The Wooden Athletic Fund Is Committed the Wooden to Honoring the Educational and Athletic Legacy of Nell and John Wooden

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BRUIN BLUE SPRING 2017 THE INSIDER’S VIEW WELCOME FROM ATHLETICS DIRECTOR

Earn Up to $200* f you’re reading this magazine, it stands to reason that you’ve heard our departmental mantra of INSIDE THIS ISSUE SPRING 2017 ‘Champions Made Here’ at least a handful of times. Bruins Bank Smarter. Bruins Bank Wescom. What’s interesting is that many people UCLA ATHLETICS IN PHOTOS ...... 2 / 6 / 8 onlyI see this as a reference to our record 113 NCAA CATCHING UP WITH KAREEM ...... 12 Championships. OLYMPIC DREAMS ...... 20 Bring this ad to your neighborhood branch To that point, we decided to conduct a number WHAT’S IN MY LOCKER ...... 24 of focus groups this past year with coaches, staff and student-athletes to determine what exactly this phrase DAN GUERRERO THE FAMILY BUSINESS: MICAH MA’A ...... 26 means to them. We asked them who they thought we MARK YOUR CALENDAR ...... 30 and open a Wescom Checking Account were, what was unique about us and where they thought SUPPORTING UCLA: MARK CORMANY ...... 34 UCLA would take them. COVER PHOTO BY GETTY IMAGES/CHIP SOMODEVILLA The theme that most commonly came up in our discussions was the trailblazing, with $100 to get started. pioneering spirit of those who had come before. Mentioned specifically were names like Jackie Robinson, refusing to be out when the Majors wouldn’t let him in; like Ann Meyers, who at a time where the nation THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF UCLA ATHLETICS was questioning women’s sports, earned the first full athletic scholarship awarded VOL 3 • ISSUE 3 • SPRING 2017 #BetterBanking4Bruins to a female; like Kenny Washington, one of the first African-American college football stars who, after graduating UCLA and being passed over by the NFL due to WRITERS: CHRIS FOSTER, EMILY LERNER, MICHAEL a discriminatory ban, reintegrated the league in 1946; like Arthur Ashe, who among VENTRE his numerous firsts, was the first African-American man to be ranked as the No. 1 MANAGING EDITOR: DANNY HARRINGTON tennis player in the world; and like Coach John Wooden, whose ‘Pyramid of Success’ [email protected] taught us winning really has nothing to do with the score and everything to do with LAYOUT AND DESIGN: IMG COLLEGE 1-888-8WESCOM KRISTY MARQUES, SARAH JANE SNOWDEN, MATT COY, BECOME A BRUIN the process. Official Financial Institution KRISTIN PRATT, MATT MONTAVON BLUE SUBSCRIBER BY It’s this lineage of names and an ethos of breaking through barriers that colors ADVERTISING: IMG COLLEGE JOINING THE WOODEN (1-888-893-7266) ATHLETIC FUND, CALL of UCLA Athletics UCLA’s unique view toward athletics and creates student-athletes who are more than DAMON DUKAKIS • (310) 825-0328 310-206-3302. just winners — they are invested in their academics, involved in their community [email protected] www.wescom.org and become versatile, engaged individuals who use their abilities to produce victories beyond the field of play. I know, I know, every school likes to say this. Our students and student-athletes In short, not only does UCLA provide access, it provides upward mobility later go on to achieve great things, they make a difference in society, they receive the tools in life. they need to succeed at life and so on and so forth. But imagine, if only someone had Athletics is a microcosm of this standard which permeates the university. Nearly compiled actual data to back up this notion. If only there was some type of empirical 75 years ago, student-athletes were provided access to UCLA and left to break color evidence that showed what an incredibly special place UCLA is. If only. barriers in professional baseball and football. More than four decades have passed Well, as it turns out, this past January, the New York Times published an extensive since a student-athlete was given access to UCLA on a full athletic scholarship, study entitled “Mobility Report Cards: The Role of Colleges in Intergenerational establishing a new standard of gender equity in intercollegiate athletics. We’ve had Mobility” by a team of economists from The Equality of Opportunity Project. student-athletes come to UCLA from abject poverty, become academically ineligible Good timing for this column, right? in the middle of a season and rally to graduate on the Athletic Director’s honor roll. Before we get to that study, however, let’s recap what we all know — last year, UCLA Doctors. Researchers. Lawyers. Writers. Educators. And oh yes, well north of 200 was the most applied-to four-year university in the nation with more than 119,000 Bruins have gone on to medal in the Olympic Games over the years, realizing lifelong students seeking admission for fall 2016. This record for number of applications, dreams after first being given an opportunity at UCLA. which included more than 97,000 prospective freshmen and more than 22,000 And for one student-athlete, UCLA afforded a young Chicano from a tough, blue- prospective transfer students, lasted all of one year. In December 2016, preliminary collar neighborhood the opportunity to pursue his baseball passion while receiving a data indicated that 102,000 high school seniors applied for admission to UCLA for world-class education that would one day ultimately enable him to realize his dream. fall 2017, a staggering total that makes UCLA the first school ever to exceed 100,000 Neither of his parents graduated from high school, yet he helped them realize their freshman applicants. And again, these are just freshman applicants, the deadline dreams by being the first in his family to earn a college degree. That Chicano is me. It for transfer applications was extended to Jan. 3, 2017, with data yet to come. On is the greatest honor of my life to lead the athletics department of one of the greatest top of sheer size, in each of the last two years, admissions has the opportunity to academic and athletic institutions the world over. review the most geographically, ethnically and racially diverse applicant pool in our First in upward mobility. First in access. First in NCAA Championships. school’s history. You see, champions don’t just compete here. No, it’s much more than that. So why do so many people from all walks of life want to come to UCLA? Champions are made here. It boils down to one word — opportunity. It’s more than a slogan. It’s our way of life. According to The Equality of Opportunity Project’s study, UCLA’s median parent income is the lowest among the nation’s 65 elite universities while the share of its Go Bruins! students from bottom fifth income families (those who made about $20,000 or less per year) is the highest among these same universities. Overall, among the elite universities, UCLA has the highest percentage of low and middle income students in *Wescom $200 offer expires on December 31, 2017 and is redeemable at Wescom branches. Offer only applies to non-members and is not valid with any other offer. Youth Account members, Wescom employees, their families, Wescom Volunteers, and Wescom Board of Directors are not eligible for this offer. Checking Accounts must be opened with a $100 deposit by December 31, the country — a number approaching almost 20 percent. What’s more, UCLA ranks 2017 to qualify. The monthly $8 Checking Account fee is waived for the first 90 days and by achieving Signature Membership. Additional ways to waive the monthly fee are available. Account first among this group in the study’s mobility index — a measure reflecting both Dan opening and Visa® Check Card subject to verification by ChexSystems, a consumer reporting agency; Primary Payment Systems, an independent verification service; and access and outcomes that represents the likelihood a student at UCLA moved up two Credit Union approval. Anyone who lives, works, worships, or attends school in the seven Southern California counties is eligible to open an account at Wescom. A $1 deposit to a Regular Savings Account is required. Certain conditions and restrictions apply. Ask for further details. Signature Membership terms and conditions apply. Bonuses are or more income quintiles. considered interest and will be reported on IRS Form 1099-INT. Code: 2017UCLA 1 BRUIN BLUE SPRING 2017 BRUIN BLUE SPRING 2017

STAR FRESHMAN LONZO BALL DRIVES TO THE HOOP BEFORE A SELLOUT CROWD AT PAULEY PAVILION ON FEB. 9, AS NO. 9 UCLA WIPED OUT A 19-POINT DEFICIT TO DEFEAT NO. 6 OREGON, 82-79. (PHOTO: SCOTT CHANDLER)

INSET: UCLA’S WIN CAME ON A NIGHT IN WHICH THE PROGRAM HONORED LEG- ENDARY HALL OF FAME SPORTS BROADCASTER DICK ENBERG, WHO CALLED UCLA BASKETBALL GAMES IN PAULEY PAVILION FOR NINE SEASONS UNDER HEAD COACH JOHN WOODEN. ENBERG, WHO ADDRESSED THE UCLA FAITHFUL AT HALFTIME, CALLED GAMES FOR THE BRUINS IN EIGHT OF COACH WOODEN’S 10 CHAMPIONSHIP SEASONS. (PHOTO: KATIE MEYERS)

2 WWW.UCLABRUINS.COM 3 /UCLAATHLETICS @UCLAATHLETICS @UCLAATHLETICS #GOBRUINS

SOFTBALL

SUN, MAR. 12 Texas 4:00 PM FRI, MAR. 17 Utah 5:00 PM SAT, MAR. 18 Utah 3:30 PM SUN, MAR. 19 Utah 5:00 PM SAT, MAR 25 BYU 12:00 PM SAT, MAR 25 BYU 2:30 PM SUN, MAR. 26 Dartmouth 10:00 AM TRACK & FIELD FRI, APR. 7 Oregon 7:00 PM SAT, APR. 8 Oregon 7:00 PM Bob Larsen Distance BASEBALL FRI, MAR. 31 3:00 PM SUN, APR. 9 Oregon 2:00 PM Carnival FRI, FEB. 24 Gonzaga 6:00 PM TUES, MAR. 28 Cal State Fullerton 6:00 PM TUES, APR. 18 Cal State Fullerton 7:00 PM Bruin Legends of Track & FRI, MAR. 31 TBD SAT, FEB. 25 Gonzaga 2:00 PM FRI, APR. 7 Washington 6:00 PM FRI, APR. 21 California 7:00 PM Field Invitational SUN, FEB. 36 Gonzaga 1:00 PM SAT, APR. 8 Washington 2:00 PM SAT, APR. 22 California 7:00 PM Bruin Legends of Track & SAT, APR. 1 TBD WED, MAR. 1 NC Dinos (Exhibition) 4:00 PM SUN, APR. 9 Washington 1:00 PM SUN, APR. 23 California 5:00 PM Field Invitational FRI, MAR. 3 Michigan 6:00 PM TUES, APR. 18 Long Beach State 6:00 PM FRI, MAY 5 Arizona 5:00 PM Rafer Johnson / Jackie SAT, APR. 8 9:00 AM SAT, MAR. 4 San Diego 2:00 PM FRI, APR. 21 Oregon State 6:00 PM SAT, MAY 6 Arizona 6:00 PM Joyner-Kersee Invitational SUN, MAR. 5 USC @ Dodger Stadium 3:00 PM SAT, APR. 22 Oregon State 6:00 PM SUN, MAY 7 Arizona 1:00 PM SAT, APR. 15 UCLA Invitational 10:00 AM TUES, MAR. 7 CSUN 6:00 PM SUN, APR. 23 Oregon State 1:00 PM ALL HOME GAMES PLAYED AT EASTON STADIUM ALL HOME MEETS AT DRAKE STADIUM TUES, MAR. 14 UC Irvine 6:00 PM FRI, APR. 28 Cal Poly 6:00 PM FRI, MAR. 17 Arizona 7:00 PM SAT, APR. 29 Cal Poly 2:00 PM MEN’S VOLLEYBALL SAT, MAR. 18 Arizona 2:00 PM SUN, APR. 30 Cal Poly 1:00 PM SUN, MAR 19 Arizona 2:00 PM TUES, MAY 2 San Diego State 6:00 PM JAN 12 UC Irvine 7:30 PM JAN 29 Princeton 8:00 PM Sacred FRI, MAR. 24 California 6:00 PM FRI, MAY 19 Utah 6:00 PM MAR 17 7:00 PM JAN 14 UC San Diego 7:00 PM FEB 15 CSUN 7:30 PM Heart SAT, MAR. 25 California 4:00 PM SAT, MAY 20 Utah 2:00 PM JAN 18 Cal Baptist 7:30 PM Long Beach Concordia SUN, MAR. 26 California 2:00 PM SUN, MAY 21 Utah 1:00 PM FEB 18 7:00 PM MAR 18 7:00 PM JAN 20 8:00 PM USC State University Irvine ALL HOME GAMES PLAYED AT JACKIE ROBINSON STADIUM UC Santa MAR 8 Lewis 7:00 PM APR 7 Hawai’i 5:00 PM JAN 25 7:30 PM Barbara MAR 11 Harvard 7:00 PM APR 8 Hawai’i 7:00 PM FOR TICKETS: UCLABRUINS.COM/TICKETS 310-UCLA-WIN (825-2946)

2017 UCLA SPRING SPORT_Bruin Blue.indd 1 1/24/17 4:20 PM BRUIN BLUE SPRING 2017 BRUIN BLUE SPRING 2017

FLANKED BY CHANCELLOR GENE BLOCK (LEFT) AND ATHLETICS DIRECTOR DAN GUERRERO (RIGHT), KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR IS RECOGNIZED AT PAULEY PAVILION DURING HALFTIME OF UCLA’S GAME AGAINST ARIZONA ON JAN. 21. THE EVENT WAS DUBBED “KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR DAY” BY THE ATHLETICS DEPARTMENT IN HONOR OF ABDUL-JABBAR RECENTLY RECEIVING THE PRESIDENTIAL MEDAL OF FREEDOM. (PHOTO: KATIE MEYERS).

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VOLUNTEER COACH JORDYN WIEBER, WHO WON GOLD AT THE 2012 OLYMPICS, CHEERS ON 2016 GOLD MEDALIST AND BRUIN FRESHMAN MADISON KOCIAN DURING THE TEAM’S SEASON-OPENING WIN AGAINST ARKANSAS AT PAULEY PAVILION ON JAN. 10. IN HER FIRST COLLEGIATE MEET, KOCIAN WON THE ALL-AROUND AND THREE INDIVIDUAL EVENTS. SHE AND TEAMMATE KYLA ROSS, A TEAMMATE OF WIEBER AT THE 2012 GAMES, MADE HISTORY THAT DAY BY BECOMING THE FIRST OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALISTS TO COM- PETE IN AN NCAA WOMEN’S GYMNASTICS MEET. (PHOTO: DON LIEBIG)

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Joe and Josie getting in on the @uclawbb snow day action #BeatUM The sellout crowd of 13,571 was absolutely ROCKIN’ Pauley. #8Clap Bruins, let’s keep it up all season long #GoBruins

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Q: BESIDES BASKETBALL, WHAT DID UCLA HAVE TO OFFER THAT WAS APPEALING TO YOU? KAJ: Coach Wooden was a large part of the draw to attend UCLA. His reputation as a great coach was well known, but just CATCHING as important to me was his reputation as a great man — a man of honor, integrity, and up with compassion for his players. I knew that under his direction, I could become a better player and a better person. UCLA offered me much more than just basketball. Academics was even more important to me than athletics because I was an avid reader and writer. I was exposed to KAREEM so many great courses and professors at UCLA ABDUL-JABBAR WAS ONE OF JUST A FEW FORMER that I was able to nourish those passions along PLAYERS WHO SPOKE AT JOHN WOODEN’S MEMORIAL with developing my athletic abilities. Finally, let’s not forget that moving from the harsh SERVICE ON JUNE 26, 2010 AT PAULEY PAVILION winters of New York City to the sunshine of PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA AWARDS ABDUL-JABBAR WITH THE PRES- California was pretty appealing. IDENTIAL MEDAL OF FREEDOM AT THE WHITE HOUSE ON NOV. 22, 2016 IN (Photo: Don Liebig). WASHINGTON, D.C. (PHOTO: DEBORAH MORALES).

Q: WAS THERE A DEFINING MOMENT OR PERSON WHO INFLUENCED YOUR INTEREST IN HISTORY? KAJ: When I was in high school, I spent a few weeks working as a journalist Q: IN WHAT WAYS DID UCLA CHANGE YOU? as part of the Harlem Youth Action Project. Our director was a renowned KAJ: I arrived at UCLA a naive 18-year-old full of potential and curiosity. historian and author, Dr. John Henrik Clarke. He had co-founded the I left four years later having fulfilled as much of that potential as possible. Harlem Quarterly, was an editor of Negro History Bulletin, had taught at the The best part of leaving a place that you love is knowing that you got New School for Social Research, and was a prominent leader in the black everything possible out of the experience. You left nothing on the court, political community. Whenever we were assigned an article to write about, so to speak. A lot of people leave college and later lament that they didn’t By Chris Foster he insisted he do the proper research at the Schomburg Center for Research fully take advantage of the experience. I did take full advantage, but I credit t has been 50 years since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar made his varsity debut in Black Culture in Harlem. I would go to Schomburg as often as I could my ability to do so to the faculty who pushed me to do my best when they for UCLA, scoring a then-school record 56 points in a 105-90 victory and read about the great artists, writers, musicians, and political activists of could have just let me slide on my basketball achievements. Their insistence over USC on Dec. 3, 1966 in Pauley Pavilion. Th ree months later (Feb. the Harlem Renaissance. These people were never even mentioned in my on excellence made me demand more from myself. I’ve maintained that I25, 1967), he scored 61 points vs. Washington State in Pauley to set the high school classes, which is one of the reasons high school was so frustrating attitude throughout my life and it has served me well. current Bruin single-game scoring mark. for me as an African-American. Dr. Clarke also made it possible for me to His success on the court is littered with awards. He led John Wooden’s be part of the press conference for his friend, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Q: ANY PARTICULAR CLASS OR PROFESSOR THAT RESONATED? Bruins to three NCAA Championships (1967, 1968, 1969) and was named during which I got to ask Dr. King a question. It was that convergence of KAJ: My English Composition class, taught by Prof. Lindstrom, had a huge the Naismith National Player of the Year three times. He won six NBA titles reading about great black achievements of the past, while being exposed to impact on me. He assigned us to write a personal experience essay and I with the Milwaukee Bucks (1971) and Los Angeles Lakers (1980, 1982, great black leaders of the present, that fueled my passion to use the lessons wrote about visiting a jazz club in New York. When he’d graded all the 1985, 1987, 1988), was named the league’s Most Valuable Player six times of the past to continue to fight for justice in the present. I realized that essays, he said he would read the three best. He read the first two, which I and is the NBA’s all-time leading scorer (38,387 points). history is useless if we don’t use it to improve our future. listened to with the appropriate amount of jealousy and impatience. Then Abdul-Jabbar was a charter inductee into the UCLA Athletic Hall of he read what he said was the best essay in the class. Mine. I was shocked and Fame in 1984. His No. 33 UCLA jersey was retired in 1990, and in 1995 he Q: OTHER THAN BASKETBALL, WHAT EXPERIENCES AT UCLA pleased. It was the first time that I really felt I had enough writing ability to was enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. ESPN HELPED SHAPE YOUR LIFE? pursue it beyond classroom essays. named him the greatest college basketball player of all-time. KAJ: During my time at UCLA I met so many world shakers who had a But Abdul-Jabbar’s journey has extended beyond the basketball court, great effect on me. I took martial arts lessons from a relatively unknown Q: HOW DO YOU APPLY COACH WOODEN’S PHILOSOPHIES TO as his life away from the game has been just as successful. He earned a Bruce Lee. We became close friends. I met Muhammad Ali on the street EVERYDAY LIFE? UCLA Bachelor of Arts with a major in history. His Skyhook Foundation and we became friends. I was able to develop my love for jazz by going to KAJ: The main lesson Coach Wooden taught us was a reflection of his helps underprivileged kids. He has served as the United States’ Cultural the local jazz clubs like the Lighthouse Cafe. I studied Islam and became a Boy Scout values: Be Prepared. To him, preparation was everything. “By Ambassador. In November, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Muslim. I attended lectures by “Roots” author Alex Haley, black politician failing to prepare,” he used to tell us, “you are preparing to fail.” He got that Freedom and was recently appointed to the President’s Council on Fitness, Adam Clayton Powell Jr., and the Beatles’ spiritual mentor Maharishi from Benjamin Franklin, but it sounded better coming from him. He had Sports and Nutrition and the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee. Mahesh Yogi. The pattern that emerges is that being at UCLA exposed me us prepare and prepare and prepare, which made us confident facing our A New York Times best-selling author, his new book, ‘Coach Wooden and to so many new people and ideas that I was able to grow intellectually, opponents. I have found that lesson to be very pragmatic in my daily life. Me,’ is slated to come out this summer. spiritually, and athletically. I was surrounded by enthusiastic people on a I try to anticipate what obstacles I’ll face and prepare for them beforehand. Abdul-Jabbar recently sat down with Bruin Blue to talk about his eff orts similar journey of self-actualization, all trying to reach their full potential. I When I’m doing that I consider myself to be in a Wooden state of mind, away from basketball and how UCLA helped prepare him for that part of life. think as a result, I was much more open to trying new things. ready to face anything.

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(LEFT) ABDUL-JABBAR MADE HIS VARSITY DEBUT FOR UCLA IN A GAME AGAINST USC ON DEC. 3, 1966, SCORING A THEN-SCHOOL RECORD 56 POINTS IN A 105-90 BRUIN VICTORY. (CENTER) AS A THREE-TIME NAISMITH NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE YEAR WINNER, ABDUL-JABBAR AND COACH JOHN WOODEN WOULD COMBINE TO WIN THREE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS IN WESTWOOD FROM 1967-69. (RIGHT) AFTER DONALD STERLING WAS BANNED BY THE NBA FOR RACIST COMMENTS HE MADE WHILE HE WAS OWNER OF THE LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS, ABDUL-JABBAR AND FORMER TEAMMATE A.C. GREEN (LEFT) SPOKE DURING A PRESS CONFERENCE AT LOS ANGELES CITY HALL ON APRIL 29, 2014 (PHOTO: NOEL VASQUEZ/GETTY IMAGES).

Q: WHAT DRIVES YOU TO BE ACTIVE OUTSIDE OF BASKETBALL? Q: HOW DID THE SKYHOOK FOUNDATION COME ABOUT? IT IS OBVIOUS THAT YOU HAD A CLEAR IDEA OF SOCIAL INJUS- KAJ: It’s one thing to make speeches about what we need to do to make TICE EVEN AS A PLAYER AT UCLA. the world a better place, it’s a whole other thing to actually do something KAJ: If you grow up a person of color in America — or gay, or a woman, or about it. The Skyhook Foundation is my way of doing something. We send Muslim, or Jewish — you’re acutely aware of social injustice. It’s ingrained underprivileged children to camp in the Angeles National Forest for five into the social structure of education, voting rights, and job opportunities, days every week of the school year to be scientists in the best science lab but it seems invisible to those who aren’t directly affected by it. It’s like a in the world: nature. They get away from the city for a while — some for VAULTING STUDENTS giant tapeworm inside America, sucking out the nutrition that would allow the first time in their lives — and learn about the joys of STEM (science, us to prosper, but we don’t even recognize its existence. Just because I’ve technology, engineering, and math) in an environment that encourages TO A LIFETIME OF SUCCESS. been able to achieve a level of success doesn’t mean I’m not mindful of those discovery and character development. who have to work twice as hard to get half as far because of who they are. I A legendary Bruin once taught the world that success isn’t deﬁ ned by wins and losses, but by won’t feel truly successful until everyone has the same shot at fulfilling their Q: WHAT IS THE GOAL? personal dreams. College students have been at the forefront of the greatest KAJ: We have two goals. First, that they have fun. Second, that they peace of mind from doing your best, leaving it all on the court. Even if your court is a chemistry social and political changes in this country for the last 60 years. They risked are exposed to STEM in a positive way that may encourage them to lab, the space shuttle or a balance beam. A protégé of John Wooden, UCLA Women’s Gymnastics their lives as Freedom Riders in the 1960s, in protesting the Vietnam War, pursue studying it as they go forward in school. Our kids get a hands-on, Head Coach Valorie Kondos Field ﬁ rst teaches her team to become the best people they can be, and in fighting for social equality today. When I was at UCLA, I tried to multisensory outdoor environmental learning experience unlike anything knowing academic and athletic excellence will follow. Since 1991, it has—culminating in six NCAA do my part in furthering civil rights by supporting Muhammad Ali’s fight they could get in the classroom. This is important in inspiring them to championships, but, more importantly, over 100 young Optimists ready for the world. against the U.S. government, a fight that he eventually won in the U.S. appreciate the sciences more. STEM content offers a lot of career potential Supreme Court. for kids, but many from poorer communities often don’t think of it as a viable choice. We’re trying to show them that it is. Not every child is Q: WHAT OTHER AREAS ARE IMPORTANT TO YOU PERSONALLY going to become a scientist, engineer or tech mogul but knowledge of WHO WILL YOU MOTIVATE? AND WHY? STEM subject matter is already a key to become competitive in today’s KAJ: There really is only one issue: full civil rights, social justice, and job market. One of the most rewarding aspects of the program is when economic opportunity for everyone. The fact that we are still fighting for it kids come up to me and say, “I never thought I could become a scientist, seems ludicrous, especially since those against it are directly contradicting but now I think maybe I can.” We hope to provide realistic alternatives the spirit of the U.S. Constitution. for their future. UCLA.edu/optimists

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Bruin-Blue_Full-Page_Valorie-Kondos Field.indd 1 10/5/16 2:00 PM BRUIN BLUE SPRING 2017 KAJ: The usual doors that athletic fame brings: endorsement deals, cameos Q: DO YOU SEE A GROWING DIVERSITY IN STEM? in movies and TV shows, meeting other famous people. What’s important KAJ: According to a study last year by Change the Education, the STEM is what you do with those opportunities. I have no problem with athletes workforce is no more diverse than it was in 2001. The good news is that there who use their fame to make as much money as they can. Good for them. are a lot of people trying to change that. One of the problems experts have But I think they also need to use their fame as an opportunity to help the noted is that African-American and Latino students have less access to Advanced community so that others have more opportunities to succeed. Placement courses in STEM and that others lack confidence to take AP classes. Girls are notably underrepresented in AP Math and Science majors in our Q: WHAT LESSONS DID YOU LEARN FROM BEING PART OF THE colleges and universities. That’s part of what Camp Skyhook (campskyhook. NO. 1 COLLEGE BASKETBALL TEAM IN AMERICA? EVERYONE org) is trying to change by making sure we include kids from neighborhoods of WAS OUT TO KNOCK UCLA OFF. all cultural backgrounds. And that’s why we need all the help we can get. KAJ: When you’re at the top of the mountain, you’re a clear target for all those trying to take your place. In sports, as in the movie “Highlander,” Q: YOU OFFERED A STRONG MESSAGE AT THE DEMOCRATIC there can be only one. As I mentioned earlier, preparation was everything NATIONAL CONVENTION. HOW BEST CAN YOU CONTINUE TO with Coach Wooden and he taught us how to prepare for all the teams STRESS DIVERSITY AND UNITY? that would come at us. That level of preparation imbued us with enough KAJ: The next four years under the Trump Administration will be a confidence that we believed we could beat any team that came at us. But he challenge because there’s a clear backlash against civil liberties and rights. also taught us that sports isn’t real life. In sports, there’s room at the top for His choices for his cabinet and White House staff prove that. The hope only one team, but in life there’s plenty of room for others and we should of the Trump Administration, of many white billionaires is that there is do everything we can to help those others reach the top. That’s what made a perception that they will increase the economy so no one will notice the man so brilliant. that Planned Parenthood is being defunded, that blacks’ voting rights are being restricted, that the LGBT community is being harassed, and so forth. Q: FROM A BASKETBALL STANDPOINT, HOW DO YOU WISH TO Basically, it’s an attempt to buy America’s conscience. We have to raise our BE REMEMBERED? voices every time they try to make us all invisible. We may end those four KAJ: I hope I’m remembered as much for what I did off the court as what years hoarse, but we will end it with integrity. I did on it. But what I’d like sports fans to remember most is that I played as hard as I could every game throughout my college and professional Q: THOUGHTS ON THE PRESIDENTIAL MEDAL OF FREEDOM? careers. I didn’t make excuses when we lost and I didn’t take credit when we KAJ: I don’t think of it as a personal achievement so much as encouragement won. My pleasure came during each game, while I was in movement with to keep doing what I’m doing. Keep speaking out for social justice, keep my team, and we were playing together like a great jazz band, riffing on supporting STEM education, keep writing about the effects of pop culture notes during our solos, but ultimately harmonizing as a unit. If you want on society. It’s a reminder that the work is not yet done. to remember me for basketball, remember me in mid-play, when I’ve just made a spontaneous move that sent me leaping up, my body a soaring jazz Q: WHAT DID YOU TRY TO ACHIEVE AS THE GLOBAL CULTURAL solo by John Coltrane. My moment of mastery. That’s where I was happiest. AMBASSADOR? KAJ: I wanted to expose kids from different countries to what’s good about American culture. I traveled around the world on behalf of the U.S. and met hundreds of energetic and hopeful children. I wanted them to know that America is their friend and that our culture is diverse and inclusive.

Q: PLANS, OR HOPES, FOR THE FUTURE? KAJ: I intend to keep doing what I’m doing: speaking on behalf of those marginalized who feel powerless, writing books that analyze society and books that entertain society. And talking about sports whenever anyone asks me because I still have a great love for sports of all kinds.

Q: LOOKING BACK, WHAT IS THE MOST SATISFYING THING YOU HAVE ACCOMPLISHED AWAY FROM THE BASKETBALL COURT? KAJ: It’s not one thing that I’m proud of as much as remaining consistent in my fight for social justice over the years. That fight manifests itself in different ways — the Skyhook Foundation to help children, political articles, speeches about systemic racism, visiting schools to promote STEM programs — but I keep plugging away. I still have faith that Americans want to live up to the promise of the U.S. Constitution and I couldn’t think that I accomplished anything in life if I wasn’t part of that. U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE HILLARY CLINTON SPEAKS WITH ABDUL-JABBAR AFTER NAMING HIM A U.S. CULTURAL AMBASSADOR AT THE U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT ON JAN. 18, 2012 IN WASHINGTON, Q: WHAT DOORS HAVE BEEN OPENED FOR YOU BECAUSE OF DC. (PHOTO: CHIP SOMODEVILLA/GETTY IMAGES). BASKETBALL?

16 WWW.UCLABRUINS.COM The Wooden Athletic Fund is committed The Wooden to honoring the educational and athletic legacy of Nell and John Wooden. Athletic Fund Together, members of the Wooden Athletic Fund team provide invaluable Richard, Susan, Erik, and support for all UCLA student-athletes and every gift has a positive impact Cassidy Najarian Invest in on their ability to succeed in the Tomorrow’s Champions Today. classroom, in competition and in the community.

Richard, Susan, Erik, and Cassidy Najarian are passionately This funding is directed to the people, committed to UCLA and supporting Bruin student-athletes through the Wooden Athletic Fund. Richard earned his BS in places and programs that need it Electrical Engineering at UCLA in 1982, and was a four-year most, allowing UCLA Athletics to member of the UCLA Men’s Water Polo team. He met his future act quickly to enhance the student- wife Susan (UCLA ‘81) while both were undergrads, and they have athlete experience, retain coaches, been die-hard Bruin fans and supporters since. Following in his father’s footsteps, their son Erik (UCLA ’16) was also affiliated with and seize opportunities. UCLA Men’s Water Polo as a player and a team manager, while their daughter Cassidy, now attending Southern Methodist University, graduated from Palos Verdes High School where she was a CIF champion soccer player. A Vice President of Marketing for GainSpan Corporation, Richard has been in the wireless semiconductor industry “I have so many memorable moments with for over 16 years, using his UCLA education to develop wireless regards to UCLA, the most recent being connectivity solutions at several Silicon Valley technology startups. watching my son Erik’s water polo team win Playing water polo for then UCLA Head Coach, Olympian, and UCLA the 2015 NCAA National Championship- Athletics Hall of Fame Inductee Bob Horn, Richard was named to the UCLA’s 113th national title. I know that All-America list in 1979. He firmly believes that good coaching and being today’s student-athletes face tremendous part of an athletics program instills values that are key to success beyond challenges both in and out of the the classroom and the field of play. Richard further believes that it builds classroom. The Wooden Athletic Fund leadership, discipline, personal commitment, and teaches one how to represents a tangible connection to UCLA work effectively with others, which are just a few of the qualities that build and its 700+ student-athletes who directly character and lead benefit from the opportunities it provides. to success. For As a former student-athlete, the Wooden these reasons, the Athletic Fund allows me to give back Najarians have been to my school and support aspiring donating back to UCLA Men’s Water student-athletes to reach their goals.” Polo since the late 1980’s. They became Wooden Athletic Fund members in 2015, already increasing their support one membership level. Wooden Athletic Fund Invest in Tomorrow’s Champions Today UCLA and the UCLA Athletic Department thank the 7,068 310.206.3302 Wooden Athletic Fund members, including the Najarian Family. WoodenAthleticFund.com

2016-17 WAF Program Ads.indd 6 10/26/16 9:52 AM BRUIN BLUE SPRING 2017 BRUIN BLUE SPRING 2017

DELANEY SPAULDING (LEFT) AND PAIGE DELANEY SPAULDING (LEFT) AND PAIGE HALSTEAD HALSTEAD (RIGHT) HOPE TO JOIN UCLA COACH (RIGHT) ARE JOINED BY FORMER UCLA STANDOUT LISA FERNANDE AS BRUINS WHO HELP LEAD ALLY CARDA AFTER THE THREE BRUINS HELPED TEAM TEAM USA TO GLORY IN OLYMPIC SOFTBALL. USA CAPTURE THE WBSC WOMENS WORLD SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP IN 201.

OLYMPIC DREAMS OLYMPIC WITH SOFTBALL BACK IN THE OLYMPICS IN 2020, UCLA LOOKS TO ADD TO ITS TRADITION OF GREATNESS DREAMS

By ihel entre here once was a community of little girls who watched softball While the IOC committed that monumental ga e by eliminating a sport en, of course, softball went away, at least the Olympic variety. On Delaney: “She is exceptional. I mean she is by far one of the best on television and dreamed of someday playing at the highest that had worldwide appeal in both participation and observation, it managed But before it did, Fernandez came away with some indelible memories shortstops in the college game right now, and she’s come at the right time. level of the sport. en an evil force came along and snatched to reverse itself. It only took 11 years or so, but atonement is atonement. Last of her experiences that are as fresh today to the UCLA assistant as For these kids during this period this is the future, and they’re the ones who that dream away. August, the IOC voted to reinstate softball for the 2020 Games in Tokyo. they were then. are going to compete for that 2020 spot. I think she’s got a tremendous T is would be a tale of woe except for the fact that the evil force wasn’t Now the mood is considerably brighter among those aspiring girls and “One of my favorite memories and experiences when I was competing amount of experience. Being able to perform in some of the most pressure exactly evil, just terribly misguided. And in the end, it made amends. young women. was after the ’96 Olympics,” she recalled. “I was back at UCLA and I had moments, she is always able to produce.” In 2005, the International Olympic Committee voted to drop softball “Honestly it’s the time of every softball player’s life right now,” said Del- this person walk up to me who was a professor and basically said, ‘I’m not On Paige: “She is the future. She is a physical specimen when it comes to from its roster of sports. A pastime that inspired girls and young women aney Spaulding, shortstop for the Bruins and — as a member of the U.S. a sports fan. I don’t watch sports. But I do watch the Olympics. And I just her height, her strength, her build, the arm that she has. She continues to to someday reach the Olympic heights enjoyed by such illustrious UCLA Women’s National Team — a prime candidate for the U.S. squad in 2020. want to say thank you for representing our country.’ I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh. work on wanting to develop her game. She’s someone who has been in that Bruins as Dot Richardson, Lisa Fernandez and Sheila Cornell, suddenly no “When it was actually being voted into the Olympics, we were streaming For the rst time ever I was able to impact someone who wasn’t even a fan Olympic system, that national team system as well. When you talk about longer had that global showcase. it and I was with a bunch of softball players from di erent colleges and we of the game and a fan of sports.’” behind-the-plate arm strength, she is outstanding. It’s exciting to see how “You talk about a blow to the stomach,” explained Fernandez, who is were watching and crossing our ngers, and of course we celebrated when it “ at’s what the Olympics do,” she added. “ e Olympics draw people much she has grown and continues to grow.” now an assistant coach for the UCLA softball team. “It was something got back in. It’s such a really good time for the softball community.” from every walk of life. It’s a one, two-, three-week period, when every- It’s di cult to quantify exactly how much having softball in the Olym- that was hard for us to deal with as a sport because it kind of came out of UCLA athletics in general is used to experiencing great and consistent body’s eyes are not on a sport but on patriotism. I think that’s the impact pics again will help the UCLA program in particular. e Bruins have nowhere. When it came to TV ratings, when it came to ticket sales, when success, and the softball program has certainly held up its end over the years. the Olympics have. It’s about representing your country.” always managed to attract top talent in the sport and surely will continue to it came to participation, when it came to a following, we were nowhere Since its inception in 1975, the Bruins have brought 12 national champion- Paige Halstead has that dream, especially now that it’s possible again. do so. e Olympics are a nice every-four-year extravaganza, but the yearly near the bottom or the middle in comparison to other Olympic sports. If ship trophies back to Westwood, most recently in 2010 under current head UCLA’s star catcher/out elder is also a member of the national team and is accomplishments of the softball squad in Westwood serve as enough adver- anything we were in the top half, if not in the top 10. coach Kelly Inouye-Perez. in position to compete for a spot on the 2020 team. tisement for the public as to the merits of the program. “For us to have our sport eliminated kind of truly blindsided us,” she e rst Olympics to feature softball was in 1996, and the United States “I think about it all the time,” she admitted. “It’s de nitely always in the Yet Fernandez recognizes that there is something very special about the added. “It wasn’t anything we expected. It wasn’t anything we obviously — with the aforementioned contingent of UCLA stars — wasted no time back of my head. It’s de nitely a dream I have, which would be an amazing Olympics, and that quality seeps down into the UCLA athletic aquifer. thought we deserved. We thought we did everything to show what our sport in bringing home gold. e U.S. won gold in the sport in 1996, 2000 and one if it came true. I think everybody dreams about that.” “When you have the opportunity to prepare and you have four years was about, opening eyes to the world in terms of what fast-pitch softball 2004, and nished second in 2008. Fernandez came away as a three-time Fernandez believes that, when it comes to both Delaney and Paige, theirs to plan you have people when they’re at their best, barring injury,” she was all about.” gold medalist and also served as an alternate on the ’08 team. are not pipe dreams. explained. “People have given a lot of preparation to have that one moment

WWW.UCLABRUINS.COM 1 BRUIN BLUE SPRING 2017

PAIGE HALSTEAD, UCLAS STAR CATCHER/OUTFIELDER, IS IN POSITION TO COMPETE FOR A SPOT ON THE 2020 TEAM. (PHOTO: JOSHUA GATELEY)

The Wooden Athletic Fund is proud to honor the 8,513 donors who generously provide invaluable support for all UCLA student-athletes and honor the lasting educational and athletic legacy of Nell and John Wooden. Every gift has a positive impact on UCLA student-athletes’ ability to succeed in the classroom, in competition and in the community. NOT A WOODEN FUND MEMBER YET? OLYMPIC

BRUINS PROUD OF CONNECTION TO OLYMPIC PARTICIPATION DREAMS SHE IS THE FUTURE. SHE IS A PHYSICAL SPECIMEN WHEN IT COMES The Wooden Athletic Fund is striving to reach TO HER HEIGHT, HER STRENGTH, HER BUILD, THE ARM THAT SHE HAS. in time. Our sport managed. We fought and gured out a way to get back SHE CONTINUES TO WORK ON WANTING TO DEVELOP HER GAME. SHES 10,000 members in support of UCLA student- in. Japan played a big part, since the Games will be played in Japan. SOMEONE WHO HAS BEEN IN THAT OLYMPIC SYSTEM, THAT NATIONAL athletes and membership begins at just $100. “For right now it’s been huge for us in terms of notoriety and publicity TEAM SYSTEM AS WELL. WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT BEHINDTHEPLATE that we can build o of,” added Fernandez. “It helps that our athletes have been on Olympic teams. It’s a major platform that reaches millions.” ARM STRENGTH, SHE IS OUTSTANDING. ITS ECITING TO SEE HOW Spaulding for one is stoked. She had that little-girl experience most MUCH SHE HAS GROWN AND CONTINUES TO GROW. softball players have, of gazing in amazement at the Olympic Games and ASSISTANT COACH LISA FERNANDE 2017-18 MEMBERSHIPS dreaming big. “It makes me very excited,” she said. “When I was growing up, I watched the Olympics with my dad. He would wake me up because of the time dif- am I going to do today to win a gold medal?’ To have that thought in your AVAILABLE NOW ferences, because it was always in a di erent country. He would wake me up mind every single day for four years, it takes its toll. in the middle of the night, or early morning, to watch softball games. Now “For me, to be able to push myself to the limit in training and prepara- that softball is back in the Olympics, it’s a cool moment. It’s pretty awesome.” tion, to make sure I was going to be the best I could be coming into the Most of the world has viewed at some point the moment of glory for Olympics, that was it,” she continued. “When I won the gold medal, the Olympians, when they stand on the podium and listen to national anthems. rst thing was a sense of relief. I did it. I’m done. I did the job. I completed e gold medalist beams, the silver and bronze recipients also enjoy satisfac- the task. I completed the goal that I set out four years ago to accomplish. tion over a goal that has been reached. For me as an athlete, my biggest fear was to disappoint. And I never wanted But relatively few over the years have actually had that experience. Fer- to not live up to the expectations that my coaches, my teammates, my fans nandez recalls the feeling. had of myself as a player. at motivated me to make sure I was prepared, “For me I really put a lot of expectations and a lot of pressure on myself to make sure I was ready to go.” 310-206-3302 in order to represent my country,” she said. “So there wasn’t a day I was at thinking is why USA softball has been so successful in the Olym- training or preparing that I wasn’t thinking about putting the United States pics, and why the UCLA program is supremely proud of the part it has WoodenAthleticFund.com rst. I’d wake up in the morning, and the rst thing I thought of was, ‘What played in that success. @WoodenFund

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BRUIN BLUE SPRING 2017 BRUIN BLUE SPRING 2017

the FAMILY BUSINESS MICAH MAA STARS IN UCLA VOLLEYBALL the FAMILY BUSINESS

BOTH COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL PLAYERS THEMSELVES, MICAHS PARENTS, PONO MAA (LEFT) LISA STRANDMAA, HAVE HELPED FOSTER THEIR SONS PASSION FOR THE GAME. (Photo: tie eyers) MICAH MAA, A FRESHMAN ALLAMERICAN IN 201, POSSESSES A UNIUE VISION OF THE GAME. (PHOTO: KATIE MEYERS) By Chris Foster icah Ma’a does remember the balloons. Micah played football and basketball and baseball, and even dabbled in team in 1984. Lisa led the women’s team to its rst two NCAA champion- It didn’t matter what the activity, Micah was set on winning. “My parents showed me the pictures,” he recalled. water polo, at Punahou School — “I always had a ball in my hand, even ships, in 1982 and 1983. Both spent time on the AVP Tour, maintaining a “You don’t want to play Monopoly with him,” said Lisa. “You’ll stay up UCLA’s talented sophomore relies on that as evidence when I was sleeping,” he said — but volleyball was an easy career choice. level of celebrity in Hawai’i. Pono has coached club teams in Hawai’i. Lisa all night.” where his volleyball career began. Lisa Strand-Ma’a, his “If you’re from Hawai’i, it can be di cult to make it in sports,” said works as a broadcaster for University of Hawai’i women’s games. But there was an unsel sh motive lurking behind that focus. Mmother, recalls so much more. e small apartment at Honolulu’s Kame- Micah, who is 6-3, 180 pounds. “People in Hawai’i are not physically e Hawai’i volleyball community has “an intense internal strength,” As a freshman basketball player at Punahou, Micah would battle 6-foot-7 hameha School, where her husband, Pono Ma’a, ran the dorms and the gifted. You don’t go around thinking, ‘Oh, I’m three inches taller.’ We’re just said Speraw. senior DeForest Buckner, now a defensive end with the San Francisco 49ers. school’s intramural program, became an arena. small guys. Volleyball is the easiest way to make it out.” “ ere’s a di erent sense of humility, as well as a sense of family and “In practice, he asked to guard DeForest and the coach would tell him Micah and his older sister would bat balloons back and forth. It was Micah brought that focus to UCLA last season. He was named to the sel essness. e players coming out of there are really strong, not just in the that wasn’t going to happen,” recalled Pono. “Micah would be like, ‘No, no, serious stu . ere was no net, no referee, no scoreboard. But that small AVCA (American Volleyball Coaches Association) All-America First Team game, but in the way they handle the game,” Speraw added. I got him.’ Micah would get tossed around and there would be lots of levity. apartment might as well have included a national television audience. after helping the Bruins reach the Final Four for the rst time since 2006. Micah would hear stories about his parents’ athletic prowess from family But Micah’s mind set was, ‘ is is going to make me better.’” “ ey always played to win,” said Lisa. “Micah just had this great energy. “Micah has this social awareness where he understands intuitively where friends. By then, he was already digging into the family business. On the volleyball court, Pono could see his son developing a unique outlook. I don’t think he ever felt 5 years old. It was like, ‘I want to play.’” his teammates are emotionally,” UCLA Coach John Speraw said. “We wanted our kids to try everything,” said Lisa. “It was, ‘just win, just win,’” said Pono. “He didn’t worry how good or at intensity has pushed Micah along a volleyball path that led to West- Speraw saw that up close and personal in the third match last season. Volleyball, though, was part of the family. Micah started as a 7-year-old, bad he was playing. When it was all done, then he would look back on how wood. e Bruins have been among the nation’s top teams this season. Micah, then a freshman, exerted those leadership skills against traditional playing on his older sister’s club team. “We needed help,” recalled Lisa. he played.” Micah is a big reason. He was born to play this game. power Penn State. As a youth player, Micah was part of a Ka Ulukoa club team that won six It was another skill rooted in the family. Family gatherings often became Volleyball in Hawai’i is di erent. e sport is engrained in the culture “ ere was a timeout and I’m giving instructions,” remembered Speraw. consecutive national age-group championships from 2008-13. ere was a intense volleyball tournaments, particularly when visiting Lisa’s family in and the Ma’a family holds a prominent place in that tradition. Pono and “Micah interjected, saying, ‘Hey, we’re going to do this and we’re going to focus to Micah’s approach that made him extremely competitive. Lisa saw that Santa Barbara. Her twin sister, Kelly Van Winden, was an All-American at Lisa were both All-Americans at the University of Hawai’i. Misty Ma’a, do that.’ All the other guys were nodding their heads. I told my assistant, when her son was little in a youth baseball league where parents pitched to Cal Poly and was raising volleyball prodigies as well. Both her daughters their oldest daughter, played at the University of Miami. Mehana and ‘We’re not going to be running timeouts much longer.’” the kids. earned college scholarships — Adlee Van Winden, who played for the Cal Maluhia, the youngest daughters, are high school standouts. It was a small glimpse at the volleyball DNA Micah totes around. “He was playing shortstop and the rst ground ball, he threw it to rst, Poly women’s team, and Torrey Van Winden, who is a freshman on the “Everything in my family revolves around volleyball,” said Micah. Pono and Lisa met as freshman at Hawai’i, where they became stars in but the rst baseman couldn’t catch it,” Lisa said. “ e next ground ball, UCLA women’s team. He was not about to walk away from the family business. volleyball. Pono was selected rst-team All-American in 1986 and second Micah just ran it over to rst.” e Van Windens had a beach court in their backyard.

6 WWW.UCLABRUINS.COM BRUIN BLUE SPRING 2017 the FAMILY BUSINESS MICAH MAA STARS IN UCLA VOLLEYBALL

“We’d played two-on-two until the sun went down and we’d start again when the sun came up,” Micah said. e parents tried to tamp things down, insisting that no score be kept. As Micah is quick to point out, “ at wasn’t going to happen.” It didn’t matter where the families were, a game could break out at any moment. “We were in Lake Tahoe one time and the ski lifts were sold out,” Lisa said. “ ere was a volleyball in the car — there’s always a volleyball — and there were the kids in their snow gear playing in the parking lot.” Such round-the-clock training honed Micah’s skills. He was considered one of the top players in Hawai’i as a senior at Punahou. “You could see the athletic ability, but you see that in a lot of kids,” Pono said. “Micah had a cognitive understanding of the big picture — passing, setting, hitting. at separated him.” Speraw saw that as well. “Not many players are so in control of what they’re doing that they can worry about what others are doing,” he said. “His vision of the game is unique.” Micah was set on leaving home and Speraw, as the U.S. National Team coach, o ered what others universities couldn’t. “I want to play volleyball past college,” Micah said. “Coach Speraw is the best to learn from with his knowledge and experience. ere is a long list of things that make him special.” e adjustment to UCLA took some time. “ e L.A. lifestyle compared to home is pretty di erent,” Micah said. “ ings are a little more fast-paced. People are always like, ‘go, go, go.’ It was kind of draining.” Volleyball made assimilating easier. e Bruins had not been to the NCAA tournament since winning their 19th NCAA championship in 2006. Two weeks into the 2016 season, UCLA had the look of a contender. e Bruins beat eventual national champion Ohio State and Penn State in the Pac- 12/Big 10 Challenge. Micah was named rst-team All-Mountain Paci c Sports Federa- tion after helping UCLA nish second behind top-ranked Brigham Young. e Bruins lost to Ohio State in the NCAA Semi nals. “I heard it had been a long time since UCLA went to the Final Four,” Micah said. “Helping us do that was great.” But it left Micah chasing one more balloon. MICAH MAA WILL PLAY A KEY ROLE IF THE BRUINS HOPE TO MAKE IT BACK “Winning the title,” Micah said. “It’s not a one-day-at-a-time TO THE FINAL FOUR AGAIN IN 2017. (PHOTO: DON LIEBIG) kind of thing. It’s an everyday kind of thing with that goal in mind.”

WWW.UCLABRUINS.COM BRUIN BLUE SPRING 2017 MARK YOUR CALENDAR FIVE UPCOMING EVENTS TO ATTEND LITTLE

MARCH 5 — DODGERTOWN CLASSIC Big time college baseball returns to Dodger Stadium again this year, as the UCLA Bruins will headline the Dodgertown Classic on March 5 at Chavez Ravine. The Bruins will take on crosstown rival USC in the second half of a doubleheader at 3 p.m. The first game that day features Michigan and San Diego at 11 a.m. The Dodgertown Classic dates back to 2010 when Vanderbilt, Oklahoma State, UCLA and BEAN USC kicked off the event. Ticket information can be found online at www.dodgers.com/classic. 3/5

MARCH 12 — GYMNASTICS VS. NORTH CAROLINA Led by legendary head coach Valorie Kondos Field, the UCLA gymnastics team will host its final home meet of the 2017 season on Sunday, March 12, as ACC foe North Carolina heads to Pauley Pavilion. It will also be Senior Day for Bruins Angi Cipra, Peng-Peng Lee, Mikaela Gerber, Hallie Mossett and volunteer coach Jordyn Wieber. UCLA features a star-studded lineup which includes the only two Olympic gold medalists to ever compete in NCAA women’s gymnastics in Olympians Madison Kocian and Kyla Ross. Time: Noon / Tickets: $16 general admission. 3/12 LONG MARCH 12 — SOFTBALL VS. TEXAS If you want the chance to take in two UCLA events in one day you can do just that on March 12, JOURNEY as following the gymnastics meet at Noon (see above), the Bruin softball team hosts Texas at Easton We travel to family-owned farms overseas to help the finest 1% of Stadium at 4 p.m. UCLA will be coming off a 19-game road swing when it hosts the Longhorns, as it marks the first of nine straight home games for the Bruins. UCLA returns eight starters from a 2016 Arabica beans fulfill their dreams of calling California home. team that made their second straight trip to the Women’s College World Series, and also have a standout freshmen class looking to make their mark in 2017. 3/12 Time: 4 p.m. / Tickets: $8 general admission ($5 youth)

APRIL 22 — WOMEN’S WATER POLO VS. USC The crosstown showdown between UCLA and USC will be renewed in the pool on April 22, as the Bruins and Trojans are set to tangle in women’s water polo at UCLA’s Spieker Aquatics Center. UCLA’s lineup is significantly bolstered in 2017 by the return of U.S. National Team players Rachel Fattal, Alys Williams and Kodi Hill, all of whom redshirted in 2016 while helping Team USA qualify for the Olympic Games in Rio. Both Fattal and newcomer Maddie Musselman were part of the U.S. team that ultimately won gold in Rio, and both players will play a significant role in helping UCLA aim for its eight NCAA Championship in Indianapolis, Indiana, this May. 4/22 Time: 1 p.m. / Tickets: Free APRIL 29 — FOOTBALL SPRING SHOWCASE Fans looking to get an up-close-and-personal look at the UCLA football can do just that on April 29, as the team hosts its annual Spring Showcase at Drake Stadium beginning at 1 p.m. The Spring Showcase marks the last practice of the spring for the Bruins, who will not convene again on the field until fall camp in August. The day is typically highlighted by a post-practice autograph session where fans can also meet and take pictures with their favorite players. Time: 1 p.m. / Ticket Info: 310-UCLA-WIN. 4/29

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By Emily Lerner Director of Communications, UCLA Athletics Development between one’s school and the passion shown by the fans who attended. ALL IN ONE STOP “I saw these middle-aged people [at games] who were so passionate about where they went to school,” said Mark. “In the back of my mind I rowing up in Tustin, California, his dream had always been to thought, ‘I want that passion and that connection!’” AT ONE STORE attend UC Santa Barbara. Yet when he was a senior in high After graduating from UCLA with a degree in Political Science in 1986, & school and it came time for him to fill out his application to Mark realized very quickly that his UCLA degree reaped a great deal of the University of California, he purposely left the box blank continued access to the university. Invitations to seminars and presenta- Gwhere your school choice needed to be checked off. He returned to that tions often came in the mail; he could get a library card, a recreation card, section of his application later to give it more thought. and any number of other alumni-related privileges. Mark, as he did during “Sports were too important for me to go to a school that didn’t have his undergraduate years, continued to attend football and men’s basketball them. I want to go to bowl games, Final Fours, and tailgate parties,” he games, but would buy tickets with his friends without much regularity. said. “I thought, one day I’ll be a middle-aged man and if I go to [UC] “I decided that I wanted to get better seats to the games I was going to,” Prepared With First Street Jumbo Oven Santa Barbara I won’t have any of those things to connect me to the school said Mark. “I could go to StubHub or other places for tickets, but I knew Roasted Chicken 3 lb. I attended.” this wasn’t the connection I wanted to UCLA. I had gone to the Final Four Hot & Juicy Cooked This was the reasoning that changed Mark Cormany’s decision; a deci- in 2006 and decided I wanted to be more connected to the school and sit Visit smartandfinal.com for Throughout The Day! sion he never for one second regretted. with UCLA fans in better seats and not have to put my whole itinerary “Looking back, deciding to go to UCLA was the wisest decision I ever together myself.” a location near you. made,” said Mark. During his 2006 trip to Indianapolis for the Final Four, Mark met Brian There is no shortage of topics Mark can discuss relating to UCLA and Smith, Assistant Athletic Director for Major Gifts, and inquired how to go how much earning his undergraduate degree there meant to him, nor can about becoming more connected to his alma mater. he deny the huge impact it has made on his life. During high school he “I started doing the math on how to get better seats, and then the Pauley attended UCLA games with friends and saw firsthand the connection [Pavilion Renovation] project came up,” said Mark. “That’s when I really

started getting involved, and Brian helped me maneuver through the donor levels and corresponding benefits. After making a gift to the Pauley campaign, I started donating to the Wooden Athletic Fund. This connectivity through WAF keeps me connected to this university, and I started giving at the Director’s Circle membership level. Now, my favorite UCLA activity is attending the Director’s Dinner.” Inspired by The Director’s Dinner is an exclusive, annual dinner where attendees dine at a different UCLA venue each year with every UCLA head coach and top administrators in attendance. Through these dinners, Mark, like many guests, got acquainted with head coaches other than the two he already knew — football and men’s basketball — and a whole new appreciation for coaches and other teams took hold. Kid Captain Brooke Balck “I met Adam [Wright, men’s water polo head coach] at my second Director’s Dinner and we hit it off,” said Mark. “I got to know him better and traveled to Budapest with the water polo team and really got to know the student-athletes. I gained an appreciation for different sports and how MARK CORMANY, FAR RIGHT, ATTENDED THE FOOT- hard all the coaches work with recruiting, coaching, travel and all the other BALL TEAM’S SEASON OPENER AGAINST TEXAS A&M things they have to do. I’ve also gone to several UCLA softball golf tour- IN 2016 IN COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS. naments so I’ve gotten to know Kelly [Inouye-Perez, head softball coach] and other head coaches like Val from gymnastics and Derek Freeman from Mark majored in Political Science at UCLA but always had a business men’s golf. So it’s been fun branching out into other sports.” emphasis in classes he took. Some years after he graduated, he worked at Making a big difference in young lives Through his membership in Director’s Circle, Mark’s benefits jumped PacifiCare for a number of years, then decided to build his own business. tenfold. He has been invited to go on away football trips and the annual His new business model was devised at an uncertain and disquieting point donor football trip. These travels not only pushed Mark to see new places in his life. In the late 1990s, Mark was diagnosed with cancer. While recov- The UCLA Kid Captain program recognizes pediatric patients who are facing serious illnesses with he never would have thought of going to before, but gave him a newfound ering from surgery, he decided he wanted to have his own company and not exceptional courage, strength and determination. UCLA Athletics and UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital respect of what it takes to run an athletics department. work for anyone else. Since he had known many brokers from being in the “I only get a glimpse into the running of an athletics department, but it health care business, he was able to start his own company, and in 1997, are proud to join together with Bruins everywhere to create special memories for these amazing kids. has made me really proud of UCLA’s integrity,” said Mark. “I respect the French Cormany Insurance was born. process and celebrate the wins and don’t hang onto the losses because I see “I grew my business by acquiring other businesses from people who were For information about how you can become involved, visit: uclahealth.org/KidCaptain so much of the human component involved. When I was a student, UCLA going to retire or leave the health care field,” said Mark. “One of the first won three Rose Bowls and a Fiesta Bowl. We also lost to Irvine in the first guys whose business I bought was Bob French, who was a mentor to me. round of the NIT. But I went to every game regardless, and winning or My ego isn’t such that I need to have my name all over the place, and I liked losing will never change my commitment to UCLA.” French Cormany, so that became my company’s name. I’m an insurance This way of thinking was most likely passed on to Mark by his father. broker who handles employee benefits for companies — selling insurance The sacrifices that his parents made so that he could earn a college degree is a really small part. So I guess I’m not your typical insurance sales guy.” was never lost on Mark, and he wishes that his dad, who passed away in the Mark has generously donated to the new Wasserman Football Center on 1990s, could see him and the man he has become now due in large part to campus as well as to the campaign to name the Terry Donahue Pavilion at his UCLA degree and ensuing relationships. the Rose Bowl. “I played baseball and basketball in high school, and our football team “I sit in the club seats at the Rose Bowl, and when I take the escalator never won any games, yet my Dad would attend all of our football games. up, I can see my name on the list of those who contributed [to the Terry Phoenix Murillo Casey Rohrer Noah Michaelis Levi Cranfill Jacob Conde His attitude was, ‘If you don’t suffer through the hard times, you haven’t Donahue Pavilion.] I love seeing it there because it makes me proud to earned the right to appreciate the good times.’ I feel that same way. Because know I had a small something to do with it. But my ultimate goal is to be my Dad worked weekends, we went on only one family vacation. I was 10 part of the 1919 Society.” years old, and on our way, he took me to an ASU baseball game in Tempe The 1919 Society is the Athletic Department’s elite membership group and said, ‘Mark, this is a place you might consider going to college one that recognizes the individuals who have contributed $1,000,000 or more day.’ He would also pull me out of school every so often to take me to a in their lifetimes to UCLA Athletics. UC Irvine baseball game. We would bond at these games, but his message “It’s my ultimate goal, because I think for a guy with my background, was clear that college was going to be part of my life. Education was stressed who became a self-made guy, what would be more awesome than giving uclahealth.org/mattel uclahealth.org/getsocial because my Dad never had the opportunity to go to college.” $1,000,000 to your alma mater?”

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