What’s Bruin, 6/30: Under Armour vs UCLA updates

The much-maligned reign of Dan Guerrero as UCLA’s athletic director is coming to a rapid close — and honestly — it couldn’t have wrapped up more appropriately.

That, of course, means that it’s wrapping up in a terrible fashion with EVEN MORE potential money lost. The record apparel deal signed with Under Armour back in 2016 and executed in 2017 has essentially been terminated. While Guerrero has said that he’s seeking all options for a resolution, it’s confounding to see how Cal’s athletics department (also hearing their deal is going to be terminated) can fight so adamantly against it while Guerrero’s meek stance on the subject resonates very little.

Cal stated that “Under Armour has no grounds for termination” and has expressed every interest in fighting for the contract to either continue, or at the very least, it seems they’d get a monetary buyout from a breach of contract.

Guerrero’s stance as ‘seeking resolutions’ does not seem, well, very strong. As I mentioned earlier this week, it seems that his foot is out the door and he’s basically just trying to not have it close on him as he exits stage left.

Also noteworthy, Cal’s deal pales in comparison to the potential money lost from UCLA and yet their stance is quite a bit stronger.

Still, we’re here on June 30, and we’re one day closer to Guerrero’s departure. The next half of 2020 couldn’t possibly get any worse could it?

Here’s a rundown of what we know about the Under Armour vs UCLA battle, as spoken elsewhere in the media:

Under Armour tells UCLA it wants to end deal with school | LA Times

Under Armour attempting to end massive $280M deal with UCLA | Yahoo Sports

Under Armour moves to terminate $280 million deal with UCLA | NBC News

Under Armour pulls out of two major university sport deals | Financial Times

Under Armour to discontinue record apparel partnership with UCLA | Fox Business

Sports Partnerships Post-Pandemic: Lessons from the Under Armour-UCLA case study | Forbes