Exclusive | New UCLA athletics boss Tim Harris only just beginning to change culture in Westwood
Note: This is the first in a two-part series on new UCLA CEO and athletic director Tim Harris.Part 2, on Harris’ unexpected move from the Lakers back to his alma mater and his vision for transforming UCLA athletics, will post Sunday.Tim Harris keeps making the news ticker, just like the teams he presides over.UCLA football pulls away from San Diego State … Tim Harris personally buys 300 tickets for fans to the game.The Bruins are set to face Purdue in their Big Ten opener … Tim Harris makes all student tickets free for the rest of the season.What might be next?Among other things, UCLA’s new CEO and athletic director told the California Post that he wants to get a jersey-patch sponsorship deal and remove those unsightly end zone tarps at the Rose Bowl.But each of those endeavors has to be executed with precision.
Harris isn’t going to take the first jersey-patch proposal that comes along, even though some have been worth as much as $20 million per year.“We could get a patch deal today,” Harris told the Post during an exclusive interview while sitting in his third-floor corner office inside the Morgan Center on campus.“We want the right patch deal, right? That’s important.
It’s finding the right partner who wants to go on a journey with you, who believes in what you’re trying to do.”Similarly, Harris isn’t going to remove those tarps just to do so.He’s waiting until attendance continually exceeds the roughly 54,000 capacity that exists with those sprawling tarps in place.
That might take a while given that UCLA drew just 31,973 for its home opener against San Diego State.“I would assume that we won’t need them for the USC game – we better not need them,” Harris said, referring to the Nov.28 rivalry game at the Rose Bowl, “but … it’s when we no longer regularly need them.”Getting to that point, Harris said, will require significantly expanding a season ticket-holder base that’s below 20,000.
That involves removing reaso...