The yearlong showdown between two athletic powerhouses will come to a close today when UCLA is awarded the Lexus Gauntlet for athletic supremacy over crosstown rival USC.
The award ““ a 150-pound trophy ““ will be presented at 11:30 a.m. on Spaulding Field. The event will also celebrate UCLA’s 100th NCAA Championship. UCLA Athletic Director Dan Guerrero and Chancellor Norman Abrams will be present, along with men’s volleyball coach Al Scates, men’s and women’s water polo coach Adam Krikorian and former softball coach Sue Enquist, who have all contributed greatly to the school’s run of team titles and will participate in the “First to 100″ rally.
In true rival fashion, the Gauntlet has changed hands every spring since its inception six years ago, with UCLA capturing the title in 2003, 2005 and now 2007.
Sponsored by Southern California Lexus Dealers, the Gauntlet does more than give the company visibility; it makes tangible a rivalry inherent in every Bruin.
“Every Bruin, even if they don’t play a sport, hates ‘SC,” junior women’s tennis player Riza Zalameda said. “The Lexus Gauntlet is indicative of that.”
Throughout the year, points are awarded to the winner of UCLA-USC matchups across 18 of the 22 sports on campus. Men’s and women’s basketball, football and women’s volleyball take home 10 points. The rest are worth five points.
This season, the Bruins took it to the Trojans by an unprecedented margin, finishing 72.5 to 37.5. The award clinches an already legendary Bruin season.
UCLA trumped USC in men’s basketball, football and baseball. The only time either school has beat the other in these three sports as well as women’s basketball was in 1940-1941 season, when USC defeated UCLA in all four sports. But a stunning 13-9 victory over USC in football and a place in history as the first NCAA school to win 100 NCAA Championships have added to UCLA’s 2007 glory.
The Gauntlet program has gained a reputation among the athletic community but is still unknown to much of the non-sports-loving student body.
“I get excited when we win but it’s not in-your-face like winning in football,” third-year communication studies student and yell crew member Kareem Hammad said. “When we win it’s awesome, and people are happy, but they don’t follow it religiously or anticipate the winner.”
Organizers of the program are working to build the status of the Gauntlet, starting with today’s event. Lexus representative Deborah Senior will present the trophy to Guerrero. The entire event will be filmed to create the final installment of Fox Sports’ “The Lexus Gauntlet” series.
“It’s a festive atmosphere,” said Tom Davis, general manager of ISP Sports. Davis manages the Gauntlet for UCLA and encourages “any fans who want to celebrate yet another victory over USC” to stop by Spaulding Field, the football practice field adjacent to Pauley Pavilion.
Hammad, who has led thousands of Bruins in the 8-clap and other cheers as a yell crew member, would like to see the actual trophy become more visible to the student body.
“If it’s sitting on display no one will care. They’ll only care if it comes out,” he said.
A noble idea, but moving the 150-pound pewter-gilded knight’s glove from its home in the J.D. Morgan Center may prove challenging. The image of the award was chosen based on a tradition of knights in medieval times throwing down their armored gauntlets to incite a duel.
“Cups are cool, engraved plates and the Victory Bell are nice, but the Gauntlet looks strong and powerful. It’s badass,” said Andrew Green, a fifth-year communication studies student who served as both school mascot and yell crew member.
This sentiment is what the competition boils down to.
“We’re proud of beating USC,” women’s tennis coach Stella Sampras Webster said. “Every year it’s a goal of ours to beat them and we want to win the Gauntlet as a whole athletic program.”
What sets the Gauntlet apart from other head-to-head competitions is its inclusion of every sport across the board.
“It’s not just tennis competing against the USC tennis team,” Zalameda said. “We’re out there representing UCLA.”
From the pool to the track, sports events draw more attention when the opponent is wearing red.
“With any sport, regardless of ranking, when they play the rival anything can happen,” Hammad said.
This unpredictable nature draws Green to USC matchups of any kind. “It makes some of those sports I’m not a big fan of all the more exciting,” he said. “We get rowdy, it’s a lot of fun.”
“It’s not life or death but it’s fever-pitch excitement,” Davis said. “The Gauntlet has helped us bring that to the floor in an organized way.”
This organized bestower of bragging rights was created by Southern California Lexus Dealers as a way for them to get involved with the community and university, said Seliena Sena, assistant account executive for Team One, which manages the Gauntlet for Lexus.
Sena said the program is also an avenue to push down the age of Lexus’ target audience, which has traditionally been an older crowd.
Both Hammad and Green said they aren’t fans of the marketing aspect of the program but accept it as a normal part of athletics today.
“Can’t we have school spirit without the brand?” Hammad asked.
In 2007, the answer appears to be no. Regardless, Bruin fans will take any opportunity they can get to 8-clap their hearts out and remove any trace of red from the crowd.
CORRECTION: This story should not have said that the UCLA women’s basketball team beat USC this year. Women’s basketball did not help UCLA win the Lexus Gauntlet. On their Jan. 13 game, UCLA lost 75-72, and lost again Feb. 10 with a score of 62-55.