Dec 24, 2023; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera pregame against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images

UCLA's Rival Held Hostage by Boosters

Originally posted on UCLA Bruins on SI | By Brock Vierra | Last updated Apr 5, 2025 9:21 AM ET

It's happened. We have hit the moment where boosters are storming the castle, looking to take football programs into their own hands. The Cal football program is engaged in nothing short of a hostile takeover with NIL collectives threatening to withhold funds unless certain decisions are made to their liking.

According to Gabe Fernandez of SFGate.com, the Cal Golden Bears NIL collective is using its power to put new general manager and former NFL head coach Ron Rivera in charge of the entire football program.

"Two board members of California Legends Collective — the Golden Bears’ only third-party name, image and likeness collective — have announced that they will no longer personally donate to the organization they oversee until the school meets their singular demand: Put newly hired general manager, and former NFL head coach, Ron Rivera fully in charge of Cal football," Fernandez wrote.

"This drastic move comes at a rather interesting time in the program’s history. Over the past four years, the Golden Bears have been better on the gridiron than the Cardinal in almost every conceivable way. The four-year Cal graduates at spring commencement will be the first class since 2006 to experience a total sweep over Stanford in the Big Game. To top it all off, the school brought in Rivera on March 20 as its first football general manager.

“'We all have to acknowledge that we haven’t achieved everything we wanted to achieve,” Kevin Kennedy, president of California Legends Collective, told SFGATE. “'So the story is still being written. We’re still working to kind of create the most competitive team possible — and teams possible — and, honestly, have Cal’s athletic success match academic excellence.'”

After Andrew Luck, Stanford's general manager, made the decision to fire then head coach Troy Taylor, we are seeing a massive shift in power from football programs. Before, the head coach was the main person in charge and the athletic director held the right to fire him. That is now changing.

However, the real concern is about hostile takeovers by NIL collectives. How will that impact college football in the future? I'll tell you right now, it will be a disaster.

While Cal's NIL collective has a call for concern regarding the success of its program, nothing good happens when non-football people start to make football decisions. Especially in an era where players are willing to leave programs at a moment's notice.

This is something that will change the landscape of college football moving forward.

This article first appeared on UCLA Bruins on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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