Tay’s Takedown: Greater attention should be paid to academic futures of student-athletes

“Champions made here.” The motto of UCLA Athletics implies that student-athletes are fostered by the university to be the best embodiment of themselves on the field. But it should mean demonstrating excellence off the field as well. As student-athletes, being a champion means attaining, or at least striving for, high academic excellence as well as […]

Un-Connon Opinions: New bill allowing collegiate athletes to earn money is step toward fairness

Senate Bill 206 could be the great equalizer. For years, there have been heated public debates about the financial compensation of collegiate athletes. People have argued about amateur status, scholarships, inter-sport equity, low-income exceptions and so on. But when the California State Senate threw in its two cents, everything came to a screeching halt. SB […]

Jacq’ed Up: NCAA beach volleyball’s double elimination bracket has a flaw in the system

UCLA beach volleyball defended its 2018 national title with another victory in May. This year’s undefeated tournament run proved the Bruins’ dominance – but last year, UCLA got lucky. Actually, the Bruins took advantage of a flaw in the NCAA championship’s double elimination format. A double elimination bracket begins like a normal eight-team bracket, with […]

Meet Your Maikis: Bruins should reconsider entering this year’s NBA draft

A few Bruins are trying to make the leap to the NBA too soon. Three UCLA men’s basketball underclassmen, sophomore forward Kris Wilkes, sophomore guard Jaylen Hands and freshman center Moses Brown, have declared for the NBA Draft set to take place June 20. All three prospects were left off Sports Illustrated’s latest mock draft, […]

Un-Connon Opinions: As UCLA falls behind in the NCAA titles race, adding more teams is imperative

For UCLA fans, championship No. 117 must have been a relief. The Bruins won three NCAA championships last school year – men’s water polo, women’s gymnastics and beach volleyball. But up until this weekend, there hadn’t been a single one this year. Beach volleyball pulled through again to get UCLA back on the board, but […]

Un-Connon Opinions: Cronin will only be effective with improved ability to recruit top talent

The dust has settled and, for better or worse, the Mick Cronin era has begun. UCLA men’s basketball hired Cronin to be the program’s 14th head coach April 9, one day after a deal fell apart with Tennessee’s Rick Barnes. A week earlier, TCU’s Jamie Dixon and Kentucky’s John Calipari were also rumored to take […]

Ty’s Tea: Jorge Salcedo’s departure could be hidden blessing for UCLA men’s soccer

To an outsider, the recent Varsity Blues scandal seemingly sunk UCLA men’s soccer. But things weren’t going great for the program even with former coach Jorge Salcedo in charge. The Bruins’ early exit in the 2018 NCAA Division I Men’s Soccer Championship was, admittedly, an improvement on last season’s record of 7-10-1 – the team’s […]