winter 2015 cover_Layout 1 11/12/15 5:20 PM Page 1 UCLA Basketball Ad 8.375x10.875-Bleed_Layout 1 11/3/15 11:44 AM Page 1 CHAMPIONS BANK HERE #BetterBanking4Bruins 1-888-8WESCOM (1-888-893-7266) wescom.org 001 Insider's View_Layout 1 11/12/15 5:33 PM Page 1 BruIn BLue w i n t e r 2 0 1 5 THE INSIDER’S VIEW i n s i D e t H i s i s s u e his time a year ago, I sat down for lunch with the incomparable Rachel Robinson shortly after UCLA’s athletic and recreation facilities were named in honor of her late husband Jackie Robinson, the legendary four-sport Bruin star who went on InSIde THIS ISSue w i n t e r 2 0 1 5 to break Major League Baseball’s color barrier. T Rachel, who met Jackie at UCLA when uCLa aTHLeTICS In PHoToS ................2 / 6 / 10 / 14 both were students, reflected that afternoon, as you would expect, on her time here in SoarIng To neW HeIgHTS: russell westbrooK’s Journey Westwood. What you may not expect, from ucla to nba suPerstar ................................16 however, was how quickly the then 92-year- a Fa M I Ly a F Fa I r : fresHman aaron HoliDay old philanthropist, civil rights pioneer, mother of three, nurse with a NYU master’s becomes tHirD sibling to Don blue & golD ........22 degree and former assistant professor at Yale a reCIPe For SuCCeSS: JorDin canaDa & nirra fielDs moved the conversation to the exciting ProviDe unique cHemistry for women’s HooPs ....26 projects and initiatives that the Jackie CHaMPIonS Made Here ......................................30 Robinson Foundation, which she founded in 1973, had in the works. CeLeBrIT y SIgHTIngS ........................................32 What struck me as remarkable about this SuPPorTIng uCLa: graiwer family ......................34 was that, even with a past as accomplished M a r k your CaLendar ......................................36 and thoroughly interesting to recount as any cover PHoto by cHris covatta , gett y ima ges I can think of, Mrs. Rachel Robinson was dan guerrero focused on what’s next. This, in many ways, is my mandate as Director of Athletics at UCLA — THe oFFICIaL MagaZIne oF uCLa aTHLeTICS to consistently pose the question, “What’s next?’” in an effort to ensure that vol 2 • issue 2 • winter 2015 our future is every bit as spectacular as our past. With renovations to the Rose Bowl and Pauley Pavilion complete, the WrITerS: tom HoffartH, emily lerner, state-of-the-art Wasserman Football and Mo Ostin Basketball Centers under Jill Painter loPez, micHael ventre construction, Acosta Training Center currently being reimagined for our ManagIng edITor: Danny Harrington Olympic Sport student-athletes and an Academic Center addition to the JD [email protected] a .eDu Morgan Center in the discussion phase, UCLA Athletics is, tweaking L ayouT and deSIgn: IMg CoLLege BeCoMe a BruIn football’s mantra ever so slightly, in the midst of a Bruin Evolution. Krist y marques, saraH Jane snowDen, matt coy, BLue SuBSCrIBer “What’s next?” extends far beyond brick, steel, grass and hardwood Kristin Pratt, coDy Porter, mereDitH weber By joInIng THe though. For more than a decade, UCLA Athletics has advocated for student adVerTISIng: IMg CoLLege Wooden aTHLeTIC welfare issues. Not all that long ago, providing cream cheese for a student- Damon DuKaKis • (310) 825-0328 Fund, CaLL athlete’s bagel was considered a minor NCAA violation ... seriously. A rule [email protected] 310-206-3302. such as this, which has since been abolished, has led to public outrage over the years and understandably so. In April 2014, however, the NCAA Legislative Council took an important funding support from the University (non-state dollars) remains flat and step in moving towards a more permissive model that member institutions now only represents 3 percent of the overall athletic revenue budget. By have long advocated for, deciding to allow Division I student-athletes to comparison, Athletics’ other sources of revenue include Pac-12 and NCAA receive unlimited meals and snacks in conjunction with their athletic distributions (33 percent), corporate sponsorships (17 percent), a Pac-12 participation. The rule, which is at the discretion of each university but one Network still in its infancy (2 percent) and other miscellaneous revenue that UCLA immediately implemented, was the first in what has been an sources (5 percent). important series of steps to loosen governing body restrictions. Most notably is the difference YOU make. Through ticket sales and gifts, With the landscape of collegiate athletics undergoing continuous and historic UCLA’s donors, fans and alumni comprise 40 percent of Athletics’ revenue change, it is becoming clearer than ever that this is not your father’s NCAA. budget, helping support our 25 elite athletic programs and more than 700 Four months later, in August 2014, the NCAA Division I Board of student-athletes in so many important ways. Directors voted to restructure Division I governance such that student- At the end of the day, after all the budgeting and advance planning, the athletes have an active, decision-making voice as part of the new autonomy ultimate irony is this: the reason we love collegiate athletics is because we structure. Three Pac-12 student-athletes, one of which was UCLA football actually never know “what’s next?” We pack the Rose Bowl and Pauley student-athlete Kene Orjioke, as well as 12 other student-athlete repres- Pavilion, hoping what comes next is UCLA victory. We eagerly anticipate entatives, joined representatives from each of the 65 member schools of the signing day to see who the next great Bruin will be. ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, Pac-12 and SEC to discuss and vote on a series of And we watch our student-athletes walk across the stage on graduation proposals designed to improve the student-athlete experience. day, anxious to see how they’ll make their mark out in the world and write Additionally, universities in the Big Five conferences under this new the next chapter of their lives. governance structure now receive four votes as opposed to just one — a As Jackie Robinson profoundly stated, “A life is not important except in major break from the old model. This change has proven to empower the impact it has on other lives.” member schools in the Big Five more than at any other time during the While it should go without saying, I’m still going to say it anyway. As a NCAA’s existence. The winds of change are indeed blowing all around. donor, by virtue of supporting UCLA Athletics and our 700-plus student- Recently, the NCAA enacted another permissive measure, this one athletes, you are leading an extremely important life. Please never forget this allowing for universities to provide full cost of attendance to scholarship or underestimate the impact you have on the lives of others. student-athletes. Having long challenged our department to plan ahead for Thank you once again for your continued support, and Go Bruins! the day when the NCAA made this permissible, I’m extremely pleased that as of this academic quarter, each of our student-athletes receive full cost of attendance commensurate with his or her scholarship. With these changes, however, comes a price. While costs continue to rise, 1 002-003 Photo Spread_Layout 1 11/12/15 4:54 PM Page 1 b r u i n b l u e w i n t e r 2 0 1 5 U C L A h e L d A n o f f i C i A L g r o U n d b r e A k i n g C e r e m o n y f o r b o t h t h e W a s s e r m a n F o o t b a l l C e n t e r A n d m o o s t i n b a s k e t- b a l l C e n t e r o n t h U r s d A y, A U g . 2 7 . t h e e v e n t t o o k p L A C e j U s t w e s t o f s pA U L d i n g f i e L d A n d s o U t h w e s t o f pA U L e y pA v i L i o n . ( L- r ) : h e A d w o m e n ' s b A s k e t b A L L C o A C h C o r i C lo s e , heAd men's b A s k e t b A L L C o A C h s t e v e a l F o r d , At h L e t- i C s d i r e C t o r d a n G u e r r e r o , C a s e y W a s s e r m a n A n d h e A d f o o t b A L L C o A C h J i m m o r a . 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