Lisa Horne from FoxSports wrote a great article today detailing the emerging mutiny among UCLA season ticket holders against the incompetent athletic department. The article contains a number of telling quotes from Bruin alums absolutely disgusted with the implosion of the football program. Tellingly the sentiment among Bruin faithful has gone beyond firing of Rick Neuehisel (which is a foregone conclusion) and more towards the systematic failure of the athletic department.
While the article itself is a must read, it's the response from the UCLA athletic department that appears to be shaping up as huge news this Friday:
Several fans mentioned what they believe is a policy that would prevent UCLA from hiring a big-time coach - the athletic department will not accept booster donations that are specifically targeted for a coach's salary.
"An outside source is prohibited from paying or regularly supplementing an athletics department staff member's annual salary and from arranging to supplement that salary for an unspecified achievement. This includes the donation of cash from outside sources to the institution earmarked for the staff member's salary or supplemental income. It would be permissible for an outside source to donate funds to the institution to be used as determined by the institution, and it would be permissible for the institution, at its sole discretion, to use such funds to pay or supplement a staff member's salary," said UCLA Director of Executive Relations Marc Dellins, citing NCAA rule 11.3.2.2 on supplemental pay.
I am sure Dellins is a wonderful person but his response could not be lamer. While Dellins cutely tries to hide behind the fact that outside source is prohibited from earmarking a coach's salary, he indirectly confirms what we have been suspecting for a long time: Bruins have been willingly bringing a knife to a gun fight. D
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