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UCLA-The Best Combination
of Athletics and Academics
 UCLA-The Best Combination of Athletics and Academics No institution of
higher learning can match UCLA’s history and continuity of collegiate
athletics and academics success.
From four-sport letterman Jackie Robinson in the 1940s, to the 13 NCAA
titles won by UCLA teams in the last three academic years, UCLA flexed
its athletic muscle in the 21st Century. In the last 53 years, UCLA has
won an astounding total of 90 NCAA team titles, including four in
2002-03: men's soccer (4th), women's gymnastics (4th), women's water
polo (2nd) and women's softball (9th). In addition, nationally the
Bruins placed third in men's golf, tied for third in men's tennis, tied
for fifth in women's golf and women's tennis, tied for eighth in women's
soccer, 11th in women's swimming and tied for 17th in women's
volleyball. The football team finished with an 8-5 record and won the
Las Vegas Bowl. Finally, UCLA won the Lexus Gauntlet Trophy, awarded to
the winner of the overall athletic competition between UCLA and USC.
One of the most measurable achievements in UCLA athletics can be found
at the fund-raising level. Under the stewardship of former athletic
director Peter T. Dalis and new chief Dan Guerrero, UCLA now boasts 180
endowed athletic grants-in-aid as it aims toward funding all 273
allowable athletic scholarships. In addition, the J.D. Morgan
Intercollegiate Athletics Center and the equipment, training and weight
rooms have been renovated and expanded for the second time in 20 years
without the aid of taxpayer dollars.
Perhaps the most important accomplishment has come in the classroom.
Since 1952, 57 UCLA student-athletes have earned NCAA Postgraduate
Scholarships, 87 have been named Verizon Academic All-Americans and 12
have received NCAA Top Eight Awards. In addition, Olympic swimmer
Annette Salmeen in 1996 became the first UCLA student-athlete since
Harold Griffin in 1969 to receive a Rhodes Scholarship.
Overall, Bruin teams have won 111 national championships, including 29
in men’s and women’s volleyball, 16 in men’s and women’s tennis, 12 in
men’s and women’s water polo, 12 in men’s and women’s basketball, 12 in
men’s and women’s track & field, and 10 in women’s softball. In men’s
sports, UCLA has won 67 NCAA titles, and in women’s athletics, UCLA has
won 23 NCAA championships, including three during the last academic
year.
For 26 consecutive years, UCLA has finished among the nation’s top 10
athletic programs in various national intercollegiate surveys. The
Bruins won 11 overall athletic program titles, including four straight
from 1988-91. In 37 of the last 38 years, UCLA has won at least one
collegiate team championship, and in 20 of the last 21 years, UCLA has
won at least one NCAA team title. In addition, UCLA has won at least two
collegiate team titles 24 times in the last 31 years. UCLA also was the
first school to win five NCAA titles (1981-82) in a single academic
year. In 1999-00, UCLA captured the collegiate championship in women’s
water polo and NCAA championships in men’s water polo, women’s indoor
track and field, women’s gymnastics and men’s volleyball.
Some of the greatest names in professional and Olympic sports history
have UCLA beginnings. The NBA’s all-time leading scorer and a six-time
MVP, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Lew Alcindor) led the Bruins to three straight
NCAA titles and an undefeated season. Tracksters Jackie Joyner-Kersee
(voted UCLA’s 2001 Alumna of the Year) and Evelyn Ashford competed on
three NCAA title teams and won 11 Olympic medals between them, including
seven gold medals.
Volleyball legend Karch Kiraly led the Bruins to three NCAA
championships, won gold medals in both indoor and beach volleyball and
is the official King of the Beach after winning more than 140 beach
tournaments. In women’s professional beach volleyball, former Bruins
Annette (Buckner) Davis, Jenny (Johnson) Jordan, Holly McPeak and Linda
(Robertson) Hanley are some of the tour’s best. The Bruins boast several
players in Major League Baseball, including Troy Glaus of the Anaheim
Angels, Eric Karros of the Chicago Cubs and Jim Parque of the Chicago
White Sox. In women’s professional softball, names like former coach
Sharron Backus and players Nicole Odom, Debbie Doom, DeeDee Weiman-Garcia
and Jenny Brewster along with 1996 and 2000 Olympic gold medalists Lisa
Fernandez, Dot Richardson and Sheila Cornell give testament to UCLA’s
great tradition. |
