UCLA had $127.3M in expenses for the 12-month period that included Chip Kelly's first season as football coach GETTY IMAGES
UCLA athletics reported an $18.9M deficit for FY '19, and the shortfall will be "covered by an interest-bearing loan from central campus," according to Jon Wilner of the San Jose MERCURY NEWS. UCLA generated $108.4M in revenue against $127.3M in expenses for the 12-month period that included Chip Kelly's first season as football coach and the "tumultuous basketball stretch" in which former coach Steve Alford was dismissed. This marks the "first time in 15 years that the Bruins haven't balanced the books," and it "coincides with the final months" of AD Dan Guerrero's tenure. UCLA athletics is one of the "most efficient departments in the Pac-12, if not all of major college athletics." But a "convergence of unfortunate events" and expenses struck during an 18-month period that began in fall '17. Significant milestones include the dismissal of football coach Jim Mora and "poor ticket sales in the first season under Kelly;" Alford's mid-season termination and the bonus paid to his successor, Mick Cronin; and the "increase in operating expenses for football under Kelly's watch and added resources for UCLA's thriving Olympic sports." Not even the "lucrative Under Armor apparel deal," which included a $16M up-front bonus and features $9M in annual payments, "could bail out" UCLA (San Jose MERCURY NEWS, 1/27).
