By Bruce Tran
Daily Bruin Reporter
btran@media.ucla.edu
It was only five years ago that UCLA was named the top athletic
school in the nation by Sports Illustrated. The magazine noted that
the Bruins had more gold medalists in the 1996 Olympics than any
other country in the world, save six. It talked about how UCLA led
all universities in national championships. It listed UCLA’s
distinguished list of athletic alumni.
Five years later, fans proclaim that UCLA has lost its edge
athletically, and that it is suffering its worst year in many
years. The school’s most televised programs ““ football
and men’s basketball ““ have coaches who are both on the
hot seat. And for the first time since 1993-94, the Bruins have
failed to capture a national championship.
In the span of five years, UCLA athletics has evolved through a
roller coaster of high peaks and low troughs. And not all programs
have fared the same. For some, the jury is still out, such as
women’s basketball (disappointing season, but promising class
of recruits). Other programs have risen from the ashes to rank
among the best in the nation. For still others, the fall has been
rather painful.
“Overall, we’ve continued to establish ourselves as
a national powerhouse,” associate athletic director Michael
Sondheimer said. “We’ve consistently competed for
national championships over time, and UCLA will continue to be
there at the top.”
One important criterion for Sports Illustrated’s decision
to name UCLA as the top athletic school was tradition and history.
The UCLA mystique is intriguing to high school recruits, and it is
drawn from the history and tradition of decades of athletic
excellence. And while UCLA’s dominance during those epochs
cannot compare to the more balanced athletic competition of today,
it is a huge reason why the Bruins still garner talented athletes
““ even in spite of sub-par seasons.
“We’ve got some of the most incredible athletes
here, and we continue to recruit well because we already have so
many good athletes here,” said gymnast Onnie Willis, who came
to UCLA in 1999. “The caliber of athlete has not gone
down.”
Another key winning point ““ and one that will remain a
winning point regardless of how the athletic teams perform ““
is location. Nestled close to the mountains and just a bus ride
from the ocean, the campus allows students to surf at sunrise, then
head east to the ski resorts for an afternoon of skiing in the same
day. Add the beautiful weather, and you’ve got a campus made
for recreation.
You also have a campus that loves sports. According to Sports
Illustrated, the inter-sorority beach volleyball tournament is the
most anticipated spring event ““ a tradition that continues
today. Each year, sororities from all over California make the trek
to Long Beach to play for the tournament title. According to Nohea
Brede, a second-year biology student in Alpha Delta Pi, however,
it’s not all about winning.
“Partying and having fun is what it’s all
about,” Brede said. “You get such a large turnout of
people. All the houses look forward to it, and the fact people are
willing to travel from everywhere to Long Beach shows the magnitude
of the event itself.”
The number of NCAA championships added to a school’s
prestige, and UCLA is no exception. Prior to the Sports Illustrated
article, the Bruins had tallied 94 national championships, and they
still lead all universities in number of national titles. Since
1997, UCLA has added 15 titles. However, UCLA couldn’t add to
its titles this school year, and Stanford is quickly catching
up.
“For a school like UCLA, it’s a little
disappointing,” Sondheimer said. “But so many of our
teams had great years and simply finished second. You always want
to win a national championship, but sometimes things happen. Across
the board, a race here, a foot there, or an extra point there, and
we’d have a national championship.”
Lastly, Sports Illustrated considered athletic venues. The Rose
Bowl, while still a trek, is one of the best college football
stadiums in the country, and Pauley Pavilion embodies history and
tradition. For the fans, just stepping into either venue is an
experience.
“It’s pretty intense at the games,” said
Justin Harvey, a second-year cognitive science student. “The
fans are pretty into it, and it’s definitely a lot bigger
than what I expected going into UCLA. The athletic experience is
bigger than most universities, even when we don’t win.
It’s so important to the college experience.
Added Kimi Maibaum, a second-year ecology, behavior and
evolution student who often attends men’s basketball games,
“I get disappointed sometimes. But other than that, we have
talented athletes here, and so the games are fun to watch.
It’s a chance to hang out with your buds and yell as loud as
you can.”
Despite not winning a championship this year, the athletic
program seems to be on the rise. Some fans expect an energetic
boost with the hiring of athletic director Dan Guerrero. Others
look at history, which says that UCLA rarely puts together two
consecutive poor athletic years. Sondheimer notes that UCLA puts
together “the top recruiting class in the nation if you
combine all the sports.”
“It’s so hard to say where UCLA athletics will
go,” Onnie Willis said. “I’d hope for it to go
up, and the teams certainly have the talent to be successful. But
no one knows for sure. It’s so hard to stay on top once
you’re on top.”
In 1997, Sports Illustrated said that UCLA should stand for
University of California, Loaded with Athletes. Could the same
claim be made today? The talent still seems to be flowing in, and
teams are still winning. Indeed, the 2001-02 school year became the
first year for UCLA to lack a national championship banner since
1993-94, but it was only three years after 1993-94 that UCLA staked
a claim as the nation’s top jock school. It should be only a
matter of time before UCLA fans know where this roller coaster is
taking them.