SAN BERNARDINO — Coach Jim Mora made his intentions clear: He doesn’t want anyone to question his commitment to UCLA football anymore.
“I’ve stated from day one that I’m completely committed to this place,” Mora said Thursday, after his team completed a two-hour practice.
Hours earlier, Mora put his money where his mouth was. He and his wife made a monetary donation to the Wasserman Football Center project – UCLA football’s primary construction project for the past year. The amount of Mora’s donation was undisclosed, but a UCLA Athletics statement said that it was the largest donation ever made by a sitting head coach in UCLA history.
The Wasserman Football Center is a proposed multistory complex that will be located on the west end of Spaulding Field. The building has a ground-breaking ceremony Aug. 27, and is estimated to cost $50 million by the time it’s completed.
Mora said he wants his donation, and this facility, to be part of a legacy that he forges at UCLA.
“One thing that’s always been important to me in thinking about my career is leaving some sort of legacy somehow – and I’ve never been able to stay anywhere long enough to do that,” Mora said. “I’m hopeful that (UCLA) could be the place that I do that.”
The timetable for the facility’s completion has yet to be disclosed.
Compiled by Matthew Joye, Bruin Sports senior staff.