UCLA · Big TenUCLA removes Martin Jarmond and names Tim Harris AD
Harris takes over with $51.8 million in athletic debt, a 3-9 football team and a Sept. 5 opener at California.
SEP 2, 2026
The Pate State · Editorial IllustrationAthletic department debt at the end of fiscal 2024
UCLA football’s 2025 overall record
Rose Bowl capacity represented by 2025 average attendance
01 · The NewsUCLA changes athletic leadership
UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk removed Martin Jarmond as athletic director Monday and named Tim Harris the department’s new chief executive and athletics director, with the Bruins’ 2026 football opener at California approaching Saturday, Sept. 5.
Frenk said the department’s finances forced the change. “UCLA Athletics currently carries a significant financial deficit, and its current path is not sustainable,” he said.
Jarmond’s six-year tenure ended with the Bruins’ football program 36-33 under three coaches and with one bowl victory. The 2025 season produced three wins, while UCLA averaged 37,282 fans at the Rose Bowl — 41.6% of its 89,702-seat capacity.
That leaves Harris with a financial problem tied to the product on the field and the crowd in the stands. Bob Chesney’s first season at UCLA begins at California at 10:30 p.m. ET on Sept. 5; San Diego State visits Sept. 12, followed by Purdue on Sept. 19.
UCLA has not said whether Jarmond was fired or resigned, how long Harris will serve or what financial recovery plan the new administration will pursue. The university also has not described how Harris will address the department’s attendance and football problems.
Frenk pointed Harris toward the connection UCLA needs to rebuild. “For generations, UCLA has produced champions and Olympic legends. We are the university of John Wooden. Our student-athletes have inspired generations of Bruins and captured the hearts of people around the world,” he said.
02 · The StakesWhy it matters
Harris inherits an athletic department that carried $51.8 million in debt when fiscal 2024 ended and required a university bailout. He also takes over a football program that went 3-9 overall and 3-6 in Big Ten play in 2025. UCLA needs stronger attendance and financial support before its Big Ten investment becomes an even heavier burden.
03 · The Detail Beneath the HeadlineWhat Most People Are Missing
UCLA’s first scoreboard under Harris will expose the gap Chesney inherits: California entered the opener off a 7-6 season, while the Bruins came off 3-9. The sharper test for the athletic department follows at the Rose Bowl, where San Diego State visits Sept. 12 and Purdue arrives Sept. 19.
Those consecutive home dates turn the link between football and revenue into an early measurement. UCLA filled 41.6% of the Rose Bowl on average in 2025. The crowds will supply the first public evidence of whether a new season can begin repairing the support behind the department’s deficit.
04 · The Open QuestionsQuestions to Be Answered
What is Harris’s financial recovery plan?
Frenk has identified an unsustainable path, but the first useful test is whether UCLA attaches specific action to the $51.8 million debt and 41.6% Rose Bowl occupancy. Harris’s term length shapes how much of that plan he can own. A university announcement and the Sept. 12 and Sept. 19 attendance figures are the first concrete tells.
05 · The Watch ListWhat We're Watching
Can UCLA draw more fans?
UCLA averaged 37,282 fans at the Rose Bowl in 2025 — 41.6% of its 89,702-seat capacity.
Does the football start improve?
Bob Chesney’s first season at UCLA begins at California at 10:30 p.m. ET on Sept. 5; San Diego State visits Sept. 12, followed by Purdue on Sept. 19.