It may be close to 100 million miles away, but it’s
UCLA’s best recruiting tool.
While people in other parts of the country are dressing in
parkas and shoveling snow, Southern California residents are clad
in spaghetti strap tops, playing frisbee and basking in the sun
that deserts most of the United States during this time of
year.
No one could be more pleased with this scene than UCLA’s
athletic department.
With football, soccer and water polo recruits all able to
officially sign their letters of intent today, the Bruins will
welcome a wide range of athletes who looked for different things
before settling on a school.
But the one common thing that draws them here are the about 300
sunny days each year.
“I love the warm weather,” said Elizabeth Lumpkin, a
Chicago native on the women’s tennis team who acknowledged
the climate was a reason she came to UCLA.
“We are able to play outside all the time. Where I’m
from we have to play indoors six months a year.”
And most sports just aren’t as fun indoors. Growing up,
kids don’t tell their parents they’re going inside to
play.
Cooped up in a classroom all day long, the last thing they want
is to spend more time in a place where they’re surrounded by
four walls and artificial light.
Being able to go outdoors for exercise during February is a
release, one that the poor folks in most other regions of the
country don’t have the chance to experience.
And in regions where they can, the residents there unfortunately
don’t take advantage of the fresh air or natural light.
UCLA’s athletic department understands the fortunate
geographic position it’s in and takes full advantage of it.
It doesn’t cower at the prospect of inviting recruits in
December. Instead, it views that time as a perfect opportunity to
invite them to the beach.
“The biggest thing we try to show them is the lifestyle
for typical students,” recruiting director Michael Sondheimer
said. “There are no limits on activities you can do indoors
or outdoors. You don’t need to have heavy jackets when you
come here.”
Instead, the recruits bring a pair of sunglasses and wear them
partly to hide the wide eyes they get staring at the revealing
attire students have the luxury of wearing. Spending 17 winters on
the East Coast will tend to cause a recruit’s jaw to drop at
the sight of a co-ed wearing a skirt or flip-flops in February.
The Southern California climate has got to frustrate other
schools who can blame the sun for UCLA’s record 95 national
championships. And while the desert schools in Arizona or that prep
school across town can also advertise balmy winter weather, none
have enjoyed as much success as the Bruins.
You can chalk that up to tremendous coaching at UCLA over the
years, but I prefer to give the Pacific Ocean much of the
credit.
With Santa Monica just a few miles away, the Bruin athletic
department has been able to woo impressionable and athletically
gifted recruits with a crashing wave, picturesque sunset and a
largely foreign lifestyle.
“With the sea breeze coming in, it doesn’t feel so
warm, so someone can ride a bike or jog to the beach for a
workout,” Sondheimer said.
It all sounds so attractive to the recruits who have watched
“The O.C.” with a tinge of jealousy. Fortunately for
UCLA, the visits aren’t long enough for the athletes to
understand just how dirty Los Angeles beaches are.
Recruits get a dose of the glitz, glamour and beautiful Southern
California scenery, which all compensate for athletic facilities
that don’t stack up in many sports.
But it’s easy for them to overlook a football stadium an
hour away from campus or a basketball arena that hasn’t
undergone significant renovation since it was built 40 years
ago.
Particularly when they’re blinded by the sunlight.
Finley wishes the Griffith Observatory was open so recruits
could see the awesome view. E-mail him at afinley@media.ucla.edu if
you like panorama shots of big cities.