UCLA AD Shuts Down Talk of Early Big Ten Struggles

Just a year ago, as UCLA was preparing to enter its first season in the Big Ten Conference, the university came in with plenty of doubts about how athletics would adapt in a stronger conference. But UCLA athletic director Martin Jarmond didn't want to hear all that.

At last week's football Big Ten Media Days, Jarmond shut down all that "struggle" talk by stating the facts in an interview with UCLA's Wayne Cook and Nick Koop.

"Look at it from this perspective," Jarmond said. "A year ago, we were here at the Big Ten football media days, and all the questions we got were, 'Is UCLA ready for the travel? Are they gonna be able to compete in the Big Ten?' There was more questions. And I think winning 10 conference championships -- the most in the Big Ten, seven Big Ten championships, three MPSF championships, one national championship, two runner-ups, two national individual championships...

"Trivia question: Who was the only school in the country to have softball and baseball in the College World Series? Another trivia question: Who's the only one that had both softball and baseball in the College World Series and both men's basketball and women's basketball in the NCAA Tournament? That's us.

"So, we were more than ready. We win championships at UCLA. Excellence. And that's what we did. I am so bullish on our future right now, all across the board."

Jarmond Didn't Stop There

Jarmond then went on to point out the success UCLA had in this year's recruiting and transfer windows across all sports, highlighted by football acquiring quarterback Nico Iamaleava and basketball landing point guard Donovan Dent.