The most important college football story in these parts is about the downtrodden program from Westwood and whether it will leave its dump of a stadium in Pasadena.
UCLA’s incompetence has overshadowed every team in this market outside of the Dodgers and Lakers, and that includes USC.
Which speaks to where USC stands right now.
The Trojans have become afterthoughts in a market they once owned, and they only have themselves to blame.
The 17th-ranked team in the country, the Trojans are by no means a bad team.
They’re something worse.
They’re stuck.
USC coach Lincoln Riley congratulates tight end Walker Lyons after a successful two-point conversion attempt against UCLA at the Coliseum on Saturday.
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
USC literally can’t afford to buy out coach Lincoln Riley’s contract, which means that until further notice the Trojans will be known as the team that’s good enough to not embarrass itself but not good enough to reach the College Football Playoff.
In this particular time in this particular market, that pushes USC to the margins of Los Angeles’ congested sporting landscape.
About to complete his fourth season with the Trojans, Riley seems to be aware of the perception of his program, or at very least what this market expects of a program defined by championships.
“I understand Los Angeles is a place where people aren’t going to show up just because,” he said. “You have to win. You have to give them something. And when you do, there’s no sports town better.”
Riley pointed to the packed Coliseum on Saturday night as evidence the Trojans were doing something right. Almost 70,000 tickets were distributed for the UCLA game.
The loyalty of USC’s fans, however, shouldn’t be mistaken for excitement. In the eyes of the program’s most fervent supporters, the team has underachieved.
Riley talked up the Trojans’ 7-0 home record, which included victories over Michigan and Iowa, but the truth is that the season will be defined by the games that weren’t won.
The loss at Illinois.
The loss at Notre Dame.
The loss at Oregon, which effectively knocked USC out of CFP contention.
As a program that defines itself by championships, the Trojans measure success on a binary scale. They’re either competing for a national title or they’re not. These Trojans aren’t.
Riley made the case that this season helped establish a foundation on which future teams will be built.
“This year was better than last year, and then next year is going to be better, even better than this, just going to keep growing and growing,” he said.
USC backup quarterback Gage Roy leaps into the arms of offensive lineman Tobias Raymond after Roy completed a two-point conversion pass against UCLA at the Coliseum on Saturday.
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
He’s made similar statements before, and USC’s fans are still waiting for the return to glory that he promised.
By now, words alone won’t convince many people about the program’s future. Riley will have to deliver results, and he will have to deliver them soon.
The team Riley will coach next season will look a lot like the team he coached this season but almost certainly without receiver Makai Lemon. No. 2 receiver Ja’Kobi Lane could also declare for the NFL draft.
As much as Riley spoke about USC’s improved physicality, the Trojans couldn’t stop the run in any of their three defeats, which raises legitimate concerns about whether he will be able to address the problem in the coming months.
The Trojans will welcome the country’s top-rated recruiting class, but how many freshmen could they realistically count on to produce right away?
Ryan Kartje, the Times’ USC beat reporter, wrote a story last week about a situation at quarterback involving starter Jayden Maiava and five-star freshman Husan Longstreet. Kartje raised the possibility of Longstreet entering the transfer portal if Maiava returns for his senior season.
In another time or place, this would be a major story. That’s basically Riley’s job now, to return USC’s profile to where the next quarterback controversy is front-page news. The Trojans aren’t close to that at the moment.
By midweek, as a handful of reporters watched his every move, Nico Iamaleava looked like someone on the verge of the offseason, not a rivalry game.
In the early stages of practice Wednesday, the UCLA quarterback threw one pass softly before shifting into observer mode for the rest of the open viewing period.
Three days later, as thousands of probing eyes watched his every move, Iamaleava was slinging passes with considerably more zip.
His efficiency in completing one pass after another against No. 17 USC on Saturday helped the Bruins take a halftime lead, silencing a Coliseum crowd and triggering a brouhaha between the teams on one corner of the field as they headed for the tunnel.
UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava (9) scampers for a first down against USC at the Coliseum on Saturday.
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
It was the kind of moment Iamaleava had dreamed of growing in Long Beach and attending the cross-town rivalry as a kid.
“Meant a lot, man,” Iamaleava said of being able to compete against the Trojans.
But in keeping with the trajectory of a down-and-up-and-down-again season, the dream ended amid a flurry of sacks and failed third- and fourth-down conversions. There was no way Iamaleava could grit his way to victory, the Bruins eventually succumbing during a 29-10 loss to the Trojans in which their quarterback was sacked four times — all in the second half.
And so a season that started with Iamaleava being the talk of the college football world after his contentious departure from Tennessee ended with him taking a solitary walk up the Coliseum tunnel toward an uncertain future.
“It was a great learning year for me,” Iamaleava said after completing 27 of 38 passes for 200 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions against the Trojans. “You know, a lot of firsts for me throughout the season. Just the way we started off, and then dealing with little, minor injuries, there’s a lot. And I think, man, it just showed that I’m willing to go out there and put my life on the line for my teammates, man, whatever is needed.”
Iamaleava showed many sides in fighting to the end of a 3-9 season. There was accountability, Iamaleava facing reporters after every loss. There was leadership, Iamaleava telling teammates that if they wanted to leave amid the dismissal of their head coach and the departure of their offensive coordinator, go ahead. Nobody did.
Over the last few weeks, there was resolve, Iamaleava coming back from one injury after another. He missed only one game after sustaining a concussion against Nebraska and sat out only a few practices after taking a crunching hit against Washington last weekend that led to neck spasms.
“Every day he got better and better,” UCLA interim coach Tim Skipper said, “and then today he went out there and gave it his all, so I love that kid, he’s a battler. He fought and he kept leading us all the way to the end. … He’s a tough dude, man, and he’s a competitor. That’s what I’ll say about him.”
LOS ANGELES, CA – NOVEMBER 29, 2025: Southern California Trojans linebacker Eric Gentry (18) tackles UCLA Bruins quarterback Nico Iamaleava (9) for a loss in the second half at the Coliseum on November 29, 2025 in Los Angeles, California.(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
For more than a half, it appeared that Iamaleava might go down in rivalry lore.
Orchestrating a short, efficient passing attack, Iamaleava pulled UCLA into a 7-7 tie early in the second quarter when he found wide receiver Kwazi Gilmer for a two-yard touchdown on a crossing route.
Then came a rarity from someone usually happy to absorb contact as the Bruins drove for a go-ahead score. On third-and-seven at the Trojans’ 26-yard line, Iamaleava scrambled before sliding into a ferocious hit from cornerback Alex Graham.
Coming up a yard short of the first down, Iamaleava tried to draw USC offsides with a hard count on fourth down before kicker Mateen Bhaghani trotted onto the field for a 38-yard field goal.
Little went Iamaleava’s way during the second half. One third down ended in an eight-yard sack. Another fell short on a pass that was broken up.
Things somehow deteriorated further. With UCLA having fallen behind 21-10 and clinging to faint hopes midway through the fourth quarter, the Bruins faced a fourth-and-15 at USC’s 45-yard line. A short pass to Gilmer went for only 10 yards.
Drive over. Game over.
That left Iamaleava to contemplate his future. Back in late July, he acknowledged wanting to go to the NFL if he put together a successful season. It was hard to say if this qualified after he finished the season completing 64.4% of his passes for 1,928 yards with 13 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
What’s next?
“I haven’t really even thought about that, man,” Iamaleava said. “I’m right here where my feet are, man. You know, we just lost a tough game and my mind is still on that one — what we could have done better to go out there and win that game.”
After answering a final question, Iamaleava glanced at a bottle of orange sports drink in front of him on a table.
“Can I have this?” he asked.
Granted permission to take the bottle, he grabbed it, rose from his seat and walked out the back of the interview tent, the offseason finally having arrived.
Thank you, Ben Bolch. In your newsletter, an open letter to UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk, you have asked all the right questions. On the surface, the proposed move to SoFi Stadium might make some sense. But in the real world, it sure doesn’t. I was at the game vs. Washington, and the sentiment was pretty strong against a move. Also, the word was that possibly 80% of season-ticket holders will not renew if they play in SoFi Stadium. Even though I have had season tickets for more than 40 years, if they do move, I will be part of that 80%. I wonder if that figure has been factored in?
Bruce Fischer Huntington Beach
The Rose Bowl is the most storied stadium in college football. Nestled just below the San Gabriel Mountains, it is probably the most beautiful as well. It has hosted five Super Bowls (XI, XIV, XVII, XXI, XXVII), men’s and women’s World Cup finals, the Olympics and its annual namesake bowl game — “the Granddaddy of Them All.” There literally isn’t a bad seat in it. Why would UCLA even consider leaving it, especially for the glorified erector set known as SoFi Stadium?
Nico Iamalealva is probably going to have a chance to go down in cross-town rivalry lore.
Barring a setback, UCLA’s quarterback is expected to play against USC on Saturday afternoon when the teams meet at the Coliseum, according to one person with knowledge of the situation not authorized to discuss it publicly because of the sensitivity of health matters.
After being limited by neck spasms earlier in the week, Iamaleava was a full participant in practice on Thursday and Friday. If he continues to feel good in warm-ups, he’ll start the game for the Bruins (3-8 overall, 3-5 Big Ten) against the No. 17 Trojans (8-3, 6-2).
Iamaleava has sustained one injury after another in recent weeks. After missing the Bruins’ game against Ohio State because of a concussion, he returned to play against Washington the following week. Late in the game against the Huskies, Iamaleava absorbed a crunching hit and departed with neck spasms, forcing backup Luke Duncan to replace him.
Iamaleava has unquestionably become the Bruins’ top player since transferring from Tennessee, completing 63.5% of his passes for 1,728 yards with 12 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He’s also the team’s leading rusher with 641 yards and four touchdowns in 101 carries.
The Bruins are also expected to have tight end Hudson Habermehl back after he was cleared out of concussion protocol. But tight end Jack Pedersen (high ankle), wide receiver Rico Flores Jr. (calf) and running back Jaivian Thomas (unspecified injury) are considered doubtful.
Cornerback Rodrick Pleasant will not play after undergoing surgery this week to repair a shoulder injury.
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.
Red Sanders, the legendary UCLA football coach, once said the rivalry with USC wasn’t life or death, it was more important than that.
Now, some 70 years later, almost half the Bruins roster needed a primer on what it means to play the Trojans.
“We have so many transfers and things,” interim coach Tim Skipper said, “so I wanted to make sure everybody knew how significant this game was.”
That could make Ciaran Dooley, the team’s creative content producer, a rivalry hero rivaling John Barnes, Anthony Barr and Dorian Thompson-Robinson. Dooley produced a video that tried to pack the essence of a nearly century-old rivalry into about five minutes.
Putting aside any worries about where college sports are headed when one needs to explain anything about his biggest rival, the video had its intended effect, sparking cheers nearly a week before kickoff.
Starting with a minutelong hype reel narrated by Barr, the video explained some of the rivalry basics, such as both teams wearing their home uniforms and the winner getting to take possession of the 295-pound Victory Bell before painting it in their primary school color — preferably blue.
“A lot of it was like clips I’ve already seen being from L.A. and around the game,” freshman linebacker Scott Taylor said, “but a lot of the guys who haven’t been here don’t understand how big a deal this is to L.A. and how special this win can be.”
Rivalry lexicon such as “It’s always 8:47 in Westwood” — a reference to the Bruins’ 13-9 upset of No. 2 USC in 2006 — and “Eight more years!” — a chant that broke out at the Rose Bowl in 1998 at the end of the Bruins’ eighth consecutive victory over the Trojans — might need some explaining to a roster that includes 57 newcomers, 52 transfers and 42 players from out of state.
“I made this video to show what the rivalry is really about — the history, the passion, the bragging rights,” Dooley told The Times. “I know everyone on the team already knows what it is, but if there’s anything that I can do to motivate the guys just that much more for the game, I’m going to do it every time.”
Linebacker Isaiah Chisom, a transfer from Oregon State, said the coaching staff also brought in several former players to explain the significance of the rivalry before the Bruins (3-8 overall, 3-5 Big Ten) face the No. 17 Trojans (8-3, 6-2) on Saturday afternoon at the Coliseum. Veteran offensive lineman Garrett DiGiorgio and defensive back Cole Martin also talked about what the rivalry meant to them.
Utah quarterback Devon Dampier (4) holds the ball and pushes Bruins linebacker Isaiah Chisom (32) on Aug. 30 at the Rose Bowl.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
“I think they’ve done a pretty good job at kind of bringing everybody together,” Chisom said, “so we all know how important this game is.”
Chisom didn’t need a refresher, having grown up in Southern California and played for Bishop Allemany High and Chaminade College Prep. He said he’s already attended a rivalry game and learned about the Bruins’ hatred for the Trojans from Chaminade assistant coach Reggie Carter, a former Bruins linebacker.
“He didn’t like anybody wearing any red,” Chisom said of Carter. “It’s been something I’ve been told for a long time.”
Skipper said he grew up watching the rivalry no matter where he lived — his father, Jim, was a coaching lifer who moved from one city to another and his older brother, Kelly, was DeShaun Foster’s running backs coach at UCLA.
“It’s awesome to finally be part of this thing,” Tim Skipper said. “You watch it so much, I’ve never been to one of these games, and to be able to work it and coach it is going to be awesome.”
Signs of rivalry week have greeted anyone who walked past the boarded-up John Wooden and bear statues on campus, though it’s been a little quieter than the Bruins would have preferred. That’s because they haven’t been able to ring the Victory Bell that’s residing across town after USC won last year’s game, 19-13, at the Rose Bowl.
“We want to get it back, we want to ring it after the game,” DiGiorgio said. “The [USC] guys, they planted flags on our field last year. I don’t know if we’re going to reciprocate that energy because I don’t know if that’s going to start anything, but we’re definitely looking forward to getting that bell back.”
The Bruins have won their last two trips to the Coliseum, giving DiGiorgio motivation to make it three in a row and end his college career 3-2 against the Trojans. There was a consensus at the team meeting Sunday that a victory over USC would make up for all the frustrations the team has endured during a season in which Foster was fired after only three games.
UCLA offensive lineman Garrett DiGiorgio (72) is confident a video the Bruins’ staff produced helped his teammates understand the importance of winning the USC rivalry game.
(John McCoy / Associated Press)
“Beating ‘SC would undo every wrong that has happened this season — that and the Penn State win [over the then-No. 7 Nittany Lions],” Chisom said. “I don’t think we could ask for anything more.”
Even those making their rivalry debut will know what they’re getting into thanks to the handiwork of a content creator whose video might help produce an upset.
“I believe that it enlightened, lit a fire under the guys,” DiGiorgio said, “to be a little excited for this week.”
LAS VEGAS — Gabriela Jaquez scored 23 points and UCLA defeated Duke in the third-place game of the women’s Players Era Championship.
Handed their first loss this season the night before, 76-65 by second-ranked South Carolina, the Bruins came out red-hot even without star center Lauren Betts, who injured her left arm Wednesday.
UCLA (7-1) led 30-7 after shooting 60% (12 of 20) from the field in the first quarter, including 5 for 7 on 3-pointers. The Bruins also did a good job at the defensive end, forcing the Blue Devils (3-5) to commit six turnovers.
The Bruins shot 46.9% in the first half and took a 43-25 lead into halftime. Duke was 9 of 32 (28.1%) from the floor in the first 20 minutes.
Five players scored in double figures for UCLA. Charlisse Leger-Walker finished with 20 points, six assists and five rebounds. Kiki Rice had 17 points and six rebounds. Gianna Kneepkens added 13 points, six rebounds and six assists, and Angela Dugalic had 12 points and eight boards.
UCLA shot a season-high 59.1% from 3-point range, hitting 13 of 22 from beyond the arc.
The Blue Devils were led by Ashlon Jackson, who had 18 points. Toby Fournier posted her second double-double of the season with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Delaney Thomas scored 10.
Duke went 22 of 65 from the floor (33.8%) in its second-worst shooting performance this season.
No. 4 Texas edged No. 2 South Carolina 66-64 in the championship game earlier Thursday.
LAS VEGAS — Rori Harmon scored 26 points and No. 4 Texas held on to beat No. 3 UCLA 76-65 on Wednesday in the Players Era Championship.
After building a 23-point lead late in the third quarter, the Longhorns staved off UCLA’s late surge to advance to Thursday’s championship game.
Texas (6-0) will face South Carolina in Thursday’s title game, while the Bruins (6-1) will play Duke for third place.
Madison Booker finished with 16 points, seven rebounds and five assists for the Longhorns. Jordan Lee had 13 points and Justice Carlton chipped in 10.
The Bruins trailed by just four after a 24-7 run, sparked by Kiki Rice’s 12 points. But three failed possessions — a missed three-pointer and two turnovers — allowed Texas to pull away.
Gianna Kneepkens and Rice led the Bruins, each with 17 points. Charlisse Leger-Walker scored 13 points on 50% shooting.
Texas was superior defensively in the first quarter, forcing seven UCLA turnovers and turning them into six points. Despite going 0 for 4 from the three-point line, the Longhorns were nine of 15 (47.4%) from inside the arc in the opening period to take a 10-point lead after one.
The Longhorns doubled their lead in the second quarter, outscoring UCLA by 10 again, to take a 45-25 lead into the locker room at halftime. Texas shot a blistering 51.4% in the first half, while UCLA stumbled to a 44.4% clip after 20 minutes.
UCLA survived a scare when Lauren Betts left the game early in the third quarter with what appeared to be an upper-body injury.
Betts, an AP preseason All-American selection, collided with Booker and writhed in pain on the court, grabbing her arm as trainers tended to her. Betts returned to the game after spending several minutes in the locker room.
Some uneven play from UCLA over the season’s first few weeks could be shrugged off as a team filled with new players finding its footing.
But there was no reasonable explanation for what happened Tuesday night.
Playing a former Pac-12 rival in a matchup that should have stirred some intensity, the Bruins instead looked like they had little interest in being here.
Passion wasn’t a problem for California. The Golden Bears were the tougher and more determined team in handing the No. 18 Bruinsan 80-72 loss in the Empire Classic at Chase Center.
Things bottomed out with about two minutes to go when UCLA point guard Donovan Dent went down with an apparent lower leg injury and limped off the court.
The Bruins’ comeback hopes formally ended when Cal’s Dai Dai Ames unleashed a crossover move that he followed with a three-pointer to give the Golden Bears an eight-point lead with 1:24 remaining.
Most concerning for UCLA were the continued struggles of Dent. The transfer from New Mexico who arrived with great fanfare has hardly looked like a top-level player through the season’s first month.
His showing Tuesday represented a new low. He never looked comfortable on the court while making just one of eight shots on the way to three points and committing nearly as many turnovers (six) as assists (seven). His season-long shooting woes are particularly acute at the three-point line (10%) and free-throw line (56.7%).
UCLA’s Trent Perry scored 19 points and Eric Dailey Jr. had 17, but it wasn’t nearly enough as the Bruins (5-2) allowed the Golden Bears (6-1) to make 11 of 22 three-pointers (50%).
Big trouble loomed for the Bruins when Chris Bell (22 points) rose for a corner three-pointer that gave Cal a 65-53 lead with 9:29 left, prompting UCLA coach Mick Cronin to go to his only reliable tool, a timeout.
His team rallied, pulling within 71-67 with a little less than five minutes to play on a corner three-pointer from Jamar Brown. UCLA center Xavier Booker then got the large contingent of Bruins fans roaring with a ferocious block. That was as good as it got for the Bruins.
UCLA forward Tyler Bilodeau, the team’s leading scorer, missed his second consecutive game with a knee sprain that could keep him out another week or so. But he appeared to be moving well while getting in some pregame dribbling work with assistant coach David Singleton.
An entertaining, if not crisply played, first half ended with UCLA holding a 41-36 lead. With Dent’s funk deepening with a one-point effort in which he missed all three shots, Perry stepped up with 12 points off the bench to lead the Bruins.
Aggressively attacking the basket, Perry rewarded fans who had unleashed a loud “U-C-L-A!” chant with an old-fashioned three-point play on a driving layup in which he was fouled. The Bruins went with a four-guard lineup for a stretch late in the first half that seemed to stabilize things after Dailey struggled with his shot selection and forward Brandon Williams picked up two fouls.
Dent, the guard that UCLA needs most, still has not showed up this season in the fashion expected. Now there’s an injury to add to the list of worries.
Your predecessor, Gene Block, never granted me that courtesy, and look where UCLA athletics are now.
A football team adrift, an athletic director less popular than student fees locked up on a long-term contract and more questions facing your athletic department than the 466 yards the Bruins gave up to Washington on Saturday in what might have been their last game at the Rose Bowl.
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(As a side note, if you’re contemplating not keeping your word with regards to the Rose Bowl lease, do you have to fulfill the terms of Martin Jarmond’s contract?)
I’ve heard from so many people who care so much about UCLA sports, and I’m wondering if you’re listening to any of them. They’re saddened and angered and want some answers — and deservedly so given the lack of transparency around here.
So let me start with some questions in the event your many public relations advisors and crisis management experts tell you to go the Gene Blockade route and remain mum or offer another statement that doesn’t say much of anything.
How did that Jarmond contract extension come about? It was signed by Block in the spring of 2024 and curiously announced the following November — in the wake of a three-game winning streak by the football team that took considerable heat off Jarmond for his questionable hiring of coach DeShaun Foster.
Why was there a rush to grant an athletic department boss with a shaky track record an extension before you took over and how do you feel about it? And what was the role of interim chancellor Darnell Hunt, if any, in pushing this thing through? Unless you make a bold move to part ways with Jarmond or he leaves for another job, you’re stuck with him through 2029.
Moving on from Jarmond would come with its own cost thanks to the absurd terms of his contract. (A yearly $300,000 retention bonus for an athletic director nobody else wanted? Really?) Unless you can find a way to terminate him for cause or negotiate a settlement, you’ll have to pay every dollar he’s owed through the end of his contract even if you bid him farewell. I can’t imagine you’re happy about that, but maybe there’s something I’m missing.
Let’s move on to your vagrant football team. Who’s driving the proposed move to SoFi Stadium and what do the numbers look like? There’s been lots of chatter about chief financial officer Steven Agostini trying to clean up the financial mess you both inherited within the athletic department. I’m assuming there have been extensive calculations about a Rose Bowl payout and how much more money you’d make playing at SoFi Stadium.
But how much of that is SoFi spin and aren’t you worried that a judge could make you pay so much in damages that the whole thing would be a net negative? Yes, you’d presumably get suite revenue at SoFi Stadium, but would anyone want to buy one given what we’ve seen from this football team over the last decade? Shouldn’t you just go back to the Rose Bowl, football helmet in hand, and ask for a lease renegotiation that satisfies both sides?
Are you sure a big enough chunk of the fan base is on board with a move to Inglewood to justify such a jarring and abrupt abandonment of the school’s longtime home? If you indeed left the Rose Bowl, how would you compensate donors who contributed major gifts to the stadium for capital improvements on the premise that the Bruins would be a tenant through the 2043 season? And why would any business entity ever feel comfortable signing a long-term lease with the school again?
Speaking of contracts, you’re going to be signing another one soon for the next football coach. Since the school has paid out so much money on so many bad deals over the years, here’s a free piece of advice: Do everything — and I mean everything — within your power to hire Bob Chesney.
The guy is a winner. He won big at Salve Regina and Assumption, and I’m wondering if you even knew those were football teams before this very moment. He went on to do the same at Holy Cross and now James Madison, the new cradle of coaches, lest you haven’t seen what’s happening over at Indiana under Curt Cignetti. Chesney has a proven system for success, not to mention the personality to win over recruits, donors and a fan base sadder than Bob Toledo’s final season.
Some of the Plan B options might work out, of course, but can you really take that risk? Chesney has won everywhere he’s been and there’s no reason to think he wouldn’t do the same in resuscitating UCLA football after bringing a decent chunk of his James Madison roster with him.
So if Jimmy Sexton, the superagent reportedly representing Chesney, does his thing and leverages you into a few more million dollars than expected to finalize a deal with his client, pay the man. Chesney will be more than worth it. This hire must go right not only for the football team but also the health of an athletic department that’s facing possibly the most pivotal moment in its history.
But don’t worry, I’m here for you and we can talk more about this soon. Right?
Best,
Ben
And another thing . . .
Any presumption that UCLA attendance will soar at SoFi Stadium might need further consideration.
Just look at what happened when the then-No. 15 men’s basketball team played Arizona at the nearby Intuit Dome earlier this month. Even with a crowd bolstered by a large contingent of Wildcats fans, attendance was a mere 7,554 — less than half of the arena’s 18,000-seat capacity. There were probably fewer than 5,000 UCLA fans in the building for a showdown between nationally ranked rivals.
Here’s wondering how many donors and season ticket holders would really prefer Inglewood for football games and how the actual time it takes to drive southbound on the 405 from Westwood on a Friday night, Saturday afternoon or Saturday night compares to the alternative commute to Pasadena.
It has been a rough season for UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
Losing by 34 points in what might have been UCLA’s last game ever at the Rose Bowl generated the sort of grades you want to hide from your parents.
Quarterbacks: B-. Nico Iamaleava has nothing left to gain this season and should protect his health by sitting out the cross-town rivalry game. Meanwhile, Luke Duncan’s work as a backup continues to impress, putting him in line for a possible John Barnes breakthrough against USC.
Running backs: D. Jaivian Thomas didn’t play and those who did probably wish they didn’t considering UCLA rushed for a total of 57 yards.
Wide receivers/tight ends: C-. Mikey Matthews caught a touchdown pass, but all anyone is going to remember is Titus Mokiao-Atimalala’s drop that could have changed the trajectory of the game.
Offensive line: C-. Watching Garrett DiGiorgio walk off the field one last time after another tough day on the job was heartbreaking.
Defensive line: C-. Giving up 212 yards rushing means that there wasn’t enough resistance at the line of scrimmage, but the late sack by freshman Cole Cogshell was encouraging.
Linebackers: B-. Jalen Woods continued to emerge as a playmaker with two tackles for loss.
Defensive backs: B. Held up pretty well considering Rodrick Pleasant was out with an injury. Cole Martin’s interception was among the highlights on an otherwise bleak night.
Special teams: D. Cash Peterman certainly generated some viral social media content with his over-the-shoulder flip gone awry on the fake field goal leading to a Washington touchdown.
Coaching: C-. The initial infusion of energy from this staff seems to have gone missing in recent weeks.
Olympic sport the week: Men’s water polo
Chase Dodd
(Elijah Carr / UCLA)
With the exception of the men’s and women’s basketball teams winning every game as expected, it was a frustrating week for UCLA sports.
The men’s and women’s soccer teams saw their seasons end in the NCAA tournament. The women’s volleyball team lost to Washington in straight sets. The football team got stomped by Washington.
The final indignity came Sunday.
UCLA’s top-ranked men’s water polo team fell behind big early and couldn’t catch up during a 14-11 loss to second-ranked USC in the championship of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament at Stanford’s Avery Aquatic Center.
After trailing 10-4 late in the second quarter, the Bruins closed to within 11-8 late in the third quarter but could come no closer. Ryder Dodd finished with three goals and one assist for UCLA (24-2), which has suffered both of its defeats this season against the Trojans.
UCLA will open play in the NCAA tournament Dec. 5 at Stanford’s Avery Aquatic Center.
Opinion time
In a rivalry oddity, the home team has not won since 2019 when UCLA has faced USC in football. Will that trend continue Saturday when the teams meet at the Coliseum?
We asked, “Which possible football coaching candidate excites you most?”
After 701 votes, the results:
James Madison’s Bob Chesney, 76.8% Washington’s Jedd Fisch, 11.3% San Diego State’s Sean Lewis, 4.8% Tulane’s Jon Sumrall, 4.6% South Florida’s Alex Golesh, 2.5%
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.
Turns out that retreating from head coach to offensive coordinator wasn’t a great fit for Chip Kelly. At least not in the NFL.
The Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday fired the former UCLA coach moments after they were defeated by the Cleveland Browns, 24-10, falling to a 2-9 record. Kelly’s stint as offensive coordinator was an abject failure: Among 32 NFL teams, Las Vegas is tied for last at 15.0 points per game and is 30th with 268.9 in total yards per game.
Kelly bolted from UCLA in 2023 after six overwhelmingly mediocre seasons as head coach to become offensive coordinator at Ohio State, which won the NCAA national championship in 2024.
Another opportunity arose immediately thereafter when Pete Carroll became the Raiders’ head coach and invited Kelly to run the offense.
Although Kelly’s NFL experience was limited to failed head coaching stints with the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers, he jumped at the opportunity, saying on a podcast that “the one thing about the NFL that I love is it’s the ultimate level of competition. It’s football at the highest level.”
Carroll, who is struggling to find traction with the Raiders at age 74 after a decorated career as coach of the Seattle Seahawks and USC, swiftly learned that Kelly wasn’t up to the task despite being paid $6 million this season, double any other offensive coordinator in the NFL.
“I spoke with Chip Kelly earlier this evening and informed him of his release as offensive coordinator of the Raiders,” Carroll said in a statement. “I would like to thank Chip for his service and wish him all the best in the future.”
Carroll became enamored by Kelly’s ability to put points on the scoreboard 16 years ago. USC was handed its worst loss in Carroll’s nine-year tenure when Oregon — coached by Kelly — pounded the Trojans, 47-20.
If Carroll wondered if he’d ever get payback, it came Sunday. But the dismal state of the Raiders falls on him as head coach.
“I am grateful for the opportunity with the Raiders, bottom line in this league you have to win,” Kelly told NFL reporter Jay Glazer. “I really loved those players, But hey, we gotta win. I get it.”
It’s difficult to see where Kelly will turn next. A return to the college ranks as a head coach seems a stretch. His abrupt departure from UCLA in February of 2024 put the Bruins in a difficult position. Most high school recruits had been signed and top transfers gone.
The Times’ Bill Plaschke wrote that Kelly was clearly uncomfortable with the way college football was evolving, with NIL player pay, the transfer portal creating roster uncertainty and cozying up to 17-year-old high school players as important as ever.
And the timing and manner in which he left made him appear selfish. “With him, it was Chip first, Chip all day, Chip every day, and he didn’t care who knew it,” Plaschke wrote.
During practice Friday, UCLA women’s basketball coach Cori Close made it clear she wanted to see more from forward Angela Dugalic.
“You’re not using what you’ve earned,” Close recalled telling her while speaking with reporters Friday.
Dugalic is going to face some of the best players in the country this week. Close thinks she can match up with them, but she needs Dugalic to play like it. With all the work Dugalic has done on her low-post game over the offseason, she can’t settle for floating around the perimeter.
Close won’t let her.
“I just want her to be all she can be,” Close said. “She’s been an animal down there in the low post, and I want her to hunt for that. I don’t want her to settle for playing on the perimeter when she’s got a whole lot more tools in her toolbox that she’s not accessing.”
Close got that version of Dugalic in Sunday’s 88-37 rout of Southern at Pauley Pavilion. The third-ranked Bruins were in full control from whistle to whistle, even pitching a second-quarter shutout, and Dugalic led the way with 20 points, five rebounds and an assist. She shot eight for 15 from the floor with a trio of three-pointers.
It was pure dominance by UCLA. The Bruins shot 51% from the field while holding the Jaguars to 29%. They outrebounded Southern by 30. They forced 13 turnovers, nine in the first half, and scored 28 points off them. And on the offensive end, UCLA was flowing with 24 assists to Southern’s nine.
Gabriela Jaquez added eight rebounds and five assists to go with six points. Her first basket, a layup after cutting through the paint in the second quarter, gave the senior guard her 1,000th career point. Kiki Rice had 17 points, eight rebounds and five assists and Lauren Betts finished with 15 points and six rebounds.
Dugalic opened the scoring for UCLA with a midrange jumper followed by a fast-break layup. She finished the first half with nine points, tied for the team lead with freshman forward Lena Bilic, who finished the game with 14 points.
Despite Dugalic’s strong start, Close issued her another challenge at halftime.
“I just want you to focus on making the right basketball play,” Close said. “What’s the defense doing? I didn’t think she was reading the defense. I thought she shot it well, and I thought she got some great rebounds, but I didn’t think she was in the flow that we’ve been seeing from her the last few days and our last few games.”
Close added that she thinks Dugalić is playing some of the best basketball of her career, and she’s continuously fighting to raise her standard. It’s not about how many points she scores, it’s about her decision making her defense, her consistency.
The Bruins entered that second quarter with a 22-9 lead thanks to a 14-2 run over the final six minutes of the first quarter after holding Southern (1-4) scoreless during the final three minutes. UCLA then exploded for a 27-0 run in the second quarter while holding the Jaguars scoreless for the entire period. It was the first time the Bruins had held an opponent scoreless for an entire quarter since they achieved the same feat on Dec. 5, 2021 against San José State.
Still, Close wasn’t satisfied.
During halftime, Close said she reminded the Bruins of what they want to accomplish. Close wrote down a list of “passion plays,” or goals for every single player to get in the second half.
UCLA guard Kiki Rice controls the ball in front of Southern forward DeMya Porter during the first half of the Bruins’ win Sunday at Pauley Pavilion.
(Ethan Swope / Associated Press)
It’s part of a mentality Close is trying to instill in her players. They know a 51-point win against an unranked Southern team isn’t going to give them the feedback they need.
“Outcomes are actually a distraction,” Close said, referencing legendary Alabama football coach Nick Saban. “What are the processes that we’re going to be committed to that are going to actually lead us to where we want to go?”
UCLA (6-0) will face No. 4 Texas on Wednesday in the Players Era Women’s Championship in Las Vegas, followed by either No. 2 South Carolina or Duke on Thanksgiving. The Bruins then will host No. 15 Tennessee on Nov. 30.
Somebody should check with SoFi Stadium to see if it rescinded its offer.
In what could have been UCLA’s last game at the Rose Bowl after 43 years of calling the place home, the Bruins unfurled the kind of showing that no one would ever want to relive or put in a scrapbook.
If this was goodbye, it was a sad sendoff.
There were lost fumbles, a laughably bad fake field goal that resulted in a touchdown for the other team and a dropped pass that probably cost UCLA its own score. And that was just in the first half.
Adding injury to insult, UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava took a crunching hit that sidelined him late in the third quarter, ending his gritty return from a concussion that had forced him to miss his team’s last game.
UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava passes in the first half against Washington on Saturday night.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
There’s mercifully only one game left for the Bruins this season after a 48-14 loss to Washington on Saturday night led to a fast-emptying stadium, no fond farewells in store for the home fans amid an announced crowd of 38,201 that was too depleted by game’s end to boo.
The site of UCLA’s next home game remains as big of an unknown as its next head coach. School officials have said they are still contemplating plans for where the team will play in the future, though that decision could be up to a court to decide given the Bruins have nearly two decades left on a Rose Bowl lease that doesn’t expire until the summer of 2044.
It’s believed that if school officials have their way, they will move to SoFi Stadium in time for their 2026 season opener.
Wherever the Bruins play, they have a lot of improvements to make. They looked lethargic in falling behind by 34 points Saturday while making one mistake after another on the way to a fourth consecutive defeat.
By the time he entered the game, there was little backup quarterback Luke Duncan could do except make the final score slightly more palatable. He succeeded on that front, firing a 37-yard touchdown pass to Mikey Matthews late in the third quarter that helped UCLA (3-8 overall, 3-5 Big Ten) avoid a shutout.
There was another highlight for the Bruins early in the fourth quarter when Kanye Clark forced a fumble on Washington’s punt return, allowing Jamir Benjamin to pick up the ball and run 13 yards for a touchdown.
But make no mistake: This was complete domination by the Huskies (8-3, 5-3), who rolled up 426 yards of offense while holding the Bruins to 207 yards, including just 57 yards rushing.
Washington alumnus and comedian Joel McHale performed a short recorded bit that was shown on the scoreboard before the game, but the real slapstick was about to come.
The Bruins coughed up two fumbles in the first half and would have lost a third had the Huskies not been called for defensive holding on the play, nullifying the turnover.
UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava watches as Washington players celebrate a defensive touchdown in the first half Saturday.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
UCLA wide receiver Titus Mokiao-Atimalala dropped what could have been a touchdown pass at the Huskies’ 38-yard line with nothing but open field in front of him.
But there was no blunder quite like what happened when the Bruins lined up for a 46-yard field goal late in the second quarter. Holder Cash Peterman took the snap and flipped the ball over his shoulder as kicker Mateen Bhaghani circled behind him, the ball hitting the turf instead of Bhaghani’s hands.
Washington’s Alex McLaughlin picked up the ball and ran 59 yards for a touchdown that put the Huskies ahead, 20-0. It was the second straight game UCLA was held scoreless in the first half.
Things never got appreciably better, the Bruins left adrift without a haven in sight.
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 UCLA quarterback who sat out last weekend’s game against Ohio State because of a concussion has been cleared to play against Washington on Saturday at the Rose Bowl, according to a person with knowledge of the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of health matters. Iamaleava was released from concussion protocol on Monday night.
The return of the Bruins’ best player should significantly enhance an offense that unveiled a conservative game plan against the Buckeyes under backup quarterback Luke Duncan.
UCLA’s offensive line will also be back at full strength with the expected return of guard Garrett DiGiorgio and tackle Reuben Unije from injuries. DiGiorgio missed the game against the Buckeyes because of back spasms and Unije departed the game with a lower-body injury.
Iamaleava has been far and away the Bruins’ top offensive weapon this season after transferring from Tennessee. He’s completed 63.7% of his passes for 1,659 yards with 12 touchdowns and seven interceptions while also emerging as the team’s leading rusher with 474 yards and four touchdowns in 96 carries.
Iamaleava’s refusal to slide or run out of bounds might have contributed to his concussion because he’s repeatedly taken big hits as a result of his fearlessness. He absorbed several punishing hits against Nebraska earlier this month before developing concussion symptoms over the next week, forcing him to miss the game against Ohio State.
Duncan played admirably in Iamaleava’s absence, completing 16 of 23 passes for 154 yards and one touchdown without an interception. He appeared more comfortable as the game progressed amid play calls that increasingly allowed him to throw the ball farther downfield.
Now Duncan will happily cede his spot to Iamaleava as the Bruins (3-7 overall, 3-4 Big Ten) try to break a three-game losing streak with a victory over the Huskies (7-3, 4-3).
Those who want to stay at the Rose Bowl describe the place as iconic, an ode to everything that’s great about college football. They say it oozes history and tradition. Just the sight of the glowing neon sign is enough to give them goosebumps.
Those who want to go call the place a dump. They say it’s old and decaying by the day, a shell of its former greatness. Why hold on so hard when a futuristic stadium in Inglewood could provide not only a home closer to campus but also an infusion of cash as part of a more favorable lease?
Going into what could be UCLA’s last home game ever at its century-old stadium Saturday night, some with deep ties to the school say they understand each of the dueling perspectives in the debate over a possible move to SoFi Stadium.
“The concern is, are you gonna lose part of your identity, which has been in peril lately already?” said Kris Farris, a former All-America offensive tackle with the Bruins who was among the more than half-dozen former greats and current recruits who spoke with The Times about the situation. “So it’s like you’re taking away another special part of UCLA, but of course everyone understands the upside financially and what the program needs to do in the arms race of college football right now.”
Officially, nothing has been decided. School officials have released two statements in recent weeks, both acknowledging the uncertainty of the situation. It’s believed that if UCLA decided to make a move to SoFi Stadium, the Bruins would want to do so before the 2026 season.
But the courts could have the final say. The Rose Bowl Operating Co. and the City of Pasadena have commenced a legal battle with hopes of forcing the team to stay. Having called the stadium home since moving in before the 1982 season under legendary coach Terry Donahue, UCLA committed to a lease that doesn’t expire until the summer of 2044.
“I just really feel if Terry was here, I think he’d say, ‘What’s the hurry?’ ” said Pat Donahue, one of the late coach’s brothers. “You have a lease, why don’t you underwrite what the issues are and if you feel you made a bad deal, go renegotiate. You know, I just don’t know what the hurry is and it seems to me that UCLA has a lot bigger football problems than the Rose Bowl, right? I mean, the building’s on fire and you wanna remodel the garden.”
Only one thing seems certain: UCLA will not play home games on campus, as so many have proposed over the years. A movement to build a football stadium on the spot now occupied by Drake Stadium died in 1965 amid opposition from students, political leaders and local homeowners. Not only did the University of California regents rebuff the stadium bid, they also decreed that no structure built on the Drake Stadium footprint could later be enlarged into a football stadium.
Thus the current dilemma. Does UCLA keep its word and fulfill a Rose Bowl lease in which it loses millions of dollars annually in opportunity costs because it does not take in suite or sponsorship revenue? Or do the Bruins head to SoFi Stadium for a new beginning flush with cash, if not tradition?
“In the long term, if you look at the UCLA program, SoFi makes a whole lot more sense whether you like it or not,” said former Bruins quarterback Gary Beban, who led the team to an upset of top-ranked Michigan State in the 1966 Rose Bowl and won the school’s only Heisman Trophy in 1967.
Beban played for UCLA teams that called the Coliseum home, long before the Bruins moved to the Rose Bowl. He said initially wasn’t a supporter of UCLA playing in Pasadena because of a 26.2-mile commute from campus, acknowledging the issue seemed to be largely offset by wild early success the team enjoyed while appearing in five Rose Bowl games between 1983 and 1999.
With the Bruins stuck in a decadelong funk, making that long commute has become more burdensome, leading to dwindling attendance at a stadium that’s roughly twice the distance from UCLA than SoFi Stadium.
“It’s a convenience issue for the people at the campus and over a longer period of time,” Beban said, “I think eventually SoFi just makes more sense than the Rose Bowl. … Right now, this is being looked at at a time when the program needs a lot of fresh air. Regardless of how big of a supporter you are, there are a list of things that need to be advanced and this is just one of them. Maybe it’s time to start all over in all directions and try to get going in the right direction.”
One of Beban’s teammates favors holding on more tightly to the past. Jim Colletto, co-captain of the 1966 Rose Bowl champions, said standing on that field makes one feel like he’s playing or coaching with the ghosts of legends.
Before his return to the Rose Bowl as UCLA’s offensive line coach in 2006, Colletto walked to the two-yard line, where former teammate Bob Stiles had made a goal-line stand 40 years earlier by stopping Michigan State fullback Bob Apisa on a potential game-tying two-point conversion.
“I closed my eyes,” Colletto said, “and it all came alive again.”
Which stadium do possible future UCLA players want to call home?
Kenneth Moore III, a wide receiver from St. Mary’s High in Stockton who has verbally committed to the Bruins, said he’d prefer to play at SoFi Stadium. As far as he’s concerned, the stadium that opened in 2020 is closer to campus and would create a better environment than the team has experienced at the Rose Bowl, where it’s averaging only 37,099 fans this season.
“I feel it’ll be more involvement from the fans after going to SoFi,” Moore said, “to have more packed-out stands.”
Cooper Javorsky has remained a constant presence at the Rose Bowl even after decommitting from UCLA in the wake of coach DeShaun Foster’s dismissal. The offensive lineman from San Juan Hills High who is still considering the Bruins has developed an affinity for the place based on his many weekends spent on the sideline watching games.
“I don’t think I’m really in a position to have an opinion,” Javorsky said, “but who wouldn’t think it’s cool to run out at the Rose Bowl on a Saturday?”
One widespread lament is the possible loss of unfettered tailgating on a sprawling golf course and surrounding parking lots. Farris said throwing a football on the grass and cooking food in an open space was the part of the gameday experience that his kids looked forward to most when they were younger.
“At SoFi, just having attended some professional games there, they just don’t have the tailgating experience,” Farris said. “The tailgating at the Rose Bowl is special, it’s unique. You know, it’s not a paved parking lot with a small little stall.”
Hearing that UCLA’s game against Washington on Saturday could be the team’s last one inside the stadium he once called home has motivated Farris to make the drive from Orange County. It could represent one final memory for someone who was part of the last Bruins team to play in a Rose Bowl game.
“There’s nothing like it,” Farris said of the place. “I’ve played in a lot of different stadiums and obviously the backdrop and the size and scale of the Rose Bowl, the history of the Rose Bowl, the energy coming from the fans and just the history in that building and to be able to call it your home as a program and that’s your home field and being able to dominate in that time like we were able to do as a team, I wouldn’t trade that for the world.”
Nearly everyone who weighed in the stadium debate agreed that winning would solve many of UCLA’s problems regardless of where it played, drawing more fans and revenue. But Dave Ball, a former Bruins All-America defensive end, said there was a caveat that should be attached to that sentiment.
“Yes, winning solves everything,” Ball said, “but it’s like to me, the resources are the thing, especially now, that are going to promote winning. It’s like, man, you need to have the players and to have the players you need big budgets and an environment that is like swooning over the kids and Ohio State has that, Alabama has that, a lot of the SEC schools have that, and so a great coach who starts to get the program going will instill more excitement and more money, but you do need a lot of the budget and the resources to get that top-tier coach and those top-tier athletes.
“This thing is a game of moving onto the next and what matters to everybody is, do you win football games, championships, bowl games or not?”
The former head of UCLA’s football name, image and likeness collective on Thursday denied any impropriety related to a report that revealed efforts by the school’s athletic department to funnel NIL donations through his non-profit charity.
The story published by the muckraking college football website foiaball.com showed email communications from UCLA athletic department officials directing payments intended for Bruins for Life, the onetime NIL collective of the school’s football program, through Shelter 37 Inc., a tax-exempt charity that purports to empower home ownership and help local youth through a variety of activities.
Donating through Shelter 37 would provide a tax deduction not available to those giving directly to Bruins for Life — a standard practice in the NIL sphere — but it also raised questions about a potential conflict of interest and the control of funds given James Washington ran Bruins for Life until recently and remains the president of Shelter 37.
The story also questioned Shelter 37’s charitable endeavors and suggested that UCLA athletic department officials encouraged the evasion of Internal Revenue Service guidance regarding so-called donor-advised funds, directing money to Shelter 37 that couldn’t go to other firms taking a more conservative approach with regard to NIL rules.
Emails obtained by foiaball.com through a public records request showed nearly a half million dollars of donations intended for Bruins for Life going through Shelter 37, with school officials requesting that anyone who sent their money through the latter organization to specify that it be earmarked for football NIL.
Washington said there was nothing untoward about an arrangement that was approved by UCLA and involved full transparency.
“There’s nothing that’s happening between Shelter 37 and UCLA and Bruins for Life that’s in the closet,” Washington, a former UCLA safety who went on to win two Super Bowls with the Dallas Cowboys, told The Times. “Everything has been discussed, every move, every act that I’ve taken toward the NIL, every step — bookkeeping and everything — has been handled and handed over to UCLA.”
In a statement, a UCLA athletic department spokesperson said that “UCLA athletics operates with integrity and transparency, in a manner that is consistent with industry best practices. Our development team educates potential donors on a range of giving opportunities, including avenues to support our student-athletes.”
In what Washington described as an unrelated move confirmed by an athletic department official, UCLA recently shifted its football NIL operations to new leadership, allowing Bruins for Life to pivot into an alumni club for football. Washington said the Bruins for Life website was temporarily inactive as part of that transition and that it would still have an NIL component providing community outreach opportunities for football players.
Alongside longtime UCLA donor John Manuck, James had spearheaded the fundraising efforts of Bruins for Life when it debuted in October 2024 as the new NIL arm of UCLA football.
“It’s really exciting,” UCLA athletic director Martin Jarmond said at the time, “because it’s going to support our football student-athletes in a real positive way.”
The foiaball.com story contended that the Bruins for Life website stated that it was not a 501(c)(3) organization, meaning that any donations it accepted were not tax deductible. The website directed those wishing to donate to Shelter 37, a 501(c)(3) organization that said it could receive tax-deductible contributions.
The story reported that Shelter 37’s 2024 IRS 990 tax form, published by ProPublica, showed a revenue jump to $4.8 million in 2024, up from $800,000 the previous year. The document stated that $3.6 million had been raised for the Bruins for Life NIL program but only $200 for scholarships for at-risk youth.
Washington said that latter number was misleading because Shelter 37 was not a scholarship-based organization, even though it assisted at-risk children through a variety of community services. The Times reviewed one Shelter 37 tax document reporting nearly a combined seven figures spent on scholarships, education programs and housing.
“This is when people are not fact-checking,” Washington said, “and they’re just putting stuff out there and they’re just trying to make the story bigger than what it needs to be.”
Over the years, Washington said, Shelter 37 has held many community-based events such as turkey drives, football camps for inner-city kids and “I’m going to college” days in which the organization paid for buses to transport students to football games at the Rose Bowl.
The foiaball.com story contended that Shelter 37 was used as a workaround for donor-advised funds that were in limbo. One UCLA athletic department employee, informed of a denial of one donor-advised fund, forwarded the message to other internal fundraisers, along with a message saying, “Just as an FYI. Here is info for Shelter 37 for DAF gifts.”
A new home for donor-advised funds was needed after another NIL firm, Blue Print Sports, ceased its charitable operations in the wake of the IRS recommendation, its legal counsel citing “no path forward.” According to the documents reviewed by foiaball.com, a UCLA athletic department official sent an email to Washington not long after the IRS guidance was issued, informing him of a $15,000 donation through Bank of America that should be directed to Bruins for Life.
Washington said there was nothing illegal about accepting donor-advised funds and that every move made by his organizations was within the rules.
“Any dollar that was given to me, there’s a track record and we have a communication document that shows what came out and how it was received,” Washington said. “They [UCLA athletic officials] know exactly what came into accounts, they know exactly what came out because everything was disclosed and we were communicating and I was acting as a vessel during the time of the Wild, Wild West to try to help UCLA’s football program succeed in this new era of what we call the NIL.”
On the drive up to the Rose Bowl’s front door, underneath the legendary glowing sign, toward the picturesque purple mountains, there stands the most impactful symbol of the school that plays there.
It is a statue of Jackie Robinson in a UCLA football uniform.
He is cradling the ball in his left hand and warding off impending tacklers with his right, a striking bronze symbol of a university’s resilience and strength. The most formidable figure in American sports history is standing where he grew up, where his team lives and where he forever will embody the epitome of the gutty Bruin.
UCLA values a quick buck over enduring integrity, fast cash over deep tradition and dollars over die-hards.
The Bruins want to leave the most storied stadium in America, a place where they have played for 43 years, a living monument to Bruins icons, a tailgating paradise with a postcard backdrop … for the shiny toy that is SoFi Stadium, an amazing professional football palace that has no business being the permanent home of a college football team.
This is no knock on SoFi. It’s Super Bowl cool. But it’s an NFL stadium with NFL vibes. It doesn’t work for a struggling university program that would be a third tenant viewed as a last resort.
The Bruins don’t want to move there for tradition. When it comes to college football, SoFi has none. UCLA played there once in a bowl game that drew what appeared to be a handful of fans, the quaint gathering dwarfed by the space-age surroundings.
They don’t want to go there for the increased convenience. There is none. You can’t sell me that 14 fewer miles going south on the 405 on a Saturday afternoon would be noticeably quicker than a longer trek going east on the 134. Especially if there also are events happening at the SoFi-adjacent Forum and Intuit Dome.
They don’t want to go for the game-day experience. There is none. They would be sacrificing lush Brookside tailgating for scarce parking lot tailgating, robbing UCLA fans of their one guaranteed victory every game.
Yes, SoFi has much better seats and bathrooms and amenities but, no, the Bruins want to go for one reason only, and we’ve known what that is from the moment they admitted their athletic department was in financial ruin.
UCLA offensive coordinator Jerry Neuheisel walks back to the sidelines after a timeout during a game against Nebraska at the Rose Bowl on Nov. 8.
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
This is all about the money. UCLA long ago agreed to a lousy deal with the Rose Bowl from the outset — the school apparently sign leases like it hires football coaches — and thus the Bruins don’t receive any cut of suite or sponsorship deals, and get just a fraction of merchandise and parking. Some estimate they can make a few multiples of their current revenue by moving to SoFi, and that’s certainly a legitimate motivation, but it’s also the easy way out.
You know how else they could make more money? Win more football games! Did anybody think of that?
Since Terry Donahue retired in 1995, the UCLA football program frequently has dumped a steaming pile of garbage on Pasadena’s prettiest doorstep, and the poor decisions by the athletic department finally are catching up to it.
They’ve had losing records in seven of the last 10 years. They’ve gone through five coaches and endured countless disappointments. Not surprisingly, increasingly fewer fans want to devote their Saturdays to cheering for a team that too often finds itself plopping into a Brookside bunker.
The Bruins’ five worst attendance figures have come in the last five seasons not interrupted by COVID-19. They’ve ranked around the bottom of Big Ten attendance, and the hole just keeps getting deeper.
They’re averaging 37,099 this season entering the Saturday night’s home finale against Washington, a pace which would set the record for the lowest UCLA season attendance at the Rose Bowl.
And all this is the Rose Bowl’s fault? Not since Roy “Wrong Way” Riegels has someone in the Arroyo Seco been so misguided.
The City of Pasadena and the Rose Bowl Operating Co. have lived up to their part of the lease, which still has 19 years remaining on it. Pasadena officials say taxpayers have invested more than $150 million in stadium renovations and they’re ready to write a check on an additional $130 million for improvements.
It shows. The Terry Donahue Pavilion is magnificent. The grounds are pristine. There are plans for a cool field club beyond the south end zone.
The Rose Bowl folks have done everything they agreed to do. That UCLA still is trying to walk out the front door smacks of an entitled, oafish spouse who demands their significant other improve themselves, then leaves anyway.
I’ve been covering UCLA games at the Rose Bowl for nearly 40 years, and I can confirm there’s no better place to watch college football in this country. It’s the Augusta National of football stadiums, a place where they should hold the national championship every year, with its breathtaking skyline and deep green surroundings and that crisp fall breeze that sneaks through the Arroyo Seco like an old friend reminding you of home.
UCLA tailback Derrick Williams celebrates with a cheerleader’s megaphone after defeating the USC 13-9 at the Rose Bowl on Dec. 2, 2006.
(Stephen Dunn / Getty Images)
No, it’s not on UCLA’s campus, but there’s no more room, that ship has sailed. And, no, UCLA doesn’t make an appropriate amount of money in the deal, but the school signed the lease, and those lost dollars can appear in other ways.
By playing at the Rose Bowl, the Bruins are paid in majestic beauty, timeless tradition and a sense of family that their alumni and fans can’t get anywhere else.
I was on the sidelines in the final seconds on that first Saturday in December 2006 for quite possibly UCLA’s greatest Rose Bowl moment. You remember. How could you forget?
The John David Booty drive, the Eric McNeal interception, the stunning 13-9 UCLA victory that denied USC a spot in the national championship game while giving the Bruins their only win over the Trojans in a 13-year span.
What stays with me from that afternoon is the deafening noise that seemed to fill every corner of Pasadena before morphing into arguably the loudest Eight Clap in Bruins history.
“U-C-L-A! Fight! Fight! Fight!”
The Rose Bowl was magical that day. Shame on UCLA for not believing it still can be.
When you’re a sportswriter covering high school sports in Southern California since the 1970s, you meet lots of sports families who come and go.
It’s going to be the end of an era for one of my favorite families, the Kymans. Bernie was the patriarch. He coached and was athletic director at so many high schools he could have worn a different mascot shirt every day for weeks. He was at Daniel Murphy, Los Angeles, St. Bonaventure, Moorpark, Chaminade (twice), Bishop Alemany, Littlerock, Cal Lutheran and Pierce College (twice).
His son, Coley, became a star in football and volleyball at Reseda in the 1980s, then the starting quarterback at Cal State Northridge and a Hall of Fame volleyball player for the Matadors. Coley’s wife, Michelle, won a national championship playing for UCLA’s women’s volleyball team. They had two sons, Jake and Brayden.
Jake helped Santa Margarita win a Southern Section Division 1 basketball championship in 2019, then spent three years at UCLA before transferring to Eastern Washington.
The last of the Kymans is Brayden, a 6-foot-7 senior at Santa Margarita and a Washington State commit who will get to play on Saturday for the first time where his father, mother and brother once played — UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion. Santa Margarita faces Sherman Oaks Notre Dame in a 7 p.m. basketball game as part of a daylong showcase.
“Once I saw it on the schedule, I was really grateful and super excited,” Brayden said. “My brother played there, my parents played there. It’s kind of a full circle moment.”
The world lost a REAL ONE Monday! I’m so grateful for my fathers unconditional love. He taught me what giving YOUR WORD truly means. Commitment, Loyalty & Character is how he lived and set an example for me and my boys. pic.twitter.com/xC2D1QsboK
His grandfather died in 2019 at the age of 78. Brayden said he learned plenty from a man who always believed in character and commitment.
“He taught me a lot and my dad, which was passed down to me — working hard and staying focused on what you want to do in life,” he said.
His parents both played professionally in volleyball, so they’ve been good role models and sounding boards for what to expect in the college journey.
“They always give me the best advice, whether it’s about recovery or a game,” he said. “They support me.”
Santa Margarita returns four starters this season and began the season as the No. 2-ranked team in the Southland by The Times. Kyman has already accomplished something few other top players are doing these days — staying from freshman season through senior season.
“It’s gone by super fast,” he said. “I remember yesterday I was a freshman. I’m grateful for the experience to be here all four years. I know that’s not as common now.”
After Brayden graduates, his parents are moving to Montana. It allows them to drive some five hours to his games in Pullman, Wash., while enjoy being away from big-city life. Just don’t expect Brayden to hang out in Montana. He makes it clear he’s a California boy for life.
“I think it’s crazy,” he said. “I’ve lived in the same house [in Aliso Vijeo] my whole life. I’m going to visit for a few days but not a whole week.”
He can also visit his brother, Jake, who’s living in Austin, Texas, and is a filmmaker. Brayden wants to keep playing basketball for as long as he can, then become a coach or trainer.
It’s been wonderful to see the Kymans make their mark in Southern California sports history.
Day session Saturday at Pauley Pavilion
Servite vs. Loyola, 9:30 a.m.
Orange Lutheran vs. St. Francis, 11 a.m.
Crean Lutheran vs. Campbell Hall, 12:30 p.m.
Mater Dei vs. Crespi, 2 p.m.
Night Session
JSerra vs. Sierra Canyon, 5:30 p.m.
Santa Margarita vs. Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, 7 p.m.
It looked like a message sent with a bullhorn, a move made with all the subtlety of an elbow to the ribs.
UCLA coach Mick Cronin sent regular starter Eric Dailey Jr. onto the court for tipoff Tuesday night alongside four players who are normally reserves.
The regular starters weren’t sick or injured, they just hadn’t given the effort their coach wanted in practice. So in their place, Cronin started a group of players who had drubbed their teammates by 20 points the previous day in a game that didn’t count except in the mind of the Bruins’ coach.
Given a bigger role, that new group set an unmistakably energetic tone against Sacramento State at Pauley Pavilion, scoring the game’s first 13 points on the way to the No. 19 Bruins’ 79-48 victory.
“They pay me to win games and I thought that was the lineup that was ready to play tonight,” Cronin said, disputing the idea that he was putting his regular starters on notice. “I don’t believe in messages, I don’t believe in doghouses.”
He does believe in extracting whatever his players have to give.
Trent Perry, Jamar Brown, Brandon Williams and Steven Jamerson II played scrappy defense and unselfish offense in helping their team build that big early lead. A Williams steal triggered a fast break ending in a Brown driving layup in which he was fouled. A Jamerson block started another fast break that led to another Brown driving layup. Perry added a rare four-point play after making a three-pointer in which he was fouled.
Before some fans had reached their seats, UCLA was ahead 13-0. Cronin didn’t insert three of his regular starters until nearly five minutes had elapsed, Skyy Clark, Tyler Bilodeau and Xavier Booker finally entering the game. They were joined a few minutes later by point guard Donovan Dent, the last regular starter checking into the game with 12 minutes 37 seconds left before halftime.
It took Dent only 10 seconds to make his presence felt, driving toward the basket before flinging a pass to Clark for a three-pointer.
Dailey was especially active, logging a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds to lead four players in double figures scoring. Booker added 12 points, Perry had 11 and Brown 10 for the Bruins, who held the Hornets to 24.1% shooting. Jamerson appeared on the way to a strong defensive game with three rebounds, two blocks and a steal in 10 minutes before twisting his ankle and never returning.
“Proud of the guys that started, proud of the guys that came in, too,” Dailey said. “They kept it going. So that just shows that our level of intensity has to be hard to start games off.”
This was UCLA’s most complete performance since its 30-point blowout of UC Irvine in an exhibition game late last month. The Bruins followed that with three flat performances against lesser competition before putting up a fight in a four-point loss to Arizona last week.
It didn’t seem to matter who was in the game for UCLA (4-1) given the talent discrepancy with Sacramento State (3-3). The Hornets became even more depleted midway through the first half when guard Jeremiah Cherry, their leading scorer, suffered what appeared to be a serious knee injury and had to be helped to the locker room.
Cronin went with his normal starting lineup to start the second half but pivoted quickly. Perry replaced Clark after less than a minute when Clark committed a foul. Then, after the Hornets rolled off seven straight points, came more changes. Back into the game came Brown and Williams, replacing Dent and Booker.
“I gave the other guys a chance because they need to practice coming out of the locker room with more energy,” Cronin said, “and they didn’t get the job done.”
Cronin said his team logged 33 deflections — tipped passes, loose balls collected, steals and blocked shots — in the first half compared to only nine in the second, reflecting a dropoff in defensive effort.
Bilodeau was gone for good with seven minutes left, fouling out after only 18 minutes of playing time in which he collected six points, three rebounds and two steals. Dent had five points, seven assists, two steals and no turnovers in 24 minutes.
Cronin’s biggest concern was giving up 13 offensive rebounds, though that was partially a reflection of Sacramento State shooting so poorly and missing 41 shots.
“We’re not going anywhere,” Cronin said, “if we don’t get better on the defensive backboard.”
But will the coach go back to his normal starting lineup Friday against Presbyterian?
Depends.
“We’ll see how guys practice,” Cronin said. “Right now, we’re in a mode of trying to learn how to play hard enough to earn the jersey that they wear. I have great respect for the jersey. I left my hometown, coaching at my alma mater … because of how much respect that I have for UCLA basketball, and I try to demand that my players play with that kind of effort, show that same respect.”
