June 10, 2011

As our current senior student-athletes prepare for graduation, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the members of the Bruin Family for all of your support year-in and year out. Whether you help our young men and women by making a donation to the Wooden Athletic Fund or the Pauley Pavilion renovation or by purchasing tickets, your efforts are greatly appreciated by all of our coaches, staff and student-athletes.

This past year saw the program win its 107th NCAA team championship - the most of any school in the nation - in women's golf. We also finished second in women's gymnastics, third in women's water polo and women's tennis (tied), fifth (tied) in men's golf and men's soccer, ninth (tied) in men's tennis and women's soccer, 17th (tied) in men's basketball, women's basketball, baseball, softball and women's volleyball and 20th in women's swimming.

The program produced the No. 1 and No. 3 selections - Gerrit Cole and Trevor Bauer - in the Major League Baseball June Draft and the NGCA men's golf National Player of the Year - freshman Patrick Cantlay - just to highlight a few, of many, accomplishments. Additionally, the balance of athletic excellence and academic achievement continues to be a hallmark for our program, as our student-athletes performed exceptionally well in the classroom in a rigorous, but exceptional, academic environment and our department's commitment to community service, including staff, coaches and student-athletes, is one of the best in college athletics.

This summer, our student-athletes will represent UCLA while participating in national competitions and summer leagues before returning in August and September, depending on their sport, to begin another school year.

I believe that 2011-12 will be a great year for the Bruins. I am looking forward to watching all of our teams compete in the fall, including our football team, where Saturday's in Pasadena will be chock-full of excitement at the Rose Bowl. Speaking of that wonderful venue, as you know, renovations are underway on a three-year, $152 million project that will benefit our program greatly. Phase One includes new state-of-the-art video boards, wider tunnels in the end zones for better ingress and egress and other important components. As we get closer to the season, we will keep you updated on any impact the project might have on fans during the year.

This will be a unique year for men's basketball as it plays off-campus during the Pauley Pavilion renovation. Our young men are anxiously anticipating the "Bruin Road Show" and are counting on UCLA fans to be supportive of their quest to win the Pac-12 Championship and advancing through the NCAA Tournament. If anyone can handle that challenge, it's head coach Ben Howland, who knows the inconvenience for one year will be worth it when we return to a new Pauley in the Fall of 2012.

Men's basketball is not the only program that will be playing in a different venue this coming school year. Women's basketball, men's and women's volleyball and women's gymnastics will all compete in the Wooden Center and our staff will do all it can to create a unique home court advantage for those sports.

As you know, our Olympic sports are always in the thick of the NCAA title chase and the 2011-12 year will be no exception. It should be fun to watch the debuts of coaches BJ Snow in women's soccer and Cori Close in women's basketball as well as the final year of the greatest coach in the history of collegiate volleyball - Al Scates. Whether it's gymnastics, baseball, golf, soccer or any of our sports, they will represent the `four letters' with pride and dignity.

In closing, I again want to thank you for your continued support of the program. It is my hope that you will come see our student-athletes perform to the best of their abilities at the Rose Bowl, Sports Arena, Honda Center and all of our campus venues. At the end of the day, our goal is to make sure our young men and women have enjoyable experiences at UCLA that they will remember for the rest of their lives and your support is a great part of that effort.

Thank you and Go Bruins!