Three days after UCLA defeated USC last year, a contagious energy and buzz filled the J.D. Morgan Center, the likes of which the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame hadn’t seen in almost six years.
A crowd of people gathered inside, awaiting the arrival of the prize given to the winner of the UCLA-USC game: the Victory Bell.
But fans that day were kept waiting a bit longer.
“People were crowding around waiting … (then) everyone sprinted over to go see it there and take pictures,” said third-year communication studies and political science student Lauren Schwartz, who works at the Morgan Center front desk. “But then everyone obviously wants a picture with it in the Hall of Fame so everyone sprinted back and there was this huge line waiting for it.”
The excitement over the Victory Bell’s arrival was expected, considering UCLA hadn’t had possession of the trophy since 2007. The crowd at the Morgan Center that day, rather than being composed of current students, was largely made up of Bruin alumni.
But with the bell back on campus, UCLA’s problems weren’t over.
The Bruins hadn’t possessed the 295-pound locomotive bell in more than five years, and they were ill-prepared for its arrival.
“We had to figure out how to get it back into our buildings because a lot of the door frames are actually too small to let it in. Same thing with elevators and all that kind of stuff,” said third-year classics and psychology student Kathryn Lynyak. “So it was a fun panic moment of what to do.”
Each year at the end of the UCLA-USC football game, the winner takes possession of the Victory Bell, keeping it until the following year’s game. The bell is then painted the winning school’s color to reflect the victory.
“The bell is a big symbol of our rivalry with USC, and it’s also a big symbol of UCLA Athletics,” said Peter Duyshart, second-year political science student and Den Student Action Committee membership coordinator.
Now, a year later, the Bruins have put the bell to good use.
The Rally Committee, the student group on campus that cares for the bell, brings it to every football game, where it is rung after every field goal and touchdown the Bruins score, and before Bruin third downs.
The bell is mainly brought to football games but occasionally makes an appearance at other UCLA sporting events.
Last year, it was first introduced at a UCLA women’s basketball game. And earlier this month, at the UCLA women’s soccer senior night game against USC, the bell was rung for each senior’s introduction.
Through this, Lynyak said she hopes to expand the bell’s impact to beyond the group of enthusiastic alumni that first received it last November, even if this means bringing it to non-athletic events.
On Bruin Day in April, new students had a chance to ring the bell when they signed their Statement of Intent to Register.
Normally, though, the Victory Bell rests at the entrance of the Morgan Center, on full display through the clear, expansive windows for passersby to see.
“It just is a symbolic thing, every single day, when (the football coaches) walk into the Morgan Center (they’re reminded) about this accomplishment that we did, especially coming off the year before – that was really embarrassing to be honest. So it’s just a reminder of how great UCLA is,” Schwartz said.
In the Hall of Fame, the bell sits quietly as just that – a silent reminder to the coaches and visitors that pass by. Being a clamorous locomotive bell, it isn’t supposed to be rung when in the hall.
“Most people try to respect this, except for the football coaches – because it’s theirs, we’re not gonna tell them not to,” Lynyak said. “I remember (defensive line coach) Angus McClure is notorious for this … whenever he sees that thing, he’ll just start ringing it … he’ll just sneak out there and start ringing it and just runs away.”
Though the bell holds special meaning to UCLA coaches, its impact resonates with the entire UCLA student body.
“I just smile every time I hear it rung. I haven’t had the opportunity to ring it. But I just smile because I get to be a Bruin. I get to be a part of it. … I actually wish our whole student body would celebrate the USC-UCLA rivalry in everything,” said Cori Close, coach of the UCLA women’s basketball team. “But all of us all across this campus feel deeply about it and feel pride when we ring that bell.”