UCLA Rally Committee: A Legacy of Spirit and Tradition

The UCLA Rally Committee stands as a cornerstone of Bruin spirit, fostering traditions and supporting the university's athletic endeavors. From its early days to its present-day activities, the Rally Committee has played a vital role in shaping the UCLA experience for students, alumni, and fans alike.

Origins and Evolution

UCLA's spirit traditions trace back to the early 1920s, when the campus was known as the Southern Branch of the University of California. Like UC Berkeley, UCLA adopted blue and gold as its colors, symbolizing the ocean and the Golden State. Initially, UCLA students were known as "Cubs," a nod to their younger status compared to the Berkeley Bears. However, in 1924, the team adopted the "Grizzlies" nickname. In 1926, due to the University of Montana's prior claim to the "Grizzly" name within the Pacific Coast Conference, UCLA sought a new moniker. After considering options like "Buccaneers" and "Gorillas," the students settled on "Bruins," a term already used by UC Berkeley.

The use of live bears as mascots began in the 1930s, with animals appearing at home football games at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. This practice evolved, and in 1961, alumni presented the campus with Josephine Bruin, a Himalayan bear. Costumed student mascots took over in the mid-1960s, with Joe Bruin joined by Josephine (Josie) in 1967.

The Victory Bell and Rivalry with USC

A significant incident in 1941 intensified the rivalry between UCLA and USC. After a Washington State game, USC students stole the Victory Bell, a 295-pound bell originally from a Southern Pacific Railroad engine, which had been presented to UCLA by the Alumni Association. This act led to vandalism and kidnapping threats, culminating in an agreement that the winner of the annual football game would keep the bell for the following year. Today, students continue to protect their mascot statues before the big game, with the Bruin statue covered in a tarp during the week leading up to the rivalry game.

Key Traditions and Events

Spring Sing

Spring Sing began nearly 70 years ago as a competition between fraternities vying for the title of "Champion Serenaders of Sorority Row." It grew in popularity, moving to Royce Hall in 1944 and later to the Hollywood Bowl, attracting over 10,000 attendees. After a period of dormancy in the late 1960s, it was revived by students and alumni and moved back to Royce Hall. The Student Alumni Association became the official organizer in 1986, aiming to restore its original grandeur.

Mardi Gras

Mardi Gras, UCLA’s largest student-run activity, had its roots in a 1943 “Carnival” in the women’s gym. Some accounts trace it back to a masquerade ball in 1941 or earlier. By 1945, an event called “Mardi Gras” was held on campus, furthering the festival spirit.

Light Stunts and Card Stunts

In the 1930s, light stunts were a trademark of the UCLA rooting section, originating in 1935 when football games were played at night. The rooting section was wired, and each student had four light bulbs of different colors. Card stunts are still performed at football games, particularly during Homecoming.

Pow Wow

A more recent tradition, the UCLA Pow Wow, began in 1985. Organized by the American Indian Student Association, this two-day festival celebrates American Indian culture with traditional and contemporary dance, songs, and social activities.

The Rally Committee Alumni Network

The UCLA Rally Committee Alumni Network Harry Brisacher Jr. Memorial TBDSA was established in 1985 by the UCLA Rally Committee Alumni to provide scholarships to currently enrolled UCLA students who have shown both academic achievement and active participation in UCLA spirit activities. Awards will be made by Financial Aid and Scholarships each spring for the upcoming academic year, based on applicant responses on the True Bruin Distinguished Scholar application. Harry Brisacher Jr. was Rally Committee Chairman in 1952. For almost forty years, he remained involved with the Committee, before his passing in 1990. He supported generations of Committee members, and was always available to give advice to the leadership. He recruited his brother Jack early on as the official RC photographer, and Jack took photos of the card stunts for decades.

Athletics at UCLA

The UCLA Bruins represent the University of California, Los Angeles, in NCAA Division I athletics. As part of the Big Ten Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF), the Bruins compete in a wide range of sports.

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Early Conference Affiliations

Upon its founding, UCLA joined the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC). Following "pay-for-play" scandals at California, USC, UCLA, and Washington, the PCC disbanded in June 1959. On July 1, 1959, the new Athletic Association of Western Universities was launched, with California, UCLA, USC, and Washington as the four charter members. The conference renamed itself the Pacific-8 Conference in 1968, then the Pacific-10 Conference in 1978, and the Pac-12 in 2011.

Nickname and Mascots

Upon UCLA's founding as the Southern Branch of the University of California in 1919, the football team was known as the "Cubs" because of its younger relationship to the California Bears in Berkeley. In 1923, the team adopted the nickname "Grizzlies". The Bruins began to use live bears as mascots in the 1930s, renting animals to appear at all UCLA home football games at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The practice grew less common until the 1950s, when students and alumni brought "Little Joe Bruin" to Westwood. A Himalayan bear cub from India, "Little Joe" grew too large and was transferred to a circus. "Josephine" was purchased by a group of alumni in 1961 and was kept in the backyard of the Rally Committee chairman.

Football

In 1954, the UCLA football team earned a share of the national title with a 9-0 record and a #1 ranking in the Coaches UPI football poll, while Ohio State was ranked No. 1 in the AP Poll. Owing to rules in place at the time, UCLA was unable to face off against Ohio State in the Rose Bowl, which would have resulted in one or the other being declared national champion. The Bruins have played in the Rose Bowl Game 12 times, winning 5 of them. The Bruins have won or shared the conference title 17 times. Among the many former UCLA football stars are Jackie Robinson (better known for his exploits as a baseball player, but nevertheless a 4-sport letterman and All-American), Heisman Trophy winner Gary Beban, Bob Waterfield, Troy Aikman, Carnell Lake, and Tommy Maddox. One of the great moments in recent history for the Bruins came on December 2, 2006, when they beat USC 13-9 in one of the greatest upsets in the rivalry. 15 football players and coaches have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, John Sciarra being the latest inductee in the Class of 2014. A notable player and alumnus of the UCLA football team is current NCIS star, actor Mark Harmon. The current head coach is Bob Chesney.

Basketball

Several of the most revered championships were won by the Men's Basketball team under coaches John Wooden and Jim Harrick. The rich legacy of UCLA basketball has produced 11 NCAA championships - 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, and 1995. From 1971 to 1974, UCLA won 88 consecutive men's basketball games, an NCAA record for men. The 35-year period (1940-1974) preceding and including the UCLA streak was characterized by less dynasties, however: 20 different men's teams won titles during that span. Past rosters of UCLA basketball teams have included greats such as Rafer Johnson who was the 1960 Olympic Decathlon Champion, Gail Goodrich, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (then known as Lew Alcindor), Bill Walton, Reggie Miller and Walt Hazzard. In recent years, UCLA Men's Basketball was returned to prominence under Coach Ben Howland. In March 2013, UCLA relieved head men's basketball coach Ben Howland of his duties after UCLA dropped an 83-63 decision to Minnesota in a second-round game of the NCAA tournament. In the 1977-78 season, the women's basketball team, with a 27-2 record, were the AIAW Champions under head coach Billie Moore. The 2014-15 team won the 2015 WNIT championship by defeating the West Virginia Mountaineers 62-60 on April 4, 2015.

Baseball

The 2010 team, under head coach John Savage, won the Los Angeles Regional and Super-Regional, and was the first team to win 48 games in a season. Many UCLA baseball players have gone on to play in Major League Baseball (MLB). In the 2009 World Series, Chase Utley hit two home runs to help the Philadelphia Phillies win Game 1. There were a total of four former UCLA baseball players in the 2009 playoffs: Philadelphia's Ben Francisco and Chase Utley, Colorado's Garrett Atkins, and St. Louis' Troy Glaus, who was the 2002 World Series MVP for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Chris Chambliss and Gerrit Cole were No. 1 overall picks in the MLB drafts. Trevor Bauer was drafted as the No. 3 pick by the Arizona Diamondbacks on June 6, 2011. Former UCLA shortstop Brandon Crawford hit a grand-slam home run in his major-league debut with the San Francisco Giants on May 27, 2011, and helped the Giants to win the 2012 Major League World Series.

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Golf

The UCLA Bruins men's golf team has won two NCAA Championships, in 1988 and 2008. In the 2008 national championship, the team was led by senior Kevin Chappell, who won the respective individual title. In that championship, UCLA won by one shot over USC, and by two shots over Stanford. In 2009, UCLA came first in the NCAA Central Regional, pulling off their third regional championship in the last seven years. With that victory, the defending national champions, advanced to their seventh consecutive NCAA Championship, a school record. For 2011, the Bruins were first in stroke play before losing in the match play of the national championship tournament; and freshman golfer Patrick Cantlay was named GCAA Division I Jack Nicklaus National Player of the Year Award, the fourth player from UCLA. Cantlay was also the National Freshman of the Year, winning the Phil Mickelson Award in addition to being the Pac-10 Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year. Chappell won National Player of the Year in 2008, Corey Pavin in 1982 and Duffy Waldorf in 1985. Open, Chappell was the low American (tie with Robert Garrigus) and Cantlay was the low amateur. The women's team won the national championship in 1971 (DGWS), 1991, 2004 and 2011. Former Bruin golf professionals include Scott McCarron, John Merrick, Corey Pavin, and Duffy Waldorf. Bruin alum Brandt Jobe tied for second at the 2011 Memorial Tournament.

Gymnastics

The women's gymnastics team has won seven NCAA Women's Gymnastics championships under head coach Valorie Kondos Field, including championships in 1997, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2010, and 2018. Olympic Team members Jordan Chiles, Madison Kocian, Kyla Ross, Samantha Peszek, Jamie Dantzscher, Mohini Bhardwaj, Kate Richardson, Tasha Schwikert, Kristen Maloney, Yvonne Tousek, Stella Umeh, Luisa Portocarrero, Tim Daggett, Mitch Gaylord, and Peter Vidmar. 2008 Canadian Olympic Gymnastics team member Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs attended UCLA and was a member of the team for the 2008-2009 season. The team took home its 15th Pac-10 Gymnastics Championship on March 27, 2009.

Rugby

James Schaeffer introduced the original team in 1934, which was eventually revived post-WWII through Norm Padgett and his tireless hustling and fraternity walks. In 1958, Padgett's former Captain, Ged Gardner, assumed the Coaching role from until 1965. Gardner built membership, interest and skill to which Coach Dennis Storer added his own unique style. Dennis Storer remained Head Coach from 1966 - 1982, when the program operated as a Varsity Sport, winning a national title in 1972 and then another in 1975. Rugby was dropped as a varsity sport shortly after by the Athletics department. Storer subsequently resumed the role from 1987 to 1989 after the program was downgraded to Club Status. Over its history, 19 UCLA students have gone on to represent the USA Rugby Men's National Team with Coach Dennis Storer being the first ever coach of the team. Currently, the Bruins compete in all of the Major National Domestic competitions including the PAC Rugby Conference (XV's & 7's), USAR Collegiate National Championships, and the Collegiate Rugby 7s Championships (7's). Recently, the Bruins have reached the 1/4 Final of the Varsity Cup (2011-17), the Collegiate Rugby Championships Final (2016 & 18), Semi-final (2013 & 14) Quarter-Final (2017) and were Plate winners in 2015.

Soccer

Since the beginning of the men's soccer tournament in 1959, UCLA has won national championship in 1985, 1990, 1997, and 2002; and finished second in 1970, 1972, 1973, and 2006. The men's soccer team won the 2008 Pacific-10 Conference championship and received the conference's automatic bid in the NCAA national championship Tournament, their 26 consecutive appearances. Cobi Jones, USA's most capped national player, played for UCLA. men's national team squad that defeated No. Loyola MarymountSt. The women's soccer team has won the Pac-10 championships eight times since beginning play in 1993. For the 2008 Women's Soccer Championships, the undefeated UCLA women's soccer team was named one of the four No. 1 seeds, the third time in program history. women's national team and scored against North Korea.

Softball

The Bruins have been 13-time NCAA champions, including the first one in 1982. They won the World Series in 1978, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2010 and 2019. Former Bruin Natasha Watley went on to help the United States women's national softball team win a gold medal in the 2004 Olympics and a silver medal in 2008. Andrea Duran helped Team USA win a gold medal at the 2006 ISF World championship and a silver medal at the 2008 Olympics.

Tennis

The only school to have competed in every NCAA Men's Tennis Tournament, the team has won 16 national championships and 37 Pac-12 conference titles. Coach Billy Martin, who played at UCLA, has a 14 straight top 5 NCAA team finishes and a 9 consecutive 20-win seasons. He was named ITA (Intercollegiate Tennis Association) division 1 National Coach of the Year and is a member of ITA Hall of Fame. The 1950 men's tennis team won UCLA's first-ever NCAA Championship. In 2014, Marcos Giron became the school's 11th NCAA Men's Tennis Singles Champion, joining Jack Tidball (1933), Herbert Flam (1950), Larry Nagler (1960), Allen Fox (1961), Arthur Ashe (1965), Charles Pasarell (1966), Jeff Borowiak (1970), Jimmy Connors (1971), Billy Martin (1975), and Benjamin Kohllöffel (2006). Mackenzie McDonald claimed the school's 12th individual singles championship and the school's 12th doubles individual championship when he teamed with Martin Redlicki at the 2016 tournament. The women's team, which won national championships in 1981 (AIAW), 2008 and 2014, is coached by Stella Sampras, the sister of Pete Sampras, who donated a scholarship at UCLA.

Track and Field

When Meb Keflezighi was running for UCLA, he won four NCAA championships in one year, including the cross-country title, the 10,000 meters outdoors and the 5,000 meters indoors and outdoors titles in track. At the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece, Meb ran to a second-place finish and winning the silver medal in the marathon with a then personal-best time of 2:11.29. In 2009, he became the first American to win the New York City Marathon in 17 years. At the 2014 Boston Marathon, he became the first American to win the men's race since 1983 with the time of 2:08.37.

Volleyball

The UCLA men's team won 21 NCAA titles, 19 under Al Scates, who coached the Bruins for 48 years. The Bruins also won 5 USVBA titles prior to the sport being sanctioned by the NCAA, two of these under Scates. John Speraw became head coach of the men's program following the retirement of Scates in 2012. Andy Banachowski led UCLA to six national championships (3 NCAA-1984, 1990, 1991; 2 AIAW-1974, 1975; and 1 DGWS-1972). The women's team played in 6 DGWS/AIAW championship games, has made 12 NCAA Final Four appearances, and has won 4 NCAA titles. The women's team has captured 8 of the championships since it became an NCAA sponsored event. The Bruins defeated Cal for the 2024 title. They also won non-NCAA national titles in 1996, 1997, 1998 and 2000.

Water Polo

Four UCLA water polo alumni and former coach Guy Baker were members of the USA women's and men's teams participated in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Natalie Golda (now Benson) and Jaime Hipp were members of the women's team, while Adam Wright and Brandon Brooks were on the men's team. The then No. 2-ranked men's water polo team opened the newest athletic facility at UCLA, the Spieker Aquatics Center, with a win over the No. 7-ranked UC Irvine Anteaters, 10-4, on Saturday, September 26, 2009. In 2009, the men's team defeated #1 ranked USC and #3 ranked California for the MPSF tournament championship to advance to the NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship. On December 6, 2015, the men's team once again defeated USC, 10-7, to win back-to-back NCAA championships and finish with a perfect season at 30-0 on the UCLA campus. On December 3, 2017, the men's team defeated rival Southern California, 7-5, to capture their third National Championship in four years. The win also pulled the Bruins even with fellow Pac-12 school Stanford University for the most NCAA team championships in school history, both schools with 114 each.

NCAA Championships

As of December 7, 2025, UCLA has won 125 NCAA team championships, second to Stanford's 135.

Other Sports

UCLA also fields teams in boxing and ice hockey. The men's and women's boxing teams have competed as part of the National Collegiate Boxing Association since 2016, after switching from the United States Intercollegiate Boxing Association. Before the school was even called 'UCLA', the ice hockey program was formed, joining several other local teams including USC and Occidental. The team continued for several years despite the great depression being in full force.

Traditions During World War II

The 1940s were marked by World War II, which significantly impacted UCLA. Students, alumni, and faculty enlisted in the military or contributed to the war effort. Southern California became a defense industry hub, and UCLA's campus transformed as Army, Navy, and Air Corps programs moved in. Fraternity houses became dormitories, and Kerckhoff was turned into a mess hall. Despite these changes, college life continued, and new traditions emerged. In 1942, the annual USC-UCLA football game became a war bond drive, raising over $2 million. UCLA beat USC for the first time, reclaiming the Victory Bell.

UCLA in the 1980s

The 1980s were a period of significant growth and recognition for UCLA. The university hosted the Olympic gymnastics competition in Pauley Pavilion, and the Los Angeles Lakers, with Bruin Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, won five NBA championships. UCLA became the first college to license its name as Bearwear became a top-selling brand.

The 1984 Olympics

The summer of 1984 was a watershed moment for UCLA, as Los Angeles hosted the Games of the XXIII Olympiad. The campus transformed into an international Olympic Village, housing over 4,000 athletes from 62 countries. UCLA was represented by 60 athletes and coaches who won 37 medals.

Alumni Association and Student Relations

The Alumni Association increased its programming and focused on strengthening the alumni network. The Student Alumni Association (SAA) was established in 1984 to enhance the student-alumni bond. Alumni also supported students through scholarships and the return of traditions like the Homecoming Parade and Spring Sing.

Cultural and Identity-Based Alumni Associations

The UCLA Latino Alumni Association (ULAA) was founded in 1989, and the UCLA Lambda (LGBTQ) Alumni Association was also established in 1989, becoming one of the oldest and most well-established LGBTQ alumni organizations in the country.

Academic and Research Achievements

UCLA made significant strides in academics and research during the 1980s. The School of the Arts and the School of Theater, Film and Television were established. UCLA physicians and researchers were at the forefront of medical advances, including identifying AIDS as a new disease and making breakthroughs in chemotherapy treatments.

Athletics in the 1980s

The Bruins football team relocated to the Rose Bowl in 1982, winning three Rose Bowl games in the following four years. Other UCLA sports thrived, with Valorie Kondos Field leading the Women’s Gymnastics team to multiple NCAA championships.

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