A History of UCLA Athletic Directors: From Tradition to Transformation
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) boasts a rich athletic history, marked by unparalleled success across a wide array of sports. This tradition of excellence is due, in no small part, to the leadership of the individuals who have served as the university's athletic director. From navigating financial challenges to fostering national championship-winning programs, these leaders have shaped the landscape of UCLA Athletics.
Early Leadership and Financial Stability
In the early 1960s, UCLA faced financial difficulties within its athletic budget. Chancellor Franklin D. Murphy sought a solution in J.D. Morgan. On Feb. 8, 1963, Murphy announced his selection of Morgan to succeed the retiring Wilbur Johns ’25, restoring financial stability to the program was at the forefront of his mind.
J.D. Morgan: An Era of Unprecedented Success
J.D. Morgan, a career Bruin, was a four-year letterman on the men’s tennis team, serving as team captain in 1941. Following graduation from the UCLA School of Business Administration, he commanded a Navy torpedo boat in the South Pacific during World War II before returning to his alma mater in 1946 to accept a position in UCLA’s accounting office and simultaneously serve as assistant tennis coach under William C. Ackerman. Following Ackerman’s retirement in 1949, Morgan was anointed head coach of the men’s tennis team and went on to mentor Bruin tennis legends Arthur Ashe ’66 and Charles Pasarell, among others.
As associate business manager, Morgan was instrumental in arranging the financing for several major campus building projects, including Ackerman Student Union and the four high-rise residence halls. At the time of his appointment, plans for an on-campus indoor sports arena were moving forward. As athletic director, J.D. Morgan established a broad-based athletic program during his 16 years in the role, leading the Bruins to 30 NCAA championship titles. Under Morgan’s direction, UCLA won an unprecedented 30 NCAA championships - 10 in basketball, seven in volleyball, six in tennis, four in track and field, and three in water polo - more than any other university during that same period.
Morgan’s success was fueled by his intense competitive nature and fierce Bruin loyalty. During his tenure, Morgan would regularly sit on the Bruin bench and watch as UCLA dominated college hoops. Over the years some found him difficult, even arrogant. He was known to engage in battles with alumni, the press and referees, oftentimes vilifying the officials as he sat on the Bruin basketball bench during road games.
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In 1979, after 33 years at UCLA, Morgan was forced to announce his retirement due to rapidly failing health.
Peter Dalis: Continuing the Bruin Tradition
Peter Thomas Dalis, a lifelong Bruin, served as director of athletics at UCLA for 19 years. Appointed UCLA's athletic director by former Chancellor Charles E. Young in 1983, Dalis spent his entire career at the Westwood campus. When he retired as UCLA’s director of athletics on June 30, 2002, Dalis ranked first in seniority among Pac-10 athletic directors.
During his 19 years on the job, he continued the Bruin tradition of competing for national titles and conference championships. UCLA won 39 NCAA championships (22 men’s and 17 women’s) - nine more than it won during the J.D. Morgan era. Under Dalis' leadership, UCLA moved into the No. 1 spot in the Sears Directors Cup standings, placing among the top five in all nine years of the competition.
Under Dalis, the Bruin football program won a school-record 20 straight games (1997-98), recorded four 10-win seasons (1987, 1988, 1997, 1998) and played in 12 bowl games, winning eight. The men’s basketball program played in the NCAA tournament 15 times - including in each of his final 14 years - and won the title in 1995.
Dalis’ successes were not limited to the playing field. When he became athletic director in 1983, UCLA had no endowed scholarships. He also had a major impact on the future of the Pacific-10 Conference. In July of 2001, Dalis was ranked No. 1 among Pac-10 athletic directors by The Sporting News.
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During his tenure as athletic director, one of Dalis’ long-term goals was to provide the coaches and staff with appropriate office space. In February of 2002, the athletic department broke ground on a two-year, $14 million project developed with Dalis’ guidance. It doubled the size of the weight room and added a state-of-the-art medical training facility for student-athletes, a football locker room and video rooms, and locker rooms for athletes in several other sports.
The John R. Wooden Recreation and Sports Center represented many hours of hard work by Dalis, who was a central figure in the project from its inception in 1975. Dalis, who played a major role in the planning and construction of the Sunset Canyon Recreation Center, was utilized as a capital project consultant by several other schools, including the University of Connecticut and Australia’s University of New South Wales.
Selected 1987-88 Axios Sportsman of the Year, Dalis was a member of the Los Angeles-Athens Sister City Committee as well as the Los Angeles Sports Council and the Rose Bowl Management Committee. He had been a member of the NCAA Special Events Committee and served as chair of the Pac-10 television committee.
Dalis died Saturday, Nov. 15, at his home in Pacific Palisades due to complications from multiple myeloma.
Dan Guerrero: A Focus on Facilities and Broad-Based Success
Dan Guerrero began his career with California State University, Dominguez Hills, before moving to University of California, Irvine. Guerrero next worked at UC Irvine, where he served as director of athletics for 10 years (1992-2002). In June 2002, while still at UC Irvine, he was named the 2001-02 Division I-AA/I-AAA West Region NACDA Athletic Director of the Year. During Guerrero's tenure, UCI experienced unprecedented activity in the area of athletic facilities development. In his final five years, Guerrero was involved in $38 million worth of newly constructed or renovated facilities.
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On April 25, 2002, Guerrero was named UCLA's director of athletics. In Guerrero's first year at UCLA (2002-03), UCLA won four NCAA titles (men's soccer, women's gymnastics, women's water polo, and women's softball). The Bruins placed third in men's golf, tied for third in men's tennis, and tied for fifth in women's golf and women's tennis.
Guerrero led the negotiations that solidified the relationship between UCLA and the Rose Bowl, resulting in a $152 million renovation/restoration project that will benefit the Bruin football program for decades upon its completion in 2013. UCLA continued to enhance its athletic facilities, including the completion of the Bud Knapp Football wing of the Acosta Center, and the sports medicine and athletic performance centers in the same complex. A new golf practice facility and the Easton Softball Stadium renovation, benefiting the Bruins' golf and softball powers, respectively, were completed for the 2004-05 season.
During Guerrero's tenure, UCLA won 32 NCAA titles, the most of any school under its current athletic director at the time of his retirement announcement.
Guerrero also completed a multi-million dollar agreement with ISP Sports (now IMG College), a premier national collegiate sports marketing organization, in 2004-05.
In June 2010, Guerrero completed a five-year term on the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Committee. As the chair in 2009-10, he served on the NCAA Advisory Committee. He was also a member of the "College Basketball Partnership," a group formed by NCAA president Myles Brand that included many of the most influential people in the sport. He has also served as chair of both the Pac-10 Athletic Directors Committee, the Budget and Finance Committee, and numerous other Pac-10 committees. He is currently[when?] a member of the Nominating, Revenue Sharing, Men's Basketball Tournament, Bowl, and Rose Bowl Management committees.
Guerrero was president of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and a member of the NACDA Executive Committee from 2011-12, and served as president of the Division I Athletic Directors Association in 2010-11. In 2021 he was inducted into the NACDA Hall of Fame and received the James J. Corbett Award in 2022, the highest honor in collegiate athletics administration.
Guerrero is presently[when?] serving a second term on the Executive Board member of the National Consortium for Academics and Sport. As a result, he has spearheaded unprecedented growth in the Academic Support and Life Skills program at UCLA.
Guerrero was named one of the nation's Top 100 Most Influential Hispanics by Hispanic Business Magazine (October 2004) and the May 5, 2003 issue of Sports Illustrated listed him #28 among the 101 Most Influential Minorities in Sports. In March 2011, Guerrero was recognized by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) at the Guardian of the Games Awards Show by presenting him with the Clifford Wells Award for distinguished service to the organization. In April, he was presented with the Crystal Eagle Award by CORO Southern California, an organization that provides training of civic and government leaders. In May 2011, he was honored by the Black Coaches and Administrators Association as by awarding him as the Dr.
In addition to his most recent accolades, Guerrero has earned numerous honors in the past nine years. In June 2007, he was named the NACDA Division I West Region Athletic Director of the Year. His other honors include the UCLA Latino Alumnus of the Year (October 2002); Cal State Dominguez Hills' Alumnus of the Year (March 2003); and "Father of the Year" by the Father's Day Council of the American Diabetes Association (June 2003). On September 10, 2002, the Los Angeles City Council honored him with Dan Guerrero Day.
Entering the 2019-20 school year, Guerrero announced that he would retire in June 2020.
Martin Jarmond: A New Era of Leadership
UCLA Chancellor Gene Block announced that Martin Jarmond has been named as the next Alice and Nahum Lainer Family Director of Athletics. Jarmond will become UCLA’s ninth athletic director, replacing the retiring Dan Guerrero, who held the role for 18 years. Jarmond has agreed to a six-year contract with guaranteed compensation of $1,030,000 and a one-time signing bonus of $339,900 the first year, and compensation averaging $1.4 million annually over the term, plus incentives.
Jarmond is the first African American in that role in the school’s 101-year history. He will become the highest-paid athletic director at a public school in the Pac-12 Conference by a considerable margin after signing a six-year contract that calls for him to make $1.2 million in the first year and rises to $1.7 million in the final year.
Jarmond had assumed the Boston College job in April 2017 at age 37 after 15 years as an administrator in the Big Ten Conference, where he worked at Ohio State and Michigan State and developed a reputation as an adept fundraiser. That experience could help him solve the huge financial dilemma he inherits at UCLA, where the athletic department ran an $18.9-million deficit for the 2019 fiscal year, requiring an interest-bearing loan from the university.
“Martin is a principled, proven leader with a deep commitment to values that align with UCLA’s mission,” Block said. “From Rafer Johnson to John Wooden, this program has always inspired our student-athletes and supporters alike to persevere and excel. I am confident Martin will help UCLA carry on that storied tradition, with his exceptional leadership, high integrity and excitement for our future. Even in challenging times like these, there is so much to look forward to and so much potential still to be unlocked for our program and within our student-athletes.
“UCLA is an aspirational program in intercollegiate athletics,” Jarmond said. “Steeped in history and success, the tradition of legends and barrier-breakers who call themselves Bruins is unmatched. I am humbled by and grateful for the opportunity to serve as the Alice and Nahum Lainer Family Director of Athletics. UCLA Athletics aligns with my tenacious commitment to developing young men and women to be their very best academically and athletically. I want to thank Chancellor Block and the members of the selection committee for entrusting me with the challenge of building upon the established excellence of the program.
Jarmond has served as the William V. Campbell Director of Athletics at Boston College for the past three years. He orchestrated the Eagles’ first-ever strategic plan, a comprehensive five-year goal to advance the program by fostering student-athlete formation, strengthening competitive excellence, increasing external engagement and enhancing facilities. The strategic plan was supported by BC’s first-ever athletics-only capital campaign, at the time, the largest campaign of any Atlantic Coast Conference institution at $150 million. The campaign has raised $121 million to date.
Prior to joining Boston College in 2017 and becoming the youngest athletic director of any Power Five institution at age 37, Jarmond previously served as deputy director of athletics at Ohio State, moving up the ranks after arriving as an associate athletic director for development in 2009. During his time at Ohio State, he was the lead administrator for a variety of sports, including football and men’s basketball, and directed external and internal relations and day-to-day operations. He also had responsibility for football scheduling and was a member of the NCAA’s inaugural College Football Playoff National Championship Advisory Group and the Rose Bowl Advisory Committee.
Jarmond was also an assistant athletic director for development for seven years at Michigan State, where he served on the athletic director’s executive leadership team. Currently, Jarmond serves on the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Oversight Committee and the John McLendon Minority Scholarship Foundation Board of Directors.
A native of Fayetteville, North Carolina, Jarmond, 40, earned a bachelor’s degree in communication studies from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. A two-year captain of the men’s basketball team, he led his team to the program’s first-ever NCAA tournament appearance in 2000 and earned Colonial Athletic Association All-Academic honors in 2001. He holds both a M.B.A. and a master's in sports administration from Ohio University. Jarmond is married to Dr. Jessica Jarmond, a dentist.
At UCLA, Jarmond will lead one of the nation’s preeminent collegiate athletics programs at the nation’s No. 1 public institution. The Bruins were the first to win 100 NCAA team championships in 2007, and the department’s current total of 118 NCAA titles ranks second in the country. With nearly 700 student-athletes competing in 25 varsity sports, UCLA Athletics is committed to broad-based excellence in competition, as well as academic excellence in the classroom.
The hiring of Jarmond came after UCLA convened an eight-person search committee made up entirely of university officials and retained WittKieffer, a Chicago-based executive search firm, to assist in compiling a list of candidates. Chancellor Gene Block was assisted in making the final decision by Yolanda Gorman, UCLA’s senior advisor to the chancellor for strategic initiatives, and Emily A. Carter, the school’s executive vice chancellor and provost.
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