Hickcox-Baker was less wistful about a possible move to SoFi Stadium.
UCLA fan Leki Manu throws a football outside the Rose Bowl before Saturday’s game against Washington.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
“I kind of feel like we can talk tradition all we want,” Hickcox-Baker said, “but we left the Pac-12 and the Pac-12 is no longer, so if there’s no tradition in the Rose Bowl game anymore, think about how college football has evolved. I’ve been to a few games at SoFi, it’s a beautiful stadium. The last few years, because our team hasn’t been doing well, we’re stuck in that 100-degree temperature [at the Rose Bowl] and nobody’s coming to the games.”
Back in Lot H, the scene took on the feel of a state fair. The smell of burgers, brats and other grilled delicacies wafted through the air as children played football on the grass and a nearby patch of dirt. One kid kicked a football, commencing a mad scramble as a group of friends converged on the object of their delight.
“This is one of the reasons why people come now,” longtime fan John Anderson said, “is to be here with friends and be able to run around and throw a ball and stuff and if that can’t happen at SoFi, I think it will be a shame. So I don’t think they’re going to get the draw that they think they’re going to get — maybe a little bump for a couple of games and that’s it.”
UCLA fans tailgate before Saturday’s game at the Rose Bowl between UCLA and Washington.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
Anderson said he missed one home UCLA football game over the last 16 years, and that was to attend a wedding. And if the Bruins move to SoFi?
“I’ll go to a game or two,” Anderson said. “It really depends on what the pricing looks like.”
Neiderhaus said he always would support the Bruins while conceding he might be in the minority.
“I’ll be there,” Niederhaus said, “but I know a lot of people that won’t — a lot of people I know who are season-ticket holders said they’re not coming back, which I think is a big issue that UCLA needs to be acknowledging throughout all of this. A lot of die-hards care about the Rose Bowl just as much as they care about Bruin football, so who knows” how attendance will go.
I have to give it to Bill Plaschke when he’s right. UCLA moving to SoFi Stadium is about as smart as a typical UCLA coaching hire.
This month I was able to attend the Steelers-Chargers game at SoFi on a Sunday, followed the next Saturday by the USC-Iowa game at the Coliseum. Everything about those two places is different and only one of them feels like the college experience.
SoFi crams tailgaters in like sardines. There is no room to enjoy the experience.
The fresh air and scenery at the Rose Bowl are the best maybe in the country. People don’t show up at the Rose Bowl for a very simple reason: The program stinks. Not the venue. This proves the old adage, “the fish stinks from the head down.” Thousands of fans sat in the rain last weekend for a Trojans game because the product on the field was worth it. Simple.
Jeff Heister Chatsworth
Who can blame UCLA for wanting to play at SoFi Stadium, the ultra-modern sports palace, not to mention great recruiting tool, a mere 15 minutes from campus? As Bill Plaschke waxes nostalgic, the rest of us slog down the 10 Freeway from Westwood, through downtown, up into the far northeast corner of L.A., to the antiquated monument that is the Rose Bowl.
Afterward, those of us sitting on the east side of the stadium, staring into the setting sun until the fourth quarter, stumble with burned-out retinas to the muddy golf course that they call a parking lot, to wait in our stack-parked cars, until everyone else is out, so we can leave, an hours-long ordeal just to get home. My only question is, what genius at UCLA signed a long-term contract to play at a place that was obsolete long before the ink dried?
Art Peck View Park
UCLA will pay attorneys millions of dollars endeavoring to extricate the university from the ironclad Rose Bowl lease it pledged to honor. Beyond those fees, they’ll pay tens of millions more to Pasadena in order to get out of the deal.
If UCLA takes those same many millions, invests in a top-tier coach, enhances its football programs and facilities, and fills their NIL coffer, that should lead to a winning, sustainable program that brings more fans to the games. Rose Bowl revenue goes up.
Pasadena may get a one-time windfall, but over time without an anchor tenant, revenue will shrink and the stadium’s luster will fade.
Where are the sensible, honorable folks who possess the smarts and the backbone to craft a fair deal?
David Griffin Westwood
UCLA likely leaving the historic Rose Bowl, home of a million team memories and successes, for the sterile confines of SoFi Stadium is abhorrent to any longtime Bruin fan. Terry Donahue, you have our sincerest apologies.
The City of Pasadena and the Rose Bowl Operating Co. requested a preliminary injunction and temporary restraining order Monday in Los Angeles County Superior Court seeking to prevent UCLA from leaving the Rose Bowl or terminating its stadium lease until pending litigation against the school is resolved.
The filing contends that the plaintiffs would suffer “immediate and irreparable harm if the status quo is not preserved during the pendency of this lawsuit.” A hearing has tentatively been scheduled for Wednesday morning.
UCLA responded in a statement that it was still evaluating options for its football home, though someone familiar with the university’s thinking on the matter later confirmed to The Times that if the Bruins decided to leave for SoFi Stadium, they would want to do so for the 2026 season.
In their Monday filing, the plaintiffs contended that: “there is no way to sugarcoat it: UCLA has confirmed its imminent departure, severely destabilizing Plaintiffs’ core operations. Those operations are structured around and contingent upon UCLA. Without confirmation that UCLA intends to honor its contractual commitments — at least during the pendency of this litigation — Plaintiffs are deprived of the ability to plan and manage the stadium’s schedule and their ongoing business operations, including cultivating and securing future business partners and opportunities, retaining personnel, and maintaining confidence among the many vendors and sponsors who rely on UCLA Football.
“Equally troubling is the precedent UCLA is setting. Stadium and arena public-private partnerships, and the financing that makes them possible, turn on enforceable, long-term contracts, with terms that typically follow the public debt incurred. UCLA’s attempt to break its contract decades early critically undermines these structures.”
UCLA is apparently running the equivalent of a hurry-up offense as part of its efforts to switch football homes.
Should the Bruins go ahead with plans to abandon the Rose Bowl for SoFi Stadium, the move could happen quickly — as soon as next season.
But no one should reprogram their GPS for 1001 Stadium Dr. in Inglewood just yet.
Despite significant momentum among UCLA officials toward making the move to SoFi Stadium, no final decision has been made, according to one person familiar with the school’s discussions about the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.
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Even if the school did agree to play its 2026 home games at SoFi Stadium as part of an accelerated timeline — first reported by Bruin Report Online — at least one significant hurdle would remain.
That big roadblock involves pending litigation designed to keep UCLA at the stadium it has called home since the start of the 1982 season. The City of Pasadena and the Rose Bowl Operating Co. have filed a lawsuit to force the Bruins to honor the terms of the lease that requires them to stay at the Rose Bowl through the end of the 2043 season.
A consideration of an estimated payout has presumably been factored into UCLA’s calculus of its willingness to abandon its Rose Bowl lease for more lucrative terms at SoFi Stadium. But might a possible massive financial penalty imposed by a court give university officials pause?
In their joint filing, Pasadena and the Rose Bowl contended that UCLA’s departure could cause harm to the city and its residents that might “easily exceed a billion dollars [or more],” and that monetary damages alone might not be able to compensate for the losses incurred by those entities.
Money is clearly at the heart of UCLA’s proposed move.
For the fiscal year 2024, the last for which information is available, UCLA reported $8.35 million in football ticket sales — less than half of the $20 million it made in 2014, when it was setting attendance records under coach Jim Mora — and just $738,373 in revenue from game programs, novelties, parking and food and concessions.
As part of any lease agreement with SoFi Stadium, the Bruins would receive suite revenue they were not taking in at the Rose Bowl, where they had locked themselves into a long-term deal giving them no return on suite sales or stadium sponsorship sales and only a sliver of parking, concessions and merchandise revenues.
In return, the Rose Bowl had pledged more than $150 million in stadium renovations while recently refinancing an additional $130 million in bonds for additional infrastructure improvements. Among the plans in the works is a field-level club in the south end zone scheduled to open in time for the 2026 season. The Rose Bowl has agreed to let UCLA keep revenue from 1,200 plush, extra-wide seats as part of the renovations, though those seats would also benefit the stadium at other events throughout the year.
Where might UCLA get the money to pay the Rose Bowl as part of any settlement for leaving the iconic venue? Like other Big Ten schools, the Bruins could receive an up-front payment of $140 million as part of a proposed $2.4-billion deal between the conference and an investment fund of the University of California pension system.
Other benefits of moving to SoFi Stadium would include a 13-mile commute that’s half the distance between campus and the Rose Bowl, as well as enhanced facilities such as more modern seating and scoreboards. But there are concerns about tailgating at SoFi Stadium, which has far more restrictive policies than those enjoyed by fans on a sprawling golf course and parking lots at the Rose Bowl.
There would also be no guarantees of increased attendance as part of a stadium switch. When UCLA played Boise State in the 2023 L.A. Bowl at SoFi Stadium, the game drew an announced attendance of 32,780. That’s less than the 37,098 fans the team has averaged this season at the Rose Bowl, which is putting it on pace for an all-time low at the stadium.
Visiting fans might also be less likely to travel across the country to see a game at SoFi Stadium as opposed to the Rose Bowl, which has long been considered one of the top destinations in college football.
While it’s unlikely that UCLA’s stadium situation will be settled before its final home game of the season against Washington on Nov. 22, fans might want to savor that view of the San Gabriel Mountains a little longer than usual.
Just in case it’s the last time they get to see it before a home football game.
Nico Iamaleava looks for an open receiver against Nebraska.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
After UCLA’s 28-21 loss to Nebraska, one more defeat will erase the possibility of a bowl game, leading freshmen, sophomores and juniors to join their more veteran teammates in developing a potential case of senioritis.
Quarterbacks: A. There’s nothing more you can ask from Nico Iamaleava given all the hits he takes and resolve he shows while running this offense.
Running backs: C-. Once again, Iamaleava (86 yards rushing) outgained the combined efforts of running backs Jaivian Thomas, Jalen Berger and Anthony Woods (69 yards).
Wide receivers/tight ends: C-. The only touchdown catches were made by Woods and fellow running back Anthony Frias II.
Offensive line: D. Eugene Brooks’ return was offset by the injury loss of Garrett DiGiorgio and more false start penalties.
Defensive line: D. The Bruins have failed to record a sack in three consecutive games as part of a sustained failure to put pressure on the quarterback.
Linebackers: C. The struggles to contain Nebraska running back Emmett Johnson didn’t end here.
Defensive backs: C. Key Lawrence and Cole Martin made the team’s only tackles for loss, but the secondary allowed a freshman quarterback to complete his first 11 passes in his debut as a starter.
Special teams: B. Jacob Busic ran for a first down on a fake punt, but Mateen Bhaghani pulled a field goal wide left.
Coaching: C-. Two weeks to prepare after a blowout loss weren’t enough to help this staff get the Bruins to play at a high level again.
Opening basketball thoughts
Xavier Booker in the second half against Pepperdine.
(William Liang / Associated Press)
It’s easy to overreact to what happens early in a season.
With that caveat out of the way, the first impressions of the UCLA men’s basketball team were not great. Two relatively narrow victories in what were expected to be blowouts of Eastern Washington and Pepperdine caused the 12th-ranked Bruins to slip all the way from No. 10 in the metrics of basketball analyst Ken Pomeroy to No. 31.
The biggest early concerns about this team are rebounding and defense. Tyler Bilodeau continues to look lost at times after moving from center to power forward and the guards need to do a much better job of grabbing rebounds.
The big positive takeaway was Xavier Booker’s 15-point, five-block performance against Pepperdine, which signaled that the converted power forward might be the answer the team needs at center after the departure of Aday Mara.
A more definitive assessment of UCLA’s potential will come after the Bruins (2-0) face No. 13 Arizona (2-0) on Friday night at the Intuit Dome in an early season showdown.
Meanwhile, there was plenty to like about the UCLA women’s basketball team based on its early results.
After a slightly disjointed opening victory over San Diego State, the Bruins showed off their depth with three 20-point scorers — none of them named Lauren Betts — in a blowout of UC Santa Barbara. This team can beat you from inside and out, with so much shooting and playmaking complementing Betts that opponents won’t know where to start when game planning.
No. 3 UCLA (2-0) faces an early test Monday against No. 6 Oklahoma (1-0) at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.
Olympic sport spotlight: Men’s water polo
Ryder Dodd
(Raymond Tran / UCLA)
Get ready for an epic rematch.
Having suffered its only loss of the season to its biggest rival, the UCLA men’s water polo team can even the score when it faces USC on Saturday morning at the Uytengsu Aquatics Center on the Trojans’ campus.
The second-ranked Bruins (21-1) got a final tuneup for the rematch with the Trojans (18-2) on Friday, beating Pacific, 17-2.
When UCLA faced USC on Oct. 18, the Bruins rallied to forge a 12-12 tie on a fourth and final goal from sophomore Ryder Dodd before the Trojans’ Jack Martin scored the winner with 46 seconds left in a 13-12 victory.
The rematch between the rivals will be UCLA’s last game before it opens play in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament on Nov. 21 at Stanford’s Avery Aquatic Center.
Remember when?
Most UCLA fans reflexively think about the Bruins’ 1976 Rose Bowl triumph over top-ranked Ohio State when asked about their favorite football memory involving the schools who will meet again Saturday at Ohio Stadium.
But an equally improbable triumph came in 1980 in Columbus, Ohio.
With the Bruins coming off a 5-6 season and coach Terry Donahue feeling considerable heat amid player losses to academic and disciplinary problems and mass turnover on his coaching staff, including the departure of close friend Bobby Field to do landscaping near Dallas, the team entered Ohio Stadium as a double-digit underdog.
It left as 17-0 victors.
Behind a dynamic offense devised by new offensive coordinator Homer Smith and another workmanlike performance from tailback Freeman McNeil, whose 118 yards rushing in 31 carries marked his third consecutive 100-yard game, UCLA dominated the second-ranked Buckeyes.
Donahue had fired up some of his players, including All-American safety Kenny Easley, earlier in the week by handing out photocopies of a Times article from the previous season. After Ohio State pulled out a 17-13 victory over the Bruins at the Coliseum, several Buckeyes players were quoted as saying their UCLA counterparts were soft and had been “sucking it up” by the second quarter.
A year later, many of those same players went on to hold the Buckeyes scoreless in their home stadium.
Afterward, Donahue ascended the stadium steps to celebrate with his wife, Andrea, who wiped a tear from her cheek as her husband returned to the field, according to Sports Illustrated. In the locker room, the Bruins blasted what became their theme song on the way to finishing the season 9-2.
It was one of Queen’s greatest rock anthems — “Another One Bites the Dust.”
Opinion time
If UCLA plays its football games at SoFi Stadium in 2026, will you go?
Do you have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future UCLA newsletter? Email me at [email protected], and follow me on X @latbbolch. To order an autographed copy of my book, “100 Things UCLA Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die,” send me an email. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
