Coach Chip Kelly and the UCLA football team still have the bulk of their season ahead of them but will have to rally coming off a bye week to remain in the thick of the race for the Pac-12 Conference championship in upcoming weeks with several ranked opponents on the schedule.
Success for the program could also create positive momentum ahead of the university’s official move to the Big Ten Conference next season where there’s an uptick in competition and notable university brands.
The Bruins (3-1 overall, 0-1 Pac-12) have won 15 of their past 20 games but are .500 overall since Kelly took over in 2018, with a record of 30-30 overall and 22-22 in conference play.
UCLA is also 5-11 overall against ranked opponents and 4-7 against ranked opponents at home under Kelly, who makes close to $6 million per year.
The team started the season with what appeared to be one of the more favorable Pac-12 schedules, not having to play either Oregon or Washington, but that perspective has changed a bit. The Bruins suffered a loss to reigning conference champion Utah when the Utes were without their star quarterback and have upcoming games against No. 13 Washington State (Oct. 7) and No. 15 Oregon State (Oct. 14).
“We have a long season coming up,” UCLA receiver Josiah Norwood said. “We have a lot of games where we can still control our own destiny from here on.”
The ability to produce a third consecutive winning season would help direct the long-term trajectory positively on and off the field.
“This is a critical time for us and our athletics program,” UCLA athletic director Martin Jarmond said. “There’s so much change going on in college athletics and what people fail to realize is that the support from your base, your students, alumni, donors and fans matters significantly as far as interest, exposure and resources.
“At the end of the day, part of the reason for going to the Big Ten is to have a seat at the table in one of the premier conferences in the country because that’s going to be the leadership of where we are going over the next five to 10 years.”
On-field success and a frequent presence in the assorted polls could help attract elite talent and financial support from the university’s alumni and donors.
“If you look at the top 25 teams in the country I would say you’re going to get the top 25 collectives. It’s a money game now in college football, so whoever is paying the most is getting the most.”
UCLA’s official Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) collective called The Men of Westwood was announced in July 2022. The annual goal of the collective is said to be $1.3 million, according to ON3.
The Men of Westwood list 66 football players and 12 basketball players as athletes they currently support, including quarterback Dante Moore, receiver J.Michael Sturdivant and running back Carson Steele.
“They’ve done a great job,” Kelly said of The Men of Westwood. “It’s the one collective that we do have at the school and they’ve done a great job with gathering whoever it is to help support our football program.”
Sturdivant and Steele transferred from Cal and Ball State respectively while Moore, a highly touted prospect out of Detroit King High School, was a late addition to the Bruins’ recruiting class.
While the value of various NIL deals and opportunities is generally undisclosed, athletes have used their profits to share with their teammates and create bonding experiences.
Moore shared a photograph on his Instagram story last week with a photo of him with 17 teammates at a restaurant and the caption “Take care of the Big Dawgs!”
Former UCLA quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson did something similar with his teammates last season by taking them to a restaurant and out on a boat trip before the start of the season.
“It’s definitely changed lives,” Sturdivant said in an interview with Fuse about the business side of college athletics. “The money that we’re able to get now is stuff that a lot of people never see in their lives. It’s just a blessing to finally get benefits for all the hard work that we put in and to make money off our own name.”
