May 13, 2007

The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) has become the first school in history to win 100 NCAA team championships. The UCLA Bruins reached that amazing total on Sunday, May 13 when they captured the team title in women's water polo, defeating Stanford, 5-4.

The women's water polo crown is UCLA's first of the 2006-07 school year. The Bruins were also '06-07 NCAA Final Four participants in men's basketball men's soccer, women's volleyball and women's soccer and placed fourth in women's gymnastics.

"Reaching 100 team championships is a testament to the outstanding abilities of our student-athletes and their coaches. We salute them and the dedicated fans who have supported them over the years," said Norman Abrams, UCLA's Acting Chancellor, "and we celebrate the teamwork that is the hallmark of UCLA athletics and our strong tradition of combining excellence in athletics with excellence in academics."

UCLA has won 70 NCAA championships in men's sports and 30 in women's sports. Sixteen different programs - nine men and seven women - have won at least one NCAA team championship. In the 26 years that the NCAA has awarded both men's and women's championships, UCLA has won 60 NCAA team titles (30 men's and 30 women's), including at least one in 24 of those 26 years.

"To be the first school to win 100 NCAA team championships is a great tribute to all of the outstanding student-athletes, coaches and support staff who call UCLA home," said Daniel G. Guerrero, UCLA Director of Athletics. "UCLA has a rich athletic history and it is important to remember and celebrate those who built the foundation and earned the early championships as well as those who have contributed to the recent successes.

"Our mission at UCLA is to provide our coaches and student-athletes with the resources necessary for success and to have a broad-based program that is nationally-competitive in every sport. In the last five years (2002-03 through 2006-07), our coaches and student-athletes have won 14 NCAA championships in nine different sports (as of May 13, 2007) and have finished in the Top Five in numerous others. We will continue to strive for success in all of our sport programs."

UCLA will celebrate the 100 NCAA championships throughout the 2007-08 school year with presentations of former-student athletes and coaches representing the championship teams at various athletic events, including football and men's basketball.

In addition, UCLA has produced a special "First to 100" logo that will be placed on various sport uniforms as well as on printed materials during the upcoming school year.

UCLA won its first NCAA team title in 1950 in the sport of men's tennis. In fact, seven of UCLA's first eight titles were in men's tennis, the other coming in men's track and field.

In 1964, UCLA's NCAA title explosion began. In the ensuing six years, it won seven more NCAA championships, including five in men's basketball. In each of the next three years - 1969-70 through 1971-72, UCLA won four team championships - and added three more in 1972-73. In that four-year span, the Bruins won four titles in basketball, three each in men's water polo, men's volleyball and men's track and field and two in men's tennis.

As the 1980s began, UCLA had earned 39 NCAA team championships. In 1981-82, the NCAA began awarding championships in women's sports in addition to men's and UCLA's successful women's program began contributing to the title count. That first year, UCLA won five NCAA titles, three in men's sports and two in women's sports.

As the 1989-90 school year began, UCLA had increased its total of championships to 62, giving the school 23 in the previous decade. By the end of the 1998-99 school year, the total had increased to 79.

Since the start of the 1999-2000 academic year, UCLA has captured 21 championships, pushing the total to 100.