Costs associated with UCLA football has increased significantly under Chip KellyGETTY IMAGES
UCLA football coach Chip Kelly has "more than doubled the previous food budget" since his arrival in '17, spending $2.4M on non-travel meals in '18 and $5.4M in '19, "raising questions" about a UCLA athletic department that reported an $18.9M deficit last year, according to Ben Bolch of the L.A. TIMES. UCLA football has, on occasion, "ordered hundreds of peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches from a Los Angeles caterer at $4.95 each." Kelly also started "regularly catering breakfast, lunch and dinner for his players, who also received prepared meals to take home on weekends." One frequently used caterer "charged $15.99 each for such to-go meals." But "none of this increased spending has translated into success on the field." The Bruins have gone 7-17 under Kelly and attendance at the Rose Bowl has "declined steadily, hitting a low of 43,849" in '19. At the same time, "ticket revenue has dipped" from $19.8M in '15 to $12.5M last season. Bolch notes some of UCLA's "budget strain" relates to almost $15M in "severance costs" after firing football coach Jim Mora in '17 and men’s basketball coach Steve Alford in '18. But expenses also include a "significant investment in football," with the budget increasing from $27.3M in '17, Mora’s last full year, to $35.4M under Kelly in '19. Even "powerhouses" such as Ohio State ($3.4M), Georgia ($1.5M) and defending national champion LSU ($381,000) "didn’t come close to the Bruins’ total" (L.A.TIMES, 10/27).
