Our 100th national championship has made the Bruins a national story. USA Today profiles most successful broad-based athletics program in America:
Is it the idyllic campus?
The strong academic reputation? The Southern California weather? The superb coaching? The outstanding facilities?
Is it the shoes?
All of the above, perhaps. Whatever it is, UCLA is at the top of the world in college sports when it comes to a successful broad-based athletic program.
When the Bruins' women's water polo team won Sunday night, UCLA became the first university with 100 NCAA team championships.
The first came in men's tennis in 1950. Later, championships would come in all sorts of sports, made possible by all sorts of legendary coaches and athletes.
Most people consider John Wooden one of the greatest coaches in the history of American sports, but he's not No. 1 in terms of championships at his own school.
That of course would be Coach Al Scates who has stockpiled an astounding 19 national championships in volleyball.The strong academic reputation? The Southern California weather? The superb coaching? The outstanding facilities?
Is it the shoes?
All of the above, perhaps. Whatever it is, UCLA is at the top of the world in college sports when it comes to a successful broad-based athletic program.
When the Bruins' women's water polo team won Sunday night, UCLA became the first university with 100 NCAA team championships.
The first came in men's tennis in 1950. Later, championships would come in all sorts of sports, made possible by all sorts of legendary coaches and athletes.
Most people consider John Wooden one of the greatest coaches in the history of American sports, but he's not No. 1 in terms of championships at his own school.
What I found reaaaaaaaaaaaally interesting from that article was this quote from DG:
Guerrero says when one of his coaches wins a title, it motivates the others. "There's always a buzz in this department," he says. "And the expectations here are very, very high. We expect to win national championships."
I don't believe DG is making that comment in a vacuum. I think it is unmistakable the remarkable successes we are experiencing in all of our athletics programs are only going to increase the existing pressure on Karl Dorrell and Kathy Olivier, two coaches who have failed miserably when it comes to meeting that bottom line of winning championships. They haven't come close during their mediocre tenures in Westwood. And when winning is second nature in all sports programs at UCLA, those results are going to put even more pressure on these coaches to produce championships this coming season.In any event despite the lack of results from Dorrell and Olivier's programs, our athletic program as a whole has a lot to be incredibly proud of. There will be an on campus celebration today in honor of our 100th national championship. If you are on campus or anywhere close you should be there.
Going back to DG I also think he deserves some credit. The UCLA athletics administration by all accounts had been nothing short of a pathetic bureaucracy before he arrived. Peter Dalis was a total joke who was just cruising along hiring internally promoting pathetic joke head coaches such as Lavin, Olivier and Toledo to positions they didn't really deserve and in return destroying those programs. There was a culture of stagnation plaguing UCLA athletics department before DG's arrival and he is slowly changing it.
Ben Howland was DG's first real hire which had his fingerprints all over it, and it was a massive one. Then he brought in John Savage who has revived a perennial underachieving baseball program. It seems like he has set in motion some concrete plans to restore Pauley. There is an unmistakable sense that cache of UCLA brand is back in all sports. Now it is a matter of getting clarity with regards to football program this upcoming year. Make no mistake about it. I don't think DG is the kind of Director who would sit by passively should KD fails to deliver what his colleagues are doing on a regular basis in every other UCLA sports: championships.
And if KD is shown the door I am confident that DG is going to bring in a coach like Ben Howland or John Savage who would be perfect for waking up the sleeping giant that is the Bruin football program. Sooner or later winning will become second nature in every single UCLA sports program including our football program.
We all need to be a little patient. I can tell you we are not going anywhere here on BN. We will be right here. You can see how we celebrated a championship for waterpolo. Just imagine what this place is going to look like when we win our first football championship since 1954 or bring home banner number 12.
It's just a matter of time.
GO BRUINS.