More Football News & Notes

by Nestor on Feb 7, 2008 4:37 PM PST Comment 14 comments

Lost amidst all the excitement around our recruiting class was this little detail from Dohn today. Dohn reports that Chow's K at UCLA is a three year deal:

UCLA still hasn't released details of new offensive coordinator Norm Chow's contract, but several high school seniors who signed with the Bruins on Wednesday said they were told Chow agreed to a three-year deal.

UCLA officials would not comment on the matter, but sources confirmed that was the length of Chow's contract agreement with the school.

It is a sign UCLA has changed its philosophy in the contract agreements of the top assistants in the football program.

New Bruins coach Rick Neuheisel agreed to a five-year contract when he was hired Dec. 29.

While Chow's deal is for three years, defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker stayed with the school after agreeing last month to a two-year deal that will pay him $375,000 annually.

Monetary details of Chow's contract were not available, but sources said the school and Chow could backload the deal because of his pre-existing contract with the Tennessee Titans. The reason a 3 year deal is a change from previous UCLA `philosophy' is because UCLA used to sign assistants to 1 year deal.

The excitement around our program is evident all over the place. This week it became official that we are going to play our spring football game at the Rose Bowl: UCLA reached agreement with the Rose Bowl about holding its spring game there. Here is the release:

UCLA's Spring Football game will take place at the Rose Bowl on Saturday, April 26. The time will be determined later.
The Spring Football game will coincide with a Select-A-Seat Day at which current season ticket holders who renew for the 2008 season by the March 14 deadline will have the opportunity to improve their location if they so choose. I imagine lot of people are out there lining up for good seats. Because everyone will want to take in good views of a little thunder:

And lightning:

BTW so much for UCLA not being a big time football program. Can anyone tell how many programs are there in America where a new head coach can just come in and in a span of 3-4 weeks finish off a top-10 recruiting class and generate this kind of fiery enthusiasm around its program?

No doubt CRN is responsible for unleashing the passion bucket. But it sure helps him that he is leading the football program of the greatest university in the country.

GO BRUINS.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of BruinsNation's (BN) editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of BN's editors.

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The sleeping giant

Well, there were those on other boards, and some here, who stated that UCLA is too cheap, too engrossed in academia matters to care about championship football programs..... well, DG is the man who made the difference. These days if you can produce the $$, even UCLA administrators will listen. Remember during the search DG made the comment about the athletic dept. budget when he started was $42MM and now it is $60MM. That gives him clout and he used it to bring a first class coaching staff in, and the rest will be history, IMO.
Bill

BillSouthBay

by Mensgym on Feb 7, 2008 5:56 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

Nestor -- Law School Has Messed You Up

"Chow's K"?

Of course, everyone knows that K =s contract. Right? Res ipsa. After all.

sjh

by Class of 66 on Feb 7, 2008 7:24 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

I know

Can't help it 66.

by Nestor on Feb 7, 2008 8:32 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Wow

I hadn't even thought about that until you mentioned it. I've got to get that kind of stuff out of my brain. I want to talk like a normal person.

by Fox 71 on Feb 7, 2008 8:36 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

I don't get it

and I'm guessing I just may be better off for it.

by bornagainbruin on Feb 7, 2008 9:42 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Be lucky for that, bornagain

by bruinhoo on Feb 7, 2008 9:53 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

So long to the poppycock

that UCLA can't reconcile its academics with a top-10 football recruiting class.

by TfXc79 on Feb 8, 2008 1:15 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

Not sure that's true

I've made a note to research and write a diary on this.

I wanted to wait until we've had a lot of time to "feel good".

I've read a comment, somewhere, I think it was attributed to Dohn, that we lowered our standards and would have lost 5 members of this class if we had not.

I AM NOT SAYING THIS IS TRUE -- just that I read a comment and will try to find the time to track it down.

AND, I'M NOT SAYING THIS IS BAD -- although I have personal feelings that if we adjust standards for people who can run fast or tackle, we should also consider adjusting them for people who will bring diversity to the academic side of the campus.

If anyone knows the source of that rumor and can save me some research time, I'd appreciate a heads up.

Thanks.

sjh

by Class of 66 on Feb 8, 2008 5:49 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

It was Dohn

I saw that claim in one of his blog entries earlier in the week (Tuesday/Wednesday).

by bruinhoo on Feb 8, 2008 7:50 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Consider the source

I have no respect for Doh!, and have no desire to try to discuss anything with him. Obviously one way to verify if what he insinuates is true is to ask him for the factual basis for his allegation.

If he claims that the standards have been lowered, then he must know (a) what they were before, (b) what they are now and (c) when they were lowered.

He should certainly know which five (not four, not six, not some, but exactly five) of our incoming guys would not have qualified academically. (Remember the original "Manchurian Candidate," with Johnny Iselin yelling that he had evidence of "253" card-carrying communists in the Defense Department, then it was "35," then he settled on "57." I wonder if Doh! can remember that he claims five or our guys wouldn't qualify.)

Also, will he identify which five guys would not have qualified but for the lowering of standards? I will bet the mortgage that he will not.

But he sure ought to be willing to state the facts to back up his claim. As I said, though, I don't think enough of the guy to waste time communicating with him. With him, I assume he's just making stuff up (as with Coach Walker getting some other coaching gig) unless he is willing to state some facts and give some sources. There may be denizens of the BN who have a stonger stomach than I have, and who would be willing to ask him these questions. But not me.

by Fox 71 on Feb 8, 2008 9:36 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

If Dohn Said It,

it is not credible and I'll not research or write about it.

If there is a solid journalist saying it, I'll dig.

I think it hurts our program and besmirches our image to "report" that the only way to attract a stellar group was to lower our standards.

I've looked at the list on some of these kids and their character is increcdible. I am so proud of the type of athlete we recruit and get.

I'm not going to go on a chase looking for the facts behind a Dohn assertion. There usually aren't any.

sjh

by Class of 66 on Feb 8, 2008 9:50 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

It sounds like bitter tea

Mike Stoops of UofA just accused ASU of the same thing, saying they have become a JC by lowering their standards.

Personally I have to think somebody Dohn reports too (heritage hall) gave him instructions to seed this for future use.

First of all, when I look back to some of the athletes that were there during my time, I would be shocked if academic standards weren't already lowered for them. Second, I don't necessarily see it as bad thing. Lou Holtz cited it as his reason for leaving Notre Dame, predicting they wouldn't win another Championship if they did. So far he's been right.

My "line in the sand" is whether or not RN and UCLA stoop to bringing in thugs, the kind that South Central embraces. From what little I know of these kids, they seem to be stand up moral characters. I would be extremely dissapointed if we started to hear of arrests, rapes, and drugs as we have from South Central.

A coach is someone who can give correction without causing resentment. John Wooden

by MexiBruin on Feb 8, 2008 8:38 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

My Standard

Give the same opportunity to foster diversity on campus that we give to foster strength on the playing field.

If we allow for special consideration for people who can "run and jump" we should give the same deference to people who have shown achievement and survival skills in other areas.

But, note, we need not go there because if Dohn is the source of the "fact" that we lowered standards, I'm willing to accept that we did not.

It is insulting to all of our recruits to cast the shadow of doubt on their academic abilities the way he did it. Here, they do well enough in school to get into UCLA and he makes it seem that they are special cases.

It is totally unfair to stigmatize students by creating an assumpton that the only way they got into UCLA was because we lowered our standards.

This stigma is most usually applied to students of color.

I was just watching the Curb Your Entusiasm re-run on which Larry David deals, wonderfully, with this issue. It's the one where he assumes that a Black doctor is a doctor only because he got into school and the profession by affirmative action.

It is latent racism that creates that view.

Unless Dohn can back up what you all say he wrote, he is perpetuating that racism -- and that is wrong.

sjh

by Class of 66 on Feb 8, 2008 9:58 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

couldn't agree with you more 66!

nicely put.
a lot of the profiles of our recruits have mentioned how academics was very important in the decision process for them. i think dohn is off base- boy i'm glad he doesn't deal in rumor. wanna know about lowered academic standards? how about a 2.43 overall team gpa at sc?
plus i think guys who were iffy for academics didn't enroll or were decommits- kemonte bateman, kavienga (i assume, from the way he speaks).

Across The Face

by rb bruin on Feb 9, 2008 11:25 PM PST reply actions 0 recs